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Title: There Is a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind
ISBN: 0061335290
Author:
Antony Flew
Roy Abraham Varghese
Publicate Date: 2007-11-01
Publish: 2007-11-01
List Price: $24.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $11.52
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1: Useful- But Incomplete
Antony Flew opened up a firestorm of controversy when he publicly announced his conversion from atheism to deism in late 2004. As one of the most influential atheists of the 20th century, his change in mind was stunning. Many atheists were quick to denounce Flew- claiming that he was losing touch with reality in his old age. Flew, however, stood his ground, insisting that his conversion was real, thoughtful, and based on compelling evidence for the existence of a Creator.
In "There is a God", Flew recounts his life leading up to his conversion. Starting from his humble beginnings as the son of a preacher and leading to his persuasive defense of atheism as an academic, Flew gives us a brief glimpse into his life and work. Along the way, he points out that he has had many radical `conversions' in thinking. In his view, switching from atheism to deism is no particularly big deal. He just followed the evidence where it led.
The second part of the book offers a brief discussion of this evidence. Remarkably, in sharp distinction to the numerous atheist authors writing today, Flew contends that scientific discoveries (buttressed, of course, by philosophical arguments) have vindicated the existence of God. He mentions three areas where this is starkly the case. The first is the fact that nature obeys laws. The second is the existence of intelligently organized life. The third is the very existence of nature.
Unfortunately, Flew's discussion of these issues is rather cursory. Those looking for a detailed exposition need to explore elsewhere. Nevertheless, Flew's treatment is a welcome departure from the terrible philosophical treatment of scientific issues found in many of the new atheist books. Flew rightly calls out those scientists who offer philosophical arguments concerning the implications of the scientific facts. While they are perfectly within their rights to offer their philosophical opinion, these opinions must be judged by the canons of philosophy, not science. All too often, folks like Richard Dawkins assume that their scientific expertise entails that their philosophical views should be taken as authoritative. Flew rightly points out the distinction here.
Flew's "There is a God" is a quick and easy read. If you are interested in the life and work of Antony Flew, then this book will prove useful. Those looking for an extensive discussion of the arguments for the existence of God or for a refutation of atheism must look elsewhere.
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2: If You Listen Carefully, You Can Hear The Atheists Screaming
What if a highly respected, well-known, Oxford-educated, atheist philosopher changed his mind, late in his career, and decided that he, now, believed in God?
You say, "Well, he would probably write a book with this kind of sub-title: `How The World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind.'"
You're right. And that brings us to Antony Flew's book and this review.
This book is a little bit autobiography and a good bit of philosophy with a little bit of the philosophy of science. (It's everything I can do to resist some kind of reference to: it's "a little bit country" and "a little bit rock and roll".)
Flew provides a good bit of information about his background, and this helps the reader see the larger context of his life. I found this to be interesting.
To those of us who believe in God there is great satisfaction in the fact that Flew stresses, numerous times, that one of his guiding intellectual values has long been to follow the evidence wherever it leads. And "the evidence" has led him to this conclusion: "I now believe there is a God! So there!"
Alright, if you look in the book the "So there!" part isn't really included in the text. But, in my imagination, it's a nice little shot.
Flew provides his evidence for belief in God and makes a good argument.
It is also interesting and satisfying to theists that Flew credits recent scientific advances as a significant factor in his opinion regarding the existence of God. This is satisfying to theists because sometimes belief in God is portrayed as an entirely unwarranted; blind leap of faith; embraced by uneducated people--usually wearing no shoes or socks; with no rational basis whatsoever.
Since I'm a Christian, I found another line in the book to be quite pleasing. Flew says about Christianity, "If you're wanting Omnipotence to set up a religion, this is the one to beat."
I know, I know, atheists and non-Christians will find that to be ridiculous and aggravating. But, it's still true that he wrote it. So there!
The book has two interesting appendices, one written by Roy Abraham Varghese, who is the co-writer of the book and one written by Bishop N.T. Wright. Bishop Wright's essay on "The Self-Revelation of God in Human History" is outstanding.
Dan Marler
Oak Lawn, IL
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3: How a world-renowned atheist decided he was wrong
Anthony Flew. It was a name that so many either looked up to or reviled, depending on where you stood on the God vs. Atheist debate. Here was an atheistic scholar, stubborn as all get out, who had made one of the greatest impacts in his field during the latter half of the 20th century atheism. Then, after seeing more and more evidence come forth that chipped away at his position, he shocked the world (in 2004) by announcing that he no longer disbelieved in a god. Rather, as he talks about in the book, he moved over to a more Deistic position, even though he still rejects a personal god and miracles such as the resurrection.
And how the Atheists howled, as it is obvious from the blogosphere and reviews of this book on Amazon as well. Funny how things change. Regardless of which side you find yourself, reading this book is worthwhile because of its historical significance. It certainly is deeper in nature, and you have to have your philosopher's hat on, but Flew's perspective is certainly worth considering. Co-author Roy Abraham Varghese adds an appendix where he critiques the New Atheists such as Dawkins and Co., and there is a wonderful section in the appendix written by British scholar N.T. Wright. It's well stated and is also worth the price of admission.
Again, I suggest reading it for yourself, so I'll stop here. Let me add to the atheists who love to add comments to the reviews that I don't have time to play silly games writing back and forth in meaningless dialog that gets nowhere. I rarely check my reviews and see who's left what, so please don't be disappointed if I don't respond. I have people to see, things to do, and a life to live. Oh, and I've got shelves of books I am having a hard time getting to! Perhaps some of the complainers ought to write a self-published rebuttal that they will be able to sell to their friends (and very few others).
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4: Go where the evidence leads
Those who claim that Flew doesn't address his own atheistic arguments and the even more outlandish claim that he didn't write most of the book are missing the point completely. The point of the book is not to give a point by point refutation of his previous works. It gives an overview of some of the works that lead Flew to his conversion. Through out the book, Flew talks about the books and other works that influenced his decision to convert, such as The Coherence of Theism by Swinburne, which the interested reader must then study. Flew mentions these works while sharing his personal testimony, and that is the purpose of this book.
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5: Following Where the Evidence Leads.
For those who are familiar with Anthony Flew and his work, this should be a very interesting book. Flew is a renowned philosopher who, for most of his life, argued clearly and (for many) persuasively against the existence of God. This book is the story of how he changed his mind and came to believe that God must exist. Flew's influence among atheists has been so strong that many of them have been scandalized by his change of mind. Some have gone so far at to allege that Flew did not write this book, is suffering from some sort of dementia (because of his age), and is being taken advantage of by others. I think that there is very little reason to believe these accusations unless you have a strong vested interest in atheism. An internet search on Flew's name and words like "dementia" or reading the other reviews on Amazon.com and the comments on them will give you details of the controversy.
The book is well written for the general reader and more of a story of Flew's intellectual journey than an apologetic work. In the first appendix, Roy Varghese responds directly to Flew's atheist critics. There is also a second appendix written by N. T. Wright giving a very interesting summary of his Christian approach to the question of how God reveals himself in the form of a human being who is resurrected after death. Flew does not seem committed to Christianity but says that Wright's approach is absolutely fresh and impressive. I agree. I highly recommend this book.
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