Rarely does an atheist change his mind about his belief in Atheism (atheists believe there is no God). It is even rarer to hear him admit it publicly. Such was the case recently when Anthony Flew, who has been called "the most influential atheist philosopher in the world, and whose arguments against God's existence are staples of many college anthologies and textbooks," ("Flew the coop," WORLD magazine, December 25, 2004, p. 22). After a period of reflection and study, he admitted to a former debate opponent that "he had definitely become a theist" (Ibid).
I must admit, I had a hard time believing this news when I first heard it. I have known of Anthony Flew's beliefs for over twenty years, mainly through printed debates in which he participated. In September, 1976, he debated one of our brethren, Thomas B. Warren, on the campus of North Texas State University in Denton, Texas. In that debate, Flew affirmed the proposition, "I know that God does not exist." Copies of this debate are still available.
In 1985 (published in 1987), Mr. Flew and Gary Habermas debated the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus. After this debate, Flew contributed an article to the book Does God Exist: the Great Debate (1990), and he and Terry Miethe had a written debate on the question "Does God Exist?" (1991). Mr. Flew had spent a lifetime arguing against God's existence, but he now seems to have had a change of mind.
As encouraging as this news may seem, it has a down side. "Mr. Flew still does not accept any revealed religion, including Christianity. He has simply become a "theist," or, as he says, a "deist." He believes that God created the world, but no longer does He have a personal relationship with it" (Ibid).
Thomas Jefferson also believed in deism. This resulted in his cut-and-paste Jefferson Bible wherein he eliminated Jesus' miracles and left our Lord dead in the tomb with no resurrection. Deism is not a "faith" that will save, for true faith comes by "hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17) God has a personal interest and involvement in men's affair; He demonstrated this interest and involvement when He sent His Son to earth as a sacrifice for our sin. We would hope that Mr. Flew would come to understand and accept the Bible as God's inspired word.
It is also revealed that the nature of DNA (Ibid) holds the key to Mr. Flew's conviction that there must be an intelligent mind behind the universe. He took an interest in the Intelligent Design (10) movement and was impressed with the design arguments in Michael Behe's book, Darwin's Black Box. But this demonstrates a shortcoming of the Intelligent Design movement. It argues for a Designer, but does not teach the truth about the God of the Bible and the literal, historical creation record in Genesis 1-2. Mr. Flew has fallen short of possessing the true faith that saves the soul.
Mr. Flew also does not accept Christianity because he "cannot believe in a God who would consign anyone to hell" (Ibid). He states that he "appreciates the Bible and is attracted to the person of Jesus," but he rejects the words of Jesus about hell and the afterlife (Matthew 10:28; John 5:29). We cannot claim to believe in God and disregard what He taught. The one who sees evidence of God's existence but refuses to hear His revealed word is in no better position than the atheist himself. This former atheist took a step in the right direction, but now he must humble himself and understand the Lord's will (Ephesians 5:17).