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Antony Flew: Science pretty much proves God's existence
Alister McGrath was more prescient than he knew when he published The Twilight of Atheism earlier this year. One of the most prominent atheists of the last century now says he believes there must be some kind of God, based on scientific evidence. But Antony Flew is careful to say that he's merely a deist, and rejects any notion of a God of revelation.

"I'm thinking of a God very different from the God of the Christian and far and away from the God of Islam, because both are depicted as omnipotent Oriental despots, cosmic Saddam Husseins," he told the Associated Press. "It could be a person in the sense of a being that has intelligence and a purpose, I suppose."

The Associated Press interview is based on a new DVD where Flew describes his change of mind. But those interested will certainly want to check out Philosophia Christi's interview between Flew and Liberty University's Gary Habermas.

"I don't believe in the God of any revelatory system, although I am open to that. But it seems to me that the case for an Aristotelian God who has the characteristics of power and also intelligence, is now much stronger than it ever was before," Flew says.

The 5,600-word interview is pretty packed, but it's worth reading to the end. Or, better yet, why not have Weblog spoil the ending for you? Keep in mind this note from the AP's Dick Ostling: "Flew first made his mark with the 1950 article 'Theology and Falsification,' based on a paper for the Socratic Club, a weekly Oxford religious forum led by writer and Christian thinker C.S. Lewis."

HABERMAS: C. S. Lewis explained in his autobiography that he moved first from atheism to theism and only later from theism to Christianity. Given your great respect for Christianity, do you think that there is any chance that you might in the end move from theism to Christianity?

FLEW: I think it's very unlikely, due to the problem of evil. But, if it did happen, I think it would be in some eccentric fit and doubtfully orthodox form: regular religious practice perhaps but without belief. If I wanted any sort of future life I should become a Jehovah's Witness. But some things I am completely confident about. I would never regard Islam with anything but horror and fear because it is fundamentally committed to conquering the world for Islam. It was because the whole of Palestine was part of the land of Islam that Muslim Arab armies moved in to try to destroy Israel at birth, and why the struggle for the return of the still surviving refugees and their numerous descendents continue to this day.

HABERMAS: I ask this last question with a smile, Tony. But just think what would happen if one day you were pleasantly disposed toward Christianity and all of a sudden the resurrection of Jesus looked pretty good to you?

FLEW: Well, one thing I'll say in this comparison is that, for goodness sake, Jesus is an enormously attractive charismatic figure, which the Prophet of Islam most emphatically is not.

Los Angeles Times: Rap needs God
Flew might not (yet) love Jesus, but the Los Angeles Times sure does. Specifically, an editorial today praises Kanye West's "Jesus Walks" along with other indications that the rap industry is getting religion.

"The popularity of 'Jesus Walks' may well reflect an unheralded, if unfocused, spirituality among the genre's fans," the paper says. "It resonates, West told MTV, because 'I'm expressing a lot which the regular person is going through.' Its rough language isn't going to appeal to the Amy Grant crowd, but it may be a new expression for old musical roots."

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December (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48