Conversion of an Atheist

Evolution News today points to an interview with former atheist Antony Flew. Flew has been described as a "sort of Richard Dawkins before Dawkins, his name synonymous with staunchly materialistic beliefs."

Among the interesting statements regarding his conversion from atheism to theism:

There were two factors in particular that were decisive. One was my growing empathy with the insight of Einstein and other noted scientists that there had to be an Intelligence behind the integrated complexity of the physical Universe. The second was my own insight that the integrated complexity of life itself – which is far more complex than the physical Universe – can only be explained in terms of an Intelligent Source. I believe that the origin of life and reproduction simply cannot be explained from a biological standpoint despite numerous efforts to do so.

And

I think the origins of the laws of nature and of life and the Universe point clearly to an intelligent Source. The burden of proof is on those who argue to the contrary.

In answering how he came to the conclusion that the universe had to be intelligently designed, he refers to the worldview interpretation of scientific data that I have often talked about:

Flew: It was empirical evidence, the evidence uncovered by the sciences. But it was a philosophical inference drawn from the evidence. Scientists as scientists cannot make these kinds of philosophical inferences. They have to speak as philosophers when they study the philosophical implications of empirical evidence.

Flew isn't alone in his realization that naturalism and materialism come up short in explaining the origins of the universe. Many scientists who are intellectually honest admit this shortcoming.

Whether they realize it or not, even atheistic scientists bring biases, presuppositions, dogmatism and, yes, faith to the table when they interpret scientific evidence.

Both theists and atheists bring faith to the table when they both examine the same scientific evidence. But where does the evidence lead?

Only someone hopelessly invested in denying the existence of the Timex watch company would look at an intricately designed Timex watch and say that these watch parts came together into a functioning unit through blind chance.

And only someone hopelessly invested in denying the existence of the Creator Elohim would look at the intricately designed universe, and an earth filled with fantastically complex life, and say that all this came together into a functioning unit through blind chance.