There Is a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind by Antony Flew, Roy Abraham Varghese Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of There Is a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind
Book Review: Excellent book despite what the critics say
Summary: 4 Stars
I thought this was an excellent autobiographical book and an excellent apologetic book.
By far the best chapter is chapter 6, which is Flew's argument for a Creator from the fine tuning argument. I have no reason to believe that this is not an authentic argument from Flew himself, given his current Deistic position.
I think Flew effectively refutes the "Multiverse" response as an empty solution, which merely moves the problem one step back. Whatever you believe the source of our present Universe to be, you still have to account for the existence of the Physical Laws, which would then form a part of the 'Multiverse' as well. I think a lot of convincing arguments come from exploring the issues surrounding the big bang together with the undeniable anthropic nature of our Universe. I think this book, and this chapter in particular is extremely useful and have found it to be convincing even among some of my more agnostic and atheistic colleagues.
Book Review: A gradual peaceful journey that appears more dramatic to the observer
Summary: 4 Stars
The author's intellectual journey from notable proponent of atheism to deist is interestingly detailed here, helping to illustrate the subtle but culturally very meaningful difference between seeing the universe as ordered and seeing it as artifactual. You don't get much of a sense of a human drama behind this journey as much as a long series of small choices that add up over time, a gradual "conversion" rather than a lightning bolt.
The technical differences in Flew's views over time are largely concealed in nuances. That makes this book particularly challenging to read deeply in order to empathize with Flew's soi disant conversion.
The emotional and socio-political implications of the shift between deism and strict atheism are much more significant than the technical issues Flew discusses, and these are not directly addressed to any great extent in this book. Yet it is clearly those implications that drives the strong reactions people have to Flew's personal intellectual journey. I think this is why our reaction to this book, as seen in many reviews here, tends to have much more drama than the book itself.
To me, the conceptual purely "engineering" difference between the extra-naturally pre-ordered universe of Deism and a purely natural world that orders itself over time is almost negligible if you think about it in terms of the processes involved. This is what makes Flew's journey one of nuances rather than a grand leap.
However, the implications of a world that contains deity and one that doesn't are immensely signficant to us way out of proportion to the "engineering" involved. It means something important to us to say that the universe is self-ordered vs. ordered by something sentient, not least because the latter leaves open the real possibility that something big and important cares about us. Ironically, Flew doesn't take that additional step through the door of theism, he remains in the doorway of deism, leaving the possibility of something caring about us but not the kind of personal faith that drives the more religiously minded person.
Flew's reflections on his path from atheist to deist make for a revealing picture of the "Necker Cube" nature of conceptual worldviews, showing how subtleties of view can accumulate over time to produce what appears at the end to observers to be a dramatic change in worldview. The drama of Flew's journey however seems to be more in the way the rest of us perceive it rather than any real drama for Flew himself.
Book Review: A good read
Summary: 5 Stars
Five stars for logic and reasoning upkept with honesty and integrity. It's good to see people admit when they have to change their mind based on new information and arrive at the conclusion of a Creator. Seven years ago I came to that conclusion myself, and I find that new "converts" make for some of the deepest discussions we can have. I liked reading this because though I am a Christian, I don't think its necessary to use the bible to "prove there is a God." Logic will deduce that for us. Great work, Flew.
"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. This is my book and it represents my thinking." - Flew
Book Review: Excellent Book, worthy of group study
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is an extremely fluid, easy to read story of the transformation of one of the worlds most notorious atheists changed his mind. It is rather unfortunate and ridiculous that there are those who say that flew has succumed to senility or fear of death(he still maintains there is no afterlife). Would you say the same about Billy Graham if he rejected his faith and became atheist? Probably not, you would say he finally came to his senses, even if the book he wrote about it was merely the incoherent ramblings of a crazed man.Book Review: Disappointing
Summary: 2 Stars
Once you get past the gimmick of Flew being a former atheist and great philosopher, you will find the book disappointing. His arguments for intelligent design are unconvincing cliches that have been better articulated by more scientifically literate authors. If you've read Behe or Dembski, don't waste time with Flew.