In the last half of the twentieth century, the world’s most famous unbeliever was an English philosopher named Antony Flew. Long before Dawkins, Dennett, Hitchens, and Harris attacked God and religion, Flew was the leading spokesman for the atheist movement. An honorary member of the New Zealand Association of Rationalists and Humanists, and a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, Flew received many honors from the intellectual community, including the In Praise of Reason Award, in recognition of his “long-standing contributions to the use of methods of critical inquiry, scientific evidence, and reason in evaluating claims to knowledge and solving
social problems.”6 Then, in 2004, the unthinkable happened. Flew shocked the world by announcing he had come to believe in God. His defection threw atheists into a frenzy. They immediately turned on him and began to
question whether his conversion might be due to his declining mental capacities.7 Flew, however, remained sharp as a whip. When asked why he had become a believer, he calmly replied:
There were two factors in particular that were decisive. One was my 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. The second was 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. I believe that the origin of life and reproduction simply cannot be explained from a biological standpoint despite numerous efforts to do so. With every passing year, the more that was discovered about the richness and inherent intelligence of life, the less it seemed likely that a chemical soup could magically generate the genetic code. The difference between life and non-life, it became apparent to me, was ontological and not chemical. The best confirmation of this radical gulf is 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. No, I did not hear a Voice. It was the evidence itself that led me to this conclusion.
Doesn’t sound much like “declining mental capacities,” does it? Nevertheless, atheists unleashed a storm of invective against Flew (that’s what they do best), and to this day they are licking their wounds.
Anthony DeStefano, Inside the atheist mind, page 82
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNkxpTIbCIw
social problems.”6 Then, in 2004, the unthinkable happened. Flew shocked the world by announcing he had come to believe in God. His defection threw atheists into a frenzy. They immediately turned on him and began to
question whether his conversion might be due to his declining mental capacities.7 Flew, however, remained sharp as a whip. When asked why he had become a believer, he calmly replied:
There were two factors in particular that were decisive. One was my 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. The second was 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. I believe that the origin of life and reproduction simply cannot be explained from a biological standpoint despite numerous efforts to do so. With every passing year, the more that was discovered about the richness and inherent intelligence of life, the less it seemed likely that a chemical soup could magically generate the genetic code. The difference between life and non-life, it became apparent to me, was ontological and not chemical. The best confirmation of this radical gulf is 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. No, I did not hear a Voice. It was the evidence itself that led me to this conclusion.
Doesn’t sound much like “declining mental capacities,” does it? Nevertheless, atheists unleashed a storm of invective against Flew (that’s what they do best), and to this day they are licking their wounds.
Anthony DeStefano, Inside the atheist mind, page 82
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNkxpTIbCIw
