Famous Atheist Now Believes in God

NY Newsday ^ | 12/9/04 | RICHARD N. OSTLING

[kellynla]

I never met an Atheist on the battlefield.

Semper Fi,
Kelly

[DennisR]

Mr. Flew:

I am very glad that at age 81 you have come to the same conclusion billions of people have arrived at already. Welcome!!!

God bless,

Dennis

P.S. Check my tagline!

[Protagoras]

Indeed. That would be both unreasonable and uncharitable.

"It's my way or the highway." The "anointed" on earth simply can't leave all this up to God.

He is in charge of all things on earth, big and small, except of course this, in this matter, he somehow can't handle it and needs these anointed to whip these poor souls into shape even if they are going the right direction on their journey.

[Matchett-PI]

"When a person steps in the right direction, you don't beat him over the head for not stepping far enough"

Or as Dr. Steve Brown would likely say, "If you see a dog playing cards, you don't criticize his game."

[SoFloFreeper]

Good for him. Glad to see others, however late in life, come around. :)

[pnome]

Sorry, you might be able to convince me that a "god", as we can best describe it, exists. Though, there is no proof that there is only one such "god". You will not be able to convince me that Christianity is the only correct version of that god. Yes, I've read C.S. Lewis.

Perhaps the Greeks were correct? Or maybe the Aztecs. Or more likely, niether. It is much more likely that if Flew is correct, we have no real way of possibly conceiving it, or it's purpose. Also, there is no afterlife, no heaven, no hell and certainly no devil.

[pnome]

"Christians don't have to "go" anywhere --- they ARE "the church"."

Sorry, my mistake. Again, I am not a Christian, so please excuse my ignorance.

[SuziQ]

A super-intelligence is the only good explanation for the origin of life and the complexity of nature, Flew said in a telephone interview from England.

Well, he's made a start, anyway.

[Malesherbes]

It took this professor eight decades to figure out what the guy behind the counter at your average 7-11 knows intuitively.

[joesnuffy]

Flew said he's best labeled a deist like Thomas Jefferson, whose God was not actively involved in people's lives.

"I'm thinking of a God very different from the God of the Christian and far and away from the God of Islam, because both are depicted as omnipotent Oriental despots, cosmic Saddam Husseins," he said. "It could be a person in the sense of a being that has intelligence and a purpose, I suppose."

Yes if you take Jefferson out of context rather than look at his Christian life practice he may at time 'appear' to be just another deist....

When he says that The God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jesus Christ are 'depicted as omnipotent Oriental despots...cosmic Saddam Husseins?

By who?....those who promote Christianity and Islam?....He sounds like just another atheist relativist...making moral equivalence statements between Islam and Christianity..surprised he did not take on Judaism while he was at it....must have chickened out on that course...

His new opinion as a deist is nearly as worthless and misleading as his opinion as an atheist

He appears to be anything but some poor devil struggling with finding God

But his conversion and salvation are up to Jesus and the Holy Spirit...if God wills him to be saved he will be....he ain't dead yet so who knows...perhaps by the grace of God he will...(be saved that is).

But when he preaches error or mistakes facts in order to bolster his own opinions.. he needs (as we all do) to be challenged

imo

[ColoCdn]

Dr. Flew's journey to this point is reminiscent of C.S. Lewis in his earlier years.

All journeys are a series of steps. May God bless him with many years, that the good doctor may continue the process of opening to the truth.

[Allan]

Signor Michaelangelo
what is it about the word search that you don't understand?

The "search" feature in Free Republic is very easy to use
everyone with an IQ above 90 should have no trouble.

This article was posted twice yesterday with the exact same title.

The second time it was posted the Admin Moderator locked the thread
Why hasn't this been locked as well??

[weshess]

Unfortunately the answer is simple, there is not much power with the "other gods" however, when the name of Jesus Christ is mentioned you automatically feel guilty of your sin, whether you believe in him or not, that is what true righteousness does it convicts the soul of its misdeeds. You can only feel comfortable with the name of Jesus once you repent.

[TaxRelief]

Over the years, Flew proclaimed the lack of evidence for God while teaching at Oxford, Aberdeen, Keele, and Reading universities in Britain, in visits to numerous U.S. and Canadian campuses and in books, articles, lectures and debates.

There was no one moment of change but a gradual conclusion over recent months for Flew, a spry man who still does not believe in an afterlife.

Yet biologists' investigation of DNA "has shown, by the almost unbelievable complexity of the arrangements which are needed to produce (life), that intelligence must have been involved," Flew says in the new video, "Has Science Discovered God?"

The video draws from a New York discussion last May organized by author Roy Abraham Varghese's Institute for Metascientific Research in Garland, Texas. Participants were Flew; Varghese; Israeli physicist Gerald Schroeder, an Orthodox Jew; and Roman Catholic philosopher John Haldane of Scotland's University of St. Andrews.

The first hint of Flew's turn was a letter to the August-September issue of Britain's Philosophy Now magazine. "It has become inordinately difficult even to begin to think about constructing a naturalistic theory of the evolution of that first reproducing organism," he wrote.

How many "secular" folks have the education level to understand the new evidence?

[Matchett-PI]

"It's my way or the highway." The "anointed" on earth simply can't leave all this up to God. - He is in charge of all things on earth, big and small, except of course this, in this matter, he somehow can't handle it and needs these anointed to whip these poor souls into shape even if they are going the right direction on their journey."

Exactly.

I'll just bet that they wouldn't consider the "journey" of the thief on the cross to be long enough to "do" all that stuff they say is required to be "right with God", either.

[pnome]

"Sometimes I wonder why Jesus Christ is attacked with such viciousness."

It is not Jesus who is attacked, but Christians. Mostly by people who feel that Christians are trying to dictate how they should live their lives. It's backlash from Christians obtaining political power and forcing their morals on the rest of society.

I am not trying to make an excuse for it. Calling all Christians busy bodies who just want to make us all Christians is as bad a stereotype as saying all Moslems are terrorists.

[Raycpa]

Sorry, you might be able to convince me that a "god", as we can best describe it, exists

If God exists, is there an infinite number of Gods or finite number ? What is your best guess ?

[Capt. Tom]

A super-intelligence is the only good explanation for the origin of life and the complexity of nature, Flew said in a telephone interview from England

Or, the universe always existed and never had a beginning. Maybe we are unable to comprehend that. - Tom

[2banana]

It's backlash from Christians obtaining political power and forcing their morals on the rest of society.

I guess that would explain the legalization of abortion, gay marriage, kids being able to get an abortion without their parents knowledge, the taking "Christ" out of Christmas, taking "God" out of the pledge of allegiance, not being able to say "Merry Christmas" to anyone, sad etc..

[Raycpa]

It's backlash from Christians obtaining political power and forcing their morals on the rest of society.

Do you think it was wrong for Christians to obtain political power to stop slavery ?