Antony Flew: Former Atheist

[loco]

Professor Antony Garrard Newton Flew (born February 11, 1923) is a British philosopher. Known for several decades as a prominent atheist, Flew first publicly expressed deist views in 2004[1].

While an undergraduate, Flew attended the weekly meetings of C. S. Lewis's Socratic Club fairly regularly. Although he found Lewis to be "an eminently reasonable man" and "by far the most powerful of Christian apologists for the sixty or more years following his founding of that club," he was not persuaded by Lewis's argument from morality as found in Mere Christianity.

Flew also criticized several of the other philosophical proofs for God's existence. He concluded that the ontological argument in particular failed because it is based on the premise that the concept of Being can be derived from the concept of Goodness. Only the scientific forms of the teleological argument ultimately impressed Flew as decisive.[3]

In God and Philosophy (1966) and The Presumption of Atheism (1984), Flew earned his fame by arguing that one should presuppose atheism until evidence of a God surfaces. He still stands behind this evidentialist approach, though he has been persuaded in recent years that such evidence exists, and his current position appears to be deism. In a December 2004 interview he said: 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.[4]

On several occasions, apparently starting in 2001, rumours circulated claiming that Flew had converted from atheism.

Flew states that certain philosophical and scientific considerations had caused him to rethink his lifelong support of atheism.

In December 2004, an interview with Flew conducted by Flew's friend and philosophical adversary Gary Habermas was published in Biola University's Philosophia Christi, with the title Atheist Becomes Theist - Exclusive Interview with Former Atheist Antony Flew. Flew agreed to this title.[1]

Flew's conception of God as explained in the interview is limited to the idea of God as a first cause. He rejects the ideas of an afterlife, of God as the source of good (he explicitly states that God has created "a lot of" evil), and of the resurrection of Jesus as an historical fact though he has allowed a short chapter arguing for Christ's resurrection to be added into his latest book.

In late 2006, Flew joined 11 other academics in urging the British government to teach intelligent design in the public schools.[12]

In 2007, Flew published a book titled There is a God, which was listed as having Roy Abraham Varghese as its co-author.

Shortly after the book was released, the New York Times published an article reporting Varghese had been almost entirely responsible for writing the book, and that Flew was in a serious state of mental decline, having great difficulty remembering key figures, ideas, and events relating to the debate covered in the book.[6] The article provoked a public outcry, in which PZ Myers called Varghese "a contemptible manipulator."[13] In response Flew released the following statement through his publisher:[14]

"My name is on the book and it represents exactly my opinions. I would not have a book issued in my name that I do not 100 percent agree with. I needed someone to do the actual writing because I'm 84 and that was Roy Varghese's role. The idea that someone manipulated me because I'm old is exactly wrong. I may be old but it is hard to manipulate me. This is my book and it represents my thinking."

However, in 2007, in an interview with Benjamin Wiker, Flew said again that his deism was the result of his "growing empathy with the insight of Einstein and other noted scientists that there had to be an Intelligence behind the integrated complexity of the physical Universe" and "my own insight that the integrated complexity of life itself – which is far more complex than the physical Universe – can only be explained in terms of an Intelligent Source." In addition, he rejected "Richard Dawkins' comical effort to argue in The God Delusion that the origin of life can be attributed to a "lucky chance." If that's the best argument you have, then the game is over." He also restated that he was not a Christian theist. [17]

Richard Dawkins on Anthony Flew:

Flew was awarded the Schlarbaum Prize by the Ludwig von Mises Institute for his "outstanding lifetime achievement in the cause of liberty."[20] Upon acceptance of the award in Auburn, Alabama, in September 2001, Flew delivered an address entitled "Locke versus Rawls on Equality." Of his choice of topics, he stated "I am the first Englishman and the first professional philosopher to receive the Schlarbaum Prize. So it seems appropriate to begin by talking about the greatest English philosopher, John Locke."[21]

On May 11, 2006, Antony Flew accepted the second "Phillip E. Johnson Award for Liberty and Truth" from Biola University. The award, named for its first recipient, was given to Flew "for his lifelong commitment to free and open inquiry and to standing fast against intolerant assaults on freedom of thought and expression." When informed of his award, Flew remarked, "In light of my work and publications in this area and the criticism I've received for changing my position, I appreciate receiving this award."[22]

References

1. My Pilgrimage from Atheism to Theism An Exclusive Interview with Former British Atheist Professor Antony Flew Gary R. Habermas, Biola, December 9, 2004. pp 6
http://www.biola.edu/antonyflew/page6.cfm#8

2. Jan Faye. "Backward Causation", Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, August 29, 2005. 
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/causation-backwards/

3. My Pilgrimage from Atheism to Theism An Exclusive Interview with Former British Atheist Professor Antony Flew Gary R. Habermas, Biola, December 9, 2004. pp 2
http://www.biola.edu/antonyflew/page2.cfm

4. Atheist Philosopher, 81, Now Believes in God Richard N. Ostling. Associated Press, December 10, 2004.
http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/atheist_philosopher_041210.html

5. Sorry to Disappoint, but I'm Still an Atheist! Antony Flew. Internet Infidels, August 31, 2001
http://secweb.infidels.org/?kiosk=articles&id=138

6. The Turning of an Atheist,Mark Oppenheimer, New York Times Magazine, 11/4/07
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/magazine/04Flew-t.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

7. Antony Flew Considers God...Sort Of Richard Carrier. SecWeb, October 10, 2004.
http://secweb.infidels.org/?kiosk=articles&id=369

8. No longer atheist, Flew stands by "Presumption of Atheism" By Duncan Crary. Humanist Network News, December 22, 2004.
http://www.humaniststudies.org/enews/index.html?id=172&syn=true#n1

9. Letter from Antony Flew on Darwinism and Theology Philosophy Now, issue 47.
http://www.philosophynow.org/issue47/47flew.htm

10. BBC interview, Professor Antony FlewMarch 22, 2005.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/belief/scripts/antony_flew.html

11. Thinking Straighter | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/april/29.80.html

12. Creationism gains foothold in schools, TimesOnline, The Times

13. Roy Varghese and the exploitation of Antony Flew, Pharyngula
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/11/roy_varghese_and_the_exploitat.php

14. Times Magazine Piece on Former Atheist Kicks Up Controversy
http://www.publishersweekly.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6501078

15. Dr. Craig's Current Events Audio Blog - RFMedia.org
http://www.rfmedia.org/blog/index.php?id=4

16. Richard Carrier Blogs: Craig the Annoyed
http://richardcarrier.blogspot.com/2007/12/craig-annoyed.html

17. http://www.tothesource.org/10_30_2007/10_30_2007.htm

18. From UnChristian to Christian
http://www.crosswalk.com/blogs/rnicoll/11562658/

19. Better Off Out supporters
http://www.betteroffout.co.uk/sup01.htm

20. Antony G.N. Flew: 2001 Schlarbaum Laureate
http://news.mises.org/resources/21573ebd-c3aa-4a82-afdb-eaa5ba1a7501

21. Flew, Antony. "Locke versus Rawls on Equality" Mises.org. 24 October 2001.
http://www.mises.org/article.aspx?Id=810&FS=Locke+Versus+Rawls+on+Equality

22. "Former Atheist to Receive Award at Biola", Biola News. 
http://www.biola.edu/news/articles/060327_flew.cfm

[I ETA PI]

Have you ever pissed in a girl's mouth? 
Always wondered if it would be cool that a skank let me do that, or if I would be too disgusted to finish her bodily fluid bath with my spunk.

[loco]

No

[Nordic Superman]

Have you ever pissed in a girl's mouth? 
Always wondered if it would be cool that a skank let me do that, or if I would be too disgusted to finish her bodily fluid bath with my spunk.

What kind of bullshit is this?

[loco]

HABERMAS: C. S. Lewis explained in his autobiography that he moved first from atheism to theism and only later from theism to Christianity. Given your great respect for Christianity, do you think that there is any chance that you might in the end move from theism to Christianity?

FLEW: I think it’s very unlikely, due to the problem of evil. But, if it did happen, I think it would be in some eccentric fit and doubtfully orthodox form: regular religious practice perhaps but without belief. If I wanted any sort of future life I should become a Jehovah’s Witness. But some things I am completely confident about. I would never regard Islam with anything but horror and fear because it is fundamentally committed to conquering the world for Islam. It was because the whole of Palestine was part of the land of Islam that Muslim Arab armies moved in to try to destroy Israel at birth, and why the struggle for the return of the still surviving refugees and their numerous descendents continue to this day.

HABERMAS: I ask this last question with a smile, Tony. But just think what would happen if one day you were pleasantly disposed toward Christianity and all of a sudden the resurrection of Jesus looked pretty good to you?

FLEW: Well, one thing I’ll say in this comparison is that, for goodness sake, Jesus is an enormously attractive charismatic figure, which the Prophet of Islam most emphatically is not.

My Pilgrimage from Atheism to Theism An Exclusive Interview with Former British Atheist Professor Antony Flew Gary R. Habermas, Biola, December 9, 2004. pp 6
http://www.biola.edu/antonyflew/page6.cfm#8