Antony Flew Quotes
Antony Garrard Newton Flew was a British analytic philosopher of religion and ethics who, for most of a long career, was one of the most prominent philosophical defenders of atheism in the English-speaking world. After Oxford studies under Gilbert Ryle, he held chairs at Aberdeen, Keele, Calgary, and Reading, and produced a long series of works including God and Philosophy and The Presumption of Atheism. The quotes below are attributed to Antony Flew, organized by topic.
Browse Antony Flew by topic
Antony Flew on Freedom
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Attributed to Antony Flew:
“Free inquiry is more sacred than any conclusion.”
Antony Flew on God
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Attributed to Antony Flew:
“Belief in God must be examined, not merely inherited.”
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Attributed to Antony Flew:
“The presumption of atheism stands until evidence dislodges it.”
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“What would have to occur or to have occurred to constitute for you a disproof of the love of, or the existence of, God?”
Theology and Falsification , 1950 -
“[Still an atheist at the time] For Heaven's sake...sorry, perhaps I should have said something else.”
Craig Vs Flew, University of Wisconsin, 1st January 1998 -
“The God Delusion by the atheist writer Richard Dawkins, is remarkable in the first place for having achieved some sort of record by selling over a million copies. But what is much more remarkable than that economic achievement is that the contents – or rather lack of contents – of this book show Dawkins himself to have become what he and his fellow secularists typically believe to be an impossibility: namely, a secularist bigot. (Helpfully, my copy of The Oxford Dictionary defines a bigot as ‘an obstinate or intolerant adherent of a point of view’).”
Flew's review of The God Delusion -
“Flew's review of The God Delusion”
The God Delusion by the atheist writer Richard Dawkins, is remarkable in the first place for having achieved some sort of record by selling over a million copies. But what is much more remarkable than that economic achievement is that the contents – or rather lack of contents – of this book show Dawkins himself to have become what he and his fellow secularists typically believe to be an impossibil -
“A less important point which needs to be made in this piece is that although the index of The God Delusion notes six references to Deism it provides no definition of the word ‘deism’. This enables Dawkins in his references to Deism to suggest that Deists are a miscellany of believers in this and that. The truth, which Dawkins ought to have learned before this book went to the printers, is that Deists believe in the existence of a God but not the God of any revelation. In fact the first notable public appearance of the notion of Deism was in the American Revolution .”
Flew's review of The God Delusion -
“Flew's review of The God Delusion”
A less important point which needs to be made in this piece is that although the index of The God Delusion notes six references to Deism it provides no definition of the word ‘deism’. This enables Dawkins in his references to Deism to suggest that Deists are a miscellany of believers in this and that. The truth, which Dawkins ought to have learned before this book went to the printers, is that Dei
Antony Flew on Knowledge
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“Theology and Falsification , 1950”
What would have to occur or to have occurred to constitute for you a disproof of the love of, or the existence of, God? -
“Craig Vs Flew, University of Wisconsin, 1st January 1998”
[Still an atheist at the time] For Heaven's sake...sorry, perhaps I should have said something else.
Antony Flew on Nature
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“I would never regard Islam with anything but horror and fear because it is fundamentally committed to conquering the world for Islam.”
Did the Resurrection Happen?: A Conversation with Gary Habermas and Antony Flew (2009), p. 88
Antony Flew on Truth
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Attributed to Antony Flew:
“We must follow the argument wherever it leads.”
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Attributed to Antony Flew:
“I changed my mind because the evidence pointed elsewhere.”