Ex atheist champion now believes in god

This was a pretty big dude in the atheist global community. Amazing stuff
http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/atheist_believes_in_god.htm

A British philosophy professor who has been a leading champion of atheism for more than a half-century has changed his mind. He now believes in God more or less based on scientific evidence, and says so on a video released Thursday.

At age 81, after decades of insisting belief is a mistake, Antony Flew has concluded that some sort of intelligence or first cause must have created the universe. 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.

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."

Flew first made his mark with the 1950 article "Theology and Falsification," based on a paper for the Socratic Club, a weekly Oxford religious forum led by writer and Christian thinker C.S. Lewis.

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.

The letter commended arguments in Schroeder's "The Hidden Face of God" and "The Wonder of the World" by Varghese, an Eastern Rite Catholic layman.

This week, Flew finished writing the first formal account of his new outlook for the introduction to a new edition of his "God and Philosophy," scheduled for release next year by Prometheus Press.

Prometheus specializes in skeptical thought, but if his belief upsets people, well "that's too bad," Flew said. "My whole life has been guided by the principle of Plato's Socrates: Follow the evidence, wherever it leads."

Last week, Richard Carrier, a writer and Columbia University graduate student, posted new material based on correspondence with Flew on the atheistic Web page. Carrier assured atheists that Flew accepts only a "minimal God" and believes in no afterlife.

Flew's "name and stature are big. Whenever you hear people talk about atheists, Flew always comes up," Carrier said. Still, when it comes to Flew's reversal, "apart from curiosity, I don't think it's like a big deal."

Flew told The Associated Press his current ideas have some similarity with American "intelligent design" theorists, who see evidence for a guiding force in the construction of the universe. He accepts Darwinian evolution but doubts it can explain the ultimate origins of life.

A Methodist minister's son, Flew became an atheist at 15.

Early in his career, he argued that no conceivable events could constitute proof against God for believers, so skeptics were right to wonder whether the concept of God meant anything at all.

Another landmark was his 1984 "The Presumption of Atheism," playing off the presumption of innocence in criminal law. Flew said the debate over God must begin by presuming atheism, putting the burden of proof on those arguing that God exists.

 

The brain is created like , it has to believe to God/ Allah. According to pewforum -One in five self-described atheists, whose main tenet is to reject belief in God, say they believe in God or a universal spirit.

 

Deathbed confession.

The best way to live.

 

God is amazing isnt he, there are so many more believers in god then there are atheists. Its hard for most people to reject common sense and the beautiful awesome universe. It just makes perfect sense.

 

We all deep down know that there is something bigger, after all what do people do when their in dire situations like if a plane that is going down?

If you don't believe in god why pray to him when you need it? right. and pioneer gold I was thinking the same thing

 

You wont believe the amount of "believers" that actually don't believe the existence of god, they are just going along with it, because most had been brought in the religion, thus, the thought is embedded in their heads.

It is quite natural for non-believers to "convert" to religion when they are almost dead or is going to face death.

It is also fair to say to think of the existence of a "higher beings" when after all many forms of questions that goes on a persons head as he live on this earth, but which of those religion that is correct and the bullshit that a "messiah" came to earth or was appointed by god to write the rules of living correctly is highly contradiction.

 

....so what?

He is a man nearing the end of his life suffering from mental decline... it's hardly a resounding endorsement for your god is it.

 

Religion!

Last haven of the Old, Dying, and Decrepit, the Unintelligent, the Mentally Ill, the Uneducated, and the Self-Deceptive!

Who wouldn't convert with membership like that!

 

Ex atheist champion now believes in god.

He'll stay at the atheist hell forever for this

 

He seems very alert and aware of what hes saying. Sounds like you wont admit when an atheist is coming to his senses. He sounded like he knew exactly what he was saying, and like i said before one day i will see some of the atheist on this forum at church and we will pray together Stox
Seems like this guy knew all along that god does exist and he saw it in front of his eyes but like most atheists who probably had some kind of bad experience with a person from a certain religion they react with illogical emotions and put down religion wherever they go. Sounds familiar Stox.

Sounds to me like this professor is at total peace with himself, and he found god, seems like the ranks of the atheists are getting thin as more and more(which explains why they are so desperate to spam atheistic hate towards religious people) people believe in god these days and the stats are continually showing this. Even where my parents come from there are zillions of people walking around with masters degrees in bio-mechanics and philosophy etc etc yet they know the logic of proclaiming gods existence.
Give it up for intelligent design.

 

Believing in a designer doesn't seem silly to me. Believing that you not only know what that designer is and that you rely on an ancient book created by primitive people for proof or explanation is what is silly.

 

Of course it doesnt seem silly to you Logicflux because you are speaking out of reason and not some poor placed hatred like a few of the atheist spammers here and on the net are. You are at peace with yourself. Now as far as what religion you are from that is a personal choice and not something that really is debatable.

If you want to talk about historic intellect, during the era of muslim enlightenment it was islam that encouraged scientific thinking and it was the arabs that led the world in areas like mathametics. This is fact. Im not muslim but that doesnt mean i cant speak about historic facts.

Now back to atheism. I myself as a catholic have never really tried to convert people by going out in the streets and spreading hatred and false information about atheism or other religions. Im not so insecure about my religion to want to do that. I instead just let my faith do my talking through my intentions and acts towards other people.

These atheist spammers , instead of wasting their time spreading thsi bs, should try to come to peace with themselves and whatever isolated crazy epoisode they had with atheists.

On eof my best friends is atheist, and i pray for him to go to heaven each day. These are called good intentions.

 

You seem to rely heavily on how things "seem" and how they "sound" and put very little importance on what it "is", Which is a man, nearing the end of his life, who is suffering from mental decline. Sure he is probably still a very intelligent man, But the fact is, when someone gets to 81 their brain isn't going to be as good as it was, say, when he was an atheist, and they are likely to start hedging their bets, it's called pascals wager. Like i said, it;s hardly a resounding endorsement for your god, or any god, really.

you have reduced your argument to nothing more than an appeal to authority taking advantage of a man who's change of mind was likely inspired by fear, not reason. when someone converts to a religion (even though he didn't) when they are over 80 it's not because they have "seen sense", It's because they are going to die very soon and it frightens them. Have the dignity to not use that as a stick to beat them with.

 

When I say it doesn't seem silly to me, I mean it doesn't seem silly to believe that a designer is responsible for the existence of everything ultimately, or it at least doesn't seem any sillier than other explanations since we don't know yet ultimately where it all came from and why. I just wanted to clarify that I wasn't talking about the intelligent design "theory" as I do think that is silly.

 

Sorry Stox he is in full control of his mental facilities. Its just that your in denial and that is understandable. You say he is inspired by fear . Does he look like hes scared of anything to you. Thats right, it doesnt. As far as his age my dad is near that age and he is the same person mentally now that he was back then. You just cant accept that an atheist now believes in god. This is called excuse making, but, thank god, the facts speak for themselves dont they. Sorry it doesnt conform to your beliefs, but a former champion of atheism now believes in god.
You have no proof that he is speaking out of fear
you have no facts that he has lost his mental faculties
None whatsoever
so you resort to making up excuses for him.
Sorry but the facts speak for themselves.
Logicflux as far as your belief on what is and what isnt silly, its all good . You have a right to your belief just as i have a right to mine. We both cant prove each other wrong, and its left up to faith, but as far as intelligent design it makes perfect sense to me and i have spoken about why i do believe as i do and im sure u have also, but at least your posts arent filled with hate and hidden agendas so i respect you for that.

Stox, and you are reduced to putting words into the mans mouth, and until you know the man yourself you cant really do that with any accuracy. He himself has said he isnt changing his beliefs out of fear but out of common sense. You can keep trying to put your own spin on his words though if it makes you feel any better

 

Hint:

Society, do your job, protect children, stop psychological abuse of children and you'll see the religious shit go away in a few generations.

 

sorry, But when you get to 84 (the age he is in the interview) you simply aren't as mentally capable as you were at a younger age.

The fact that he spent his entire life as an atheists and decided to change his mind at 81 suggests to me that something age related played a part, as it would suggest to any honest person.

Ad hoc anecdotal evidence? Well that settles it! I forgot that the entire field of age related mental decline was based entirely on what your dad does.... oh wait, it's not!

I can accept it. Lot's of atheists change their minds, As do lots of christians. What i'm saying is it's in poor taste for you to use this old mans conversion at a time when he is nearing the end of his life as a stick to beat him with.. have some damn dignity.

 

If one was to transcribe what he says in that video and put it up next to your typical post, which would show more mental capability? Maturity? Humility? Honesty? You would win in none of these categories.

 

The fact is, At 81, the age which he had this convenient revelation, He wouldn't be as mentally capable as he was during the rest of his life - A life he spent entirely as an atheist.

Do you not agree that an inverse correlation is generally seen between cognitive function and age?

 

I have observed quite a few people experience a rapid decline in the last few years but up until those last few years they could be described as "sharp as a tack". I was talking to a man today that mentioned his 75th birthday in the past tense and he is as capable as any 60 ,50, or 40 year old and much wiser than any 30 or 20 year old.

The one thing that does increase at his age is his sense of mortality.