2 of 2 members found this review helpful.
“I have read the works of several of the "new atheists" and why they don't believe in God, or why they have such a dislike for religion. I was looking forward to hearing from an old-school atheist about why, after 50 years or so, he no longer doubted the existence of God. I had high hopes for this book, not least because of the book's subtitle: How the world's most notorious atheist changed his mind. Unfortunately, my high hopes went unfulfilled.
In the first three chapters, Flew gives a brief history of his atheism. There is not a lot of detail here, mostly a lot of history and references to his numerous other published works along with a brief synopsis of the arguments he made. I'm not familiar with Flew's earlier work, and am interested to read through some of it.
The final seven chapters go through how his intense study into atheism is what actually led him to the conviction that God does exist. He goes to great pains to assure the reader that this transformation came about not because of any kind of "faith," but rather through the application of "logic."
Personally, I think he falls a bit short of making a convincing argument, but he does raise some interesting points for "science" to consider. My favorite is when he says (I'm paraphrasing here), "What's more likely, a God that is outside time and space that created the universe, or that this universe that is one of many dimensions that is forever expanding and contracting and came from nothing?" (If you are familiar with the latest cosmological theories of string theory and the like, you know what I mean.)
There also two appendices. The first, written by co-author Varghese, is a discussion of the writings of the "new atheists" such as Dawkins, Dennet, Harris. The second is a discussion of Jesus as the self-revelation of God. (Though he doesn't quite come out and say it, it seems that Flew has gone from being an atheist to being a Christian.)
All in all, a book worth reading, but in many ways, like the books of the new atheists it aims to refute, this book is preaching to the choir. If you are an atheist, I don't think there will be much in this book to change your mind or give you some sort of epiphany of the error of your ways. If you are a believer, this book will maybe give you some insight into what makes some atheists tick and some ideas on how to approach them if you are trying to get them to see the light of God.
”
