Weekly "Ask an Atheist" Thread

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Whether you're an agnostic atheist here to ask a gnostic one some questions, a theist who's curious about the viewpoints of atheists, someone doubting, or just someone looking for sources, feel free to ask anything here. This is also an ideal place to tag moderators for thoughts regarding the sub or any questions in general.

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[u/snapdigity]

What do you guys make of Antony Flew’s 2007 book “There Is a God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind”

I haven’t finished it yet, but he makes a strong case. He really ties together many different arguments together. Some of the arguments are as follows:

1. Universe had a beginning and cannot cause itself. God as the “uncaused cause” is more plausible than other explanations.

2. Fine tuning of constants and laws of the universe for life.

3. Encoded information in DNA and the mechanism for self replication.

4. The failure of naturalistic processes to account for the emergence of life.

5. The alignment between the rationality of human thought and the rational order of nature is unlikely to be a product of blind chance. This suggests a rational mind behind both.

6. The failure of naturalism and materialism to explain human consciousness, the ability to reason, and think abstractly.

7. Complexity and interdependence of biological system, such as DNA, cells and proteins, cannot be fully explained by random processes or natural selection alone.

8. Influential scientists whose belief influenced him such as Isaac Newton, Francis Collins, Arno Penzias, Paul Davies and Albert Einstein.

9. The assumptions upon which science itself is based are better explained in a universe created by a intelligent source. Such as the idea that there is an objective truth that can be ascertained through scientific inquiry, and the assumption that the universe functions in a reliable and consistent way that can be discovered and understood by humans.

[u/adeleu_adelei → u/snapdigity]

https://www.theatlantic.com/personal/archive/2007/11/the-case-of-antony-flew/55012/

It's a ghost written book by Christian apologists engaging in elder abuse against a vulnerable, dying, and mentally declining old man to parasitize his legacy to reassure and market to theists. The arguments aren't Flew'sown. They are the arguments of a coward using Flew's name to gild their words. It's a stark reminder of the depravity apologists will sink to in pursuit of their goals.

[u/snapdigity → u/adeleu_adelei]

There’s an interview with Flew on YouTube before the book was published I believe, where he clearly espouses belief in a deistic God. He does admittedly seem to have declined mentally, but nonetheless. He also specifically mentions the DNA and Einstein as influential to him.