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Famous Atheist Now Believes in God
NY Newsday ^ | 12/9/04 | RICHARD N. OSTLING

Posted on 12/10/2004 7:08:12 AM PST by Michael_Michaelangelo

NEW YORK -- 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.

(Excerpt) Read more at nynewsday.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: antonyflew; atheism; atheist; atheists; convert; evolution; god; intelligentdesign; ssdd
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To: Michael_Michaelangelo
Famous Atheist in Hell Now Believes in God?

Bottom line,....sad

121 posted on 12/10/2004 8:32:44 AM PST by maestro
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To: valuesvaluesvalues

I stand corrected.


122 posted on 12/10/2004 8:32:59 AM PST by WildTurkey
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To: AnalogReigns
C. S. Lewis too first had a conversion to theism (from atheism), and only a couple years later did he finally believe in Christ.

That is correct. There are Christians on this thread who would have mocked C.S.Lewis when he said "I have become a theist."

It would be better to have a millstone tied around the neck.

123 posted on 12/10/2004 8:32:59 AM PST by Taliesan (The power of the State to do good is the power of the State to do evil.)
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To: WOSG

"Ah. Secularists want a monopoly on imposing their morality on others."

Well, you are lumping me in with a lot of other things. How is mairjuana legalization forcing morality on you? It is not, that is like says i would put you in jail for NOT smoking marijuana. We are kind of getting OT here, so hit me up in a different more Marijuana type thread.


124 posted on 12/10/2004 8:33:48 AM PST by pnome
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To: Taliesan
I'm a Christian, and I'm glad they stopped praying in public schools.

People pray in school all the time, usually right before exams. :^}

But I'm with you if you are talking about government schools. I'm really not interested in some government employee, who might be a nut, teaching my kids how and what to pray. These are the same people who deliver the mail, how on earth would we expect them to do this right?

The Christian schools where I sent my children are a different story.

125 posted on 12/10/2004 8:34:01 AM PST by Protagoras (Christmas is not a secular holiday)
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To: pnome
"The burden of proof is not on me. It is on the one making the claim that thier IS a heaven."

I'm making the claim that others besides myself have a mind that that they aren't really pre-programmed robots.

Do you think I can "prove" that?

Do you think a rational person would "try" to prove that?

Rational minds have logical reasons for holding certain presuppositions.

And I hate to tell you this, but the burden of proof IS on you to prove why we're not entitled to certain presuppositions.

Is it irrational to believe that thirst presupposes water?

126 posted on 12/10/2004 8:34:13 AM PST by Matchett-PI (All DemocRATS are either religious moral relativists, libertines or anarchists.)
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To: pnome

"How about, say, prayer in school. Christians don't want prayer in public school because they are worried about their children praying. No doubt those kids get plenty of prayer in, they want OTHER peoples children to pray. "

I want Christian ethics taught in school because that is the only ethics that guarantees the concept of personal responsibility.

Secular public schools are inadequate at teaching character. They destroy character development by preaching the religion of moral relativism, feeeelings, and 'diversity' as ethics instead of discipline/character/moral action.

And YES, I would like the OTHER brats to learn this, along with my wonderful angelic perfect children. (If you met them you'd certainly agree with my assessments.)
As it is we are training a generation of barbarians.

A lot of bad things happened in schools when prayer and God was taken out.


127 posted on 12/10/2004 8:34:53 AM PST by WOSG (Liberating Iraq - http://freedomstruth.blogspot.com)
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To: Taliesan

Sorry i should have been more specific, Christians who lobby for prayer in schools.


128 posted on 12/10/2004 8:34:56 AM PST by pnome
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To: ColoCdn
Canucks fan, or one of those frozen-tundra easterners?

Hail from Vancouver but live under duress in the Novosobirsk of North America
proud anti-Canadian only watched one hockey game in my life
and vowed never to undergo such torture ever again.

129 posted on 12/10/2004 8:35:04 AM PST by Allan
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To: Protagoras

"There is no proof that Socrates ever lived."

There is not proof Jesus ever did either, what was your point here? Living is not extraordinary, being resurrected is.


130 posted on 12/10/2004 8:36:25 AM PST by pnome
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To: AnalogReigns
Sometimes conversion is a long process.

Usually, except for Saints and Prophets, this is the better way. Remember the parable of the sower...

131 posted on 12/10/2004 8:36:38 AM PST by frog_jerk_2004
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To: Raycpa
I should have made a distinction between legalization and use.

Bingo

BTW, EVERY single Christian I know is a sinner, so I'll introduce you to some pot smokers, drinkers, and all manner of other sinners. Devout Christians, who fail daily.

Thank God for the grace of Christ.

132 posted on 12/10/2004 8:37:20 AM PST by Protagoras (Christmas is not a secular holiday)
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To: Taliesan
"There are Christians on this thread who would have mocked C.S.Lewis.."

As the 'Saturday Night Live Church Lady' would say, "Isn't that special?"

133 posted on 12/10/2004 8:38:23 AM PST by Matchett-PI (All DemocRATS are either religious moral relativists, libertines or anarchists.)
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To: WOSG

"I want Christian ethics taught in school because that is the only ethics that guarantees the concept of personal responsibility."

Then why do I understand the concept of personal responsibility?


134 posted on 12/10/2004 8:39:12 AM PST by pnome
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To: pnome

"Those laws are there because Christians lobbied to put them thier."

So what? Is there some Constitutional Amendment that denies the right of believers to participate in the political process?

Since 80% of Americans believe in God *any* law is put there by 'Christians/believers' etc.


135 posted on 12/10/2004 8:39:37 AM PST by WOSG (Liberating Iraq - http://freedomstruth.blogspot.com)
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To: pnome
I do like debating with you Protagoras.

Aw, gee,,,(blushing) another member of the Protagoras fan club. LOL

I think you have me wrong. Those laws are there because Christians lobbied to put them thier.

All kinds of people who think they know whats good for others lobbied for it, it wasn't only Christians.

136 posted on 12/10/2004 8:40:35 AM PST by Protagoras (Christmas is not a secular holiday)
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To: Raycpa

"How did they get their assigned functions ?"

We cannot know. They have, as far as we know, always had them.


137 posted on 12/10/2004 8:42:06 AM PST by pnome
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To: MayflowerMadam

Jesus is attacked because
He is God made flesh.
To acknowledge the truth of Jesus you must acknowledge also the existence of good and evil.
Modern secular dogma does not acknowledge these concepts, only behavioral problems.


138 posted on 12/10/2004 8:43:16 AM PST by steve8714 (Urban sprawl and citizens' guns will save this country.)
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To: Killing Time
When they look deep inside they know that there is nothing else.

I believe you meant "...they know there is something else."

No, I don't think they do. Most athiests would not regard that as a mode of knowledge.

I think they wish there was something else. And that wish, you see, is DATA.

That explanation of the universe which best explains all the DATA using the least number of entities is the one to be preferred. Most atheists simply do not believe an extra entity, called "god", is necessary to explain the DATA. What changes for some of them as they near death is not that they perceive something new they never perceived before -- no, they simply allow into the DATA SET perceptions they previously DID NOT INCLUDE IN THE DATA SET.

If mankind universally wishes for eternity, and dogs (presumably) do not, then that wish is, in itself, data which any proposed cosmology must account for. It not only is data -- it is critical data, since it is among the things that distinguish the species from other species.

How much explanatory power does an explanation hold if it systematically ignores more data the more complex the organism? This is a sign it is false.

My only point is that Flew, like David Brudnoy who is also in the news today, simply decided his wish for eternity might be more than aberrant chemistry -- and if it is, there is a God.

139 posted on 12/10/2004 8:44:02 AM PST by Taliesan (The power of the State to do good is the power of the State to do evil.)
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To: WOSG
A lot of bad things happened in schools when prayer and God was taken out governments took them over.

Edited to show the real problem.

Send your kids to private schools. Abolish government schools so you won't have to pay twice.

140 posted on 12/10/2004 8:44:12 AM PST by Protagoras (Christmas is not a secular holiday)
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