Book Reviews
"Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed." Francis Bacon (d. 1626)
There Is A God: How The World`s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind
Antony Flew, with Roy Abraham Varghese, New York: HarperOne, 2007, $25
Reviewed by John Scott,[1] Dallas TX
Many atheists have changed their minds, but none have attracted as much media attention as Antony Flew. That`s because he had been the world`s intellectual champion for atheism for more than fifty years. He wrote over thirty philosophical works, some of which are considered classics by atheists. Then, in 2004, he made the surprise announcement that he now believes in God. His new book, There is a God, explains why he disagrees with his former self.
Part I of the book, "My Denial of the Divine," tells how Flew became an atheist despite growing up in a good Christian home as the son of a Methodist preacher. And he continued to be an atheist notwithstanding his association at Oxford with C. S. Lewis, the former atheist who had become a Christian apologist.
Part II, "My Discovery of the Divine," explains how science and reason finally compelled Flew to believe in God. In one of Flew`s earlier works he took the position that those who say God exists have the burden of proof. Flew has not changed his mind on that point. But now he believes that burden has been met. He calls the evidence "compelling and irrefutable." Based in part on recent DNA research he says, "The only satisfactory explanation for the origin of `end-directed, self-replicating` life as we see on earth, is an infinitely intelligent Mind." And he finally concedes that a Divine Mind is "the only viable explanation" for the origin of the laws of nature.
Flew does not personally disparage any of the currently popular atheists. But he does undercut their credibility by pointing out various misstatements in their books. I`ll cite just one example. Richard Dawkins is generally regarded as the world`s leading atheist now that Flew has relinquished that "honor." In his best selling book The God Delusion Dawkins takes several pages to convince his readers that Einstein was an atheist. Flew refutes Dawkins in a rather straightforward way-he uses an exact quote by Einstein that begins: "I`m not an atheist."
Is Flew Really the Author?
An article in the New York Times magazine, written as if it were an exposé, "revealed" that a friend of Flew did most of the actual writing on this book.[2] His name is Roy Abraham Varghese. That hardly qualifies as investigative journalism. The cover of Flew`s book plainly shows it was written "with Roy Abraham Varghese." And the practice of getting help with the writing of a book is extremely common. Walk into any bookstore and see how many autobiographies are written "with" another writer.
In any event, Flew shot back this response: "My name is on the book and it represents exactly my opinions. I would not have a book issued in my name that I do not 100 percent agree with. I needed someone to do the actual writing because I`m 84 and that was Roy Varghese`s role. The idea that someone manipulated me because I`m old is exactly wrong. I may be old but it is hard to manipulate me. This is my book and it represents my thinking."[3]
The credibility of Flew`s response is enhanced by his reputation for integrity, which is as solid as a blacksmith`s anvil. Not even Christian scholars questioned that when Flew was an atheist.
Even before the New York Times magazine article was written, the following facts were well known and undisputed: The world`s leading atheist had changed his mind and announced his belief in God. He made that announcement himself, in person and in public. No one made it for him. He did it at a symposium that was videotaped at New York University, and he granted several interviews afterwards in which he discussed his reasons. Those are the same reasons explained in his book. So there has never been any doubt that the thinking reflected in the book came from the mind of Antony Flew.
Flew`s Position on Religion
C. S. Lewis stopped being an atheist before he became a Christian. That`s where Flew is now. He accepts the existence of God, but is still pondering religious claims based on "divine revelation." And he says, "I think that the Christian religion is the one religion that most clearly deserves to be honored and respected . . . ." But Flew still has questions. So he asked Bishop N. T. Wright to address those questions in an appendix. (Bishop Wright is the author of the highly acclaimed 740-page book, The Resurrection of the Son of God.) The questions are: How do we know that Jesus existed? What grounds are there for claiming, from the texts, that Jesus is God Incarnate? What evidence is there for the resurrection of Christ?
Following the Bishop`s responses to those questions, Flew wrote: "I am very much impressed with Bishop Wright`s approach, which is absolutely fresh. He presents the case for Christianity as something new for the first time."
In my opinion, the appendix by Bishop Wright is worth the price of the book.
A Qualified Recommendation of the Book
Over the past 50 years I have read hundreds of essays, articles and books on both sides of the God debate. Most arguments for God`s existence can be loosely divided into two broad categories: those based on scientific observation and those based on personal experience. After Francis Bacon formulated the scientific method, he said the best proof is still "personal experience." The path of science may lead to belief in a Creator, but the path of experience to faith in a Savior.
I would put Flew`s book on the "must read" list in the first category-books that purport to prove the existence of a Creator through science and reason. However, I will not pretend that I understood all of it. I very much enjoyed those parts I did understand. But there is much in the book outside my body of knowledge. I am among the more than ninety-nine percent of the people on this planet who are not experts in physics, geology, chemistry, biology and astronomy. I know very little about DNA, which played a major role in Flew`s thinking. And I don`t have sufficient time to read, study, understand, verify, analyze, and draw confident conclusions from the massive volumes of complex data relied on by scientists who take conflicting positions in the God debate.
I`m glad to know that many of the world`s most esteemed scientists believe in God.[4] At least that proves a superior knowledge of science is not a barrier to faith. But my own faith is the result of experience gained from a personal "act as if" experiment.[5] C. S. Lewis said that`s what faith is, "really finding out by experience that it is true."[6] The famous doctor, psychologist, philosopher, and Harvard professor William James observed many years ago that our most important beliefs are acquired that way-by acting as if something is true before we really know it is. Of course we didn`t need William James to tell us that. We all say, "Experience is the best teacher," and "There is no substitute for experience."
Two essential parts of an experiment in faith are to pray and to practice charity. So far as we know, Antony Flew may be engaged in that kind of experiment right now. If he is, we wouldn`t necessarily know about it. He may be following the instructions of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount: to pray in secret and not to make a show of charity (Mt 6:1-6). Let us hope that is what Flew is up to. And let us pray he will finally agree with his old friend, C. S. Lewis.
[1] Copyright 2007 John R. Scott. This review contains some material from a forthcoming book.
[2] Mark Oppenheimer, "The Turning of an Atheist," New York Times, November 4, 2007.
[3] As quoted by Steve Laube, the literary agent for the book, as found on the website of Amazon.com
[4] For examples of highly esteemed scientists who believe in God, see the section "Science and Religion" in the review of "Four Books by Three Atheists," Christian Ethics Today, Summer 2007, 30.
[5] I summarized my experience in "Another Atheist Finds God," Christian Ethics Today, Fall 2005, 15
[6] C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (HarperCollins edition, 2001), 146
