Friday, April 30, 2010

Antony Flew Interview Videos by Lee Strobel (w/ MP3)

Here is an interview by Lee Strobel of the late Antony Flew, not too long after his rejection of atheism. Video clips in five parts at LeeStrobel.com:

Why did your beliefs change? (2:06)
What is God like? (5:08)
A Creator was involved in the creation of life (2:59)
Afterlife and Christianity (5:42)
My time with C.S. Lewis (1:35)

All interview audio in MP3 here. (17 minutes)
Enjoy.

Check out There is a God by Antony Flew. (review here)

4 comments :

Lee said...

not too long after his rejection of atheism

... but remind me, I don't recall an acceptance of theism or (more importantly to your position) Christianity.

It seems Flew became a deist

And has this interview been posted before, it sounds familiar

Lee

Brian said...

but remind me, I don't recall an acceptance of theism or (more importantly to your position) Christianity.

No one is claiming that he became a Christian.

It seems Flew became a deist

Yes. He became a deist. He thought atheism was false after defending it his whole life.

has this interview been posted before, it sounds familiar

Nope, first time posting this interview.

Lee said...

Hi Brian,

If you agree then that Flew’s position is merely deism, why then do you think Christians regularly roll him out as if it is an argument for their Christians theistic position? That is my point here.

It could be considered a little dishonest on the part of the Christians, since the assumption would be that this person is put forward as a person who moved from our (atheist) position to their (Christian theistic) position.

And noticed (as I often point out) the word is a-theist, and not a-deist.

So not even close.

Oh, and thanks for the new interview then – I did down load one a while back that the Christian interviewer tried to use Flew as an example of the reasonableness of Christianity

Lee

Brian said...

If you agree then that Flew’s position is merely deism, why then do you think Christians regularly roll him out as if it is an argument for their Christians theistic position

Flew concluded that God exists. Flew accepted the fine-tuning and certain teleological arguments as sufficient evidence to convince him of God's existence… hence his book "There is a God." That is a basic agreement between theistic and deistic positions. After that it's just a question of whether or not you think God is active in the world after creation or not. But no one here is claiming Christianity to be derived from those arguments.

It could be considered a little dishonest on the part of the Christians, since the assumption would be that this person is put forward as a person who moved from our (atheist) position to their (Christian theistic) position.

No one here is putting Flew forward as someone who was an atheist and is now a Christian. Flew is clear about it, the co-author of his book is clear about it, Strobel is clear about it, and Flew's close friend Gary Habermas has been clear about that. So if people get it wrong it is not because people are being dishonest.

And noticed (as I often point out) the word is a-theist, and not a-deist.

I'm not sure what the point of saying that is. Whether or not you believe God acts in the world after He created it or not -- you still don't believe in God. So it makes no difference.

I did down load one a while back that the Christian interviewer tried to use Flew as an example of the reasonableness of Christianity

Belief that God exists is a core Christian belief. And in so far as you limit it to that element, then appealing to Flew's agreement with the design arguments does support one's argument for that core element alone. I have not heard anyone "use" Flew to prove Christianity specifically though. But the moment I do I will raise an outcry. : )

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