Free Republic

Flew's Flawed Science by Victor J. Stenger The following article is from Free Inquiry magazine, Volume 25, Number 2. The late-in-life “conversion” of philosopher Antony Flew from atheism to belief in God has been widely reported in the media.1 In a recent interview with Gary Habermas, misleadingly titled “My Pilgrimage from Atheism to Theism,” Flew explains his new position, which he identifies as deism rather than theism.2 Richard Carrier has also conducted a correspondence with Flew, which clarifies some of the issues.3Flew has not changed his mind on the inadequacy of the various philosophical arguments for God, which he...

Update (January 2005)Antony Flew has retracted one of his recent assertions. In a letter to me dated 29 December 2004, Flew concedes:I now realize that I have made a fool of myself by believing that there were no presentable theories of the development of inanimate matter up to the first living creature capable of reproduction. He blames his error on being "misled" by Richard Dawkins because Dawkins "has never been reported as referring to any promising work on the production of a theory of the development of living matter," even though this is false (e.g. Richard Dawkins and L. D....

Atheist's turn toward God was a 4-year process, friend says Dec 22, 2004 By David Roach NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Christian apologist Gary Habermas had just finished debating noted British atheist Antony Flew about the existence of God and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The two friends rode an elevator together as they left the Californian university where the debate was held in January 2002. As Habermas exited the elevator, he extended his hand through the open door. "Tony," he said, "this is it for now. I enjoyed talking with you. When you become a Christian, I want to be the first...

The recent reports that the prominent atheist philosopher Antony Flew has changed his position to one far more accommodating to theism, have sparked much controversy. Rationalist International, for example, has denounced the reports, which it describes as a "sensationalist campaign in the internet," and has reprinted a 2003 letter responding to similar rumors from last year, in which Flew says, "Those rumors speak false." In that very letter, however, Flew makes an important concession -- one which I find to be quite dispositive in the argument over the existence of God: Flew concedes that the theist position is as consonant...

I am an evangelical Christian who believes in the doctrines of God's existence, His creation of the universe out of nothing and His omnipotent and omniscient nature as taught in Scripture, articulated in the pronouncements of the early Church councils, and held in common by orthodox Christian churches. What I want to discuss with those who do not hold such opinions is the basis of their not fully accepting or rejecting these positions. (I recognize that Orthodox Jews and devout Muslims hold to a basically similar view of God, even though they reject the Christian concept of the Trinity.) The...

Answering the Big Questions of Life Sue Bohlin Sue Bohlin is an associate speaker with Probe Ministries. She attended the University of Illinois, and has been a Bible teacher and conference speaker for over 25 years. She serves as a Mentoring Mom for MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers), and on the board of Living Hope Ministries, a Christ-centered outreach to those wanting to leave homosexuality. She is also a professional calligrapher and the webservant for Probe Ministries; but most importantly, she is the wife of Dr. Ray Bohlin and the mother of their two college-age sons. One of the most important...