World's
Most Famous Atheist Accepts Existence of God,
Cites Modern Science!
The
best-known atheist of the last 50 years, Professor Antony Flew, made the
announcement in a symposium on science and religion, that the discoveries
of modern science have led him to accept the existence of God. Flew was
joined in the symposium by leading Israeli scientist Gerald Schroeder
and noted Scottish thinker John Haldane.
DALLAS,
TX (PRWEB) December 9, 2004 -- The Institute for Metascientific Research
(IMR) announced today that one of the best-known atheists in the academic
world, Professor Antony Flew of the University of Reading, United Kingdom,
has accepted the existence of God. In a symposium sponsored by the IMR
at New York University earlier this year, Professor Flew stated that developments
in modern science had led him to accept the action of an Intelligent Mind
in the creation of the world. In "Has Science Discovered God?",
the recording of the symposium released today, Flew said his conclusion
was influenced by developments in DNA research.
"What
I think the DNA material has done is show that intelligence must have
been involved in getting these extraordinarily diverse elements together,"
he said. "The enormous complexity by which the results were achieved
look to me like the work of intelligence."
"It
speaks very well of Professor Flew's honesty," observed America's
pre-eminent philosopher of religion Alvin Plantinga. "After all these
years of opposing the idea of a Creator, he reverses his position on the
basis of the evidence."
In
1955, Flew set the agenda for atheism with "Theology and Falsification,"
a paper first presented at a meeting of the Oxford University Socratic
Club chaired by C.S. Lewis. This work was reportedly the most widely reprinted
philosophical publication of the last half century. Over the decades,
he has authored 28 books and edited 12 others; at least 10 of his books
were critiques of belief in God. He has also had debates and discussions
with a wide range of religious believers. In one such debate, he declared:
"We reject all transcendent supernatural systems, not because we've
examined or could have examined each in turn, but because it does not
seem to us that there is any good evidence in reason to postulate anything
behind or beyond this natural universe."
Also
participating in the NYU symposium were Dr. Gerald Schroeder from Israel,
Dr. John Haldane from Scotland and Dr. Paul C. Vitz from New York. The
MIT-trained Schroeder, who once taught at MIT in Boston and the Weizmann
Institute and Hebrew University laboratories in Israel, is the author
of the best-selling book The Science of God. Haldane is Professor of Philosophy
at St. Andrews University in Scotland and the author of numerous publications
on culture, philosophy and religion. He delivered the Stanton Lectures
at Cambridge University and is scheduled to deliver the prestigious Gifford
Lectures at Aberdeen University in 2005. His widely publicized debate
with J.J.C. Smart on the existence of God was published by the famous
Oxford academic publisher Blackwell as Atheism and Theism. Vitz, professor
of psychology at NYU, is the leading psychologist of religion in the U.S.
His many books include Psychology as Religion and Faith of the Fatherless.
In
the course of the symposium, the participants address the origins of the
universe, life, reproduction, consciousness, language and the mind while
also discussing the existence of God, the problem of evil and the roots
of atheism. Although many biologists have not considered the philosophical
implications of DNA or reproduction, this dimension is of particular interest
to professional philosophers Flew and Haldane. One theme of discussion
is the thesis that of all of the great discoveries of modern science,
the greatest is God.
The
IMR is providing a four-minute video news release on the symposium. Also
available are two programs based on the symposium, the 50-minute "Has
Science Discovered God?" and a 180-minute reference documentary on
the existence of God, the message of modern science and the roots of atheism,
along with a companion volume, The Wonder of the World - A Journey from
Modern Science to the Mind of God.
The
narrator for the "Has Science Discovered God?" program is world-renowned
journalist David Aikman, a senior and foreign correspondent for Time magazine
for more than 23 years who has reported from five continents and 60 nations.
He is currently editor-at-large for the Internet-based Newsroom.
About
the Institute for Metascientific Research
The Institute for Metascientific Research is a debate and dialogue forum
for the interface between science, philosophy and religion. Cosmos, Bios,
Theos (Open Court), a book discussing these themes with 24 Nobel Prize
winners, was edited under the aegis of the IMR. Its most recent production
is the book The Wonder of the World - A Journey from Modern Science to
the Mind of God (Tyr). The IMR had organized two previous symposia (including
one at Yale University) with Professor Flew and other well-known atheists
and theists and also hosted a special presentation by him on the 40th
anniversary (1995) of the publication of "Theology and Falsification".
For
more information on IMR productions, write to:
5808 Furneaux Dr.
Plano, TX 75093
CONTACT
INFORMATION
Joe Levin
INSTITUTE FOR METASCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
www.thewonderoftheworld.com
800-342-5226
|
