This doesn’t really belong in the News category at all, but there are probably a few GodWords readers who haven’t read anything about it. You see, I studied both religion and philosophy in college (along with a couple of aimless years studying broadcasting)…so philosophical ideas and people interest me.
Antony Flew is a philosopher. Until recently, he’d been a very well-respected and influential atheist. No, he hasn’t been discredited for living a double life or anything…he’s still well-respected and influential. What’s changed is that he’s no longer an atheist.
This dude’s been around for a while. He was born in 1923, and used to attend the Oxford Socratic Club, of which CS Lewis was the first president. He’s taught or lectured on philosophy most of his life. He’s written quite a bit, as one would expect of a philosopher…but his most recent book may be his most controversial. It’s titled There Is a God, and subtitled How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind.
I haven’t yet read it, but I want to. I’m interested in seeing how his unrelenting commitment to sound thinking led him away from atheism to deism. In his own words, he “had to go where the evidence leads”. If you’d like to read his exclusive interview with Gary Habermas, go here…or you can download a PDF of the interview.
Let me be clear: Antony Flew is not, from what I can tell, a Christian. He has acknowledged belief in God, but only from a philosophical perspective:
…the only reason which I have for beginning to think of believing in a First Cause god is the impossibility of providing a naturalistic account of the origin of the first reproducing organisms.
Antony Flew
I respect anyone who’s willing to change their mind based on the evidence, and I’ll be praying for Antony Flew. It’s one thing to believe that a god must exist, and another thing entirely to encounter Him personally.
Interact with me on Twitter!
Comments