Product Description

In one of the biggest religion news stories of the new millennium, the Associated Press announced that Professor Antony Flew, the world's leading atheist, now believes in God.

Flew is a pioneer for modern atheism. His famous paper, Theology and Falsification, was first presented at a meeting of the Oxford Socratic Club chaired by C. S. Lewis and went on to become the most widely reprinted philosophical publication of the last five decades. Flew earned his fame by arguing that one should presuppose atheism until evidence of a God surfaces. He now believes that such evidence exists, and There Is a God chronicles his journey from staunch atheism to believer.

For the first time, this book will present a detailed and fascinating account of Flew's riveting decision to revoke his previous beliefs and argue for the existence of God. Ever since Flew's announcement, there has been great debate among atheists and believers alike about what exactly this "conversion" means. There Is a God will finally put this debate to rest.

This is a story of a brilliant mind and reasoned thinker, and where his lifelong intellectual pursuit eventually led him: belief in God as designer.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19470 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-01
• Released on: 2007-10-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 222 pages

From Publishers Weekly
British philosopher Flew has long been something of an evangelist for atheism, debating theologians and pastors in front of enormous crowds. In 2004, breathless news reports announced that the nonagenarian had changed his mind. This book tells why. Ironically, his arguments about the absurdity of God-talk launched a revival of philosophical theists, some of whom, like Alvin Plantinga and Richard Swinburne, were important in Flew's recent conversion to theism. Breakthroughs in science, especially cosmology, also played a part: if the speed or mass of the electron were off just a little, no life could have evolved on this planet. Perhaps the arrogance of the New Atheists also emboldened him, as Flew taunts them for failing to live up to the greatness of atheists of yore. The book concludes with an appendix by New Testament scholar and Anglican bishop N.T. Wright, arguing for the coherence of Christian belief in the resurrection. Flew praises Wright, though he maintains some distance still from orthodox Christianity. The book will be most avidly embraced by traditional theists seeking argumentative ammunition. It sometimes disappoints: quoting other authorities at length, citing religion-friendly scientists for pages at a time and belaboring side issues, like the claim that Einstein was really a religious believer of sorts. (Nov.)
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Review
"A fascinating record …it will come as a most uncomfortable jolt to those who were once his fellow atheists." -- Nicholas Wolterstorff, Noah Porter Professor Emeritus of Philosophical Theology, Yale University

"A most valuable and readable overview of the many evidential changes of landscape that 20th century science is furnishing to the oldest question in Western civilization: Is there a God?" -- American Spectator

"A stellar philosophical mind ponders the latest scientific results. The conclusion: a God stands behind the rationality of nature." -- Michael Behe, author of Darwin's Black Box and The Edge of Evolution

"Antony Flew not only has the philosophical virtues; he has the virtues of the philosopher. Civil in argument, relentlessly reasonable…." -- Ralph McInerny, Professor of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame

"Flew couldn’t be more engaging and remain an analytic philosopher..." -- Booklist

"Flew’s exposition will be a source for reflective inquiry for many, many years..." -- Daniel N. Robinson, Philosophy Department, Oxford University

"The most lucid and penetrative pieces of philosophical theology to appear in years, altogether brilliant." -- The Catholic Herald

"This is a fascinating and very readable account …" -- Professor John Hick, Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Research in Arts and Social Sciences, University of Birmingham

"This is a remarkable book in many ways." -- Huston Smith, author of The World's Religions

"Towering and courageous... Flew’s colleagues in the church of fundamentalist atheism will be scandalized." -- Francis S. Collins, New York Times bestselling author of The Language of God

Customer Reviews

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).

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.

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.