Forty Years of Progress in Christian Apologetics: An Atheist Changes His Mind

The last forty years have shown significant progress in Christian apologetics. Christian thinkers have reformulated failed deductive arguments from first cause and design into inductive arguments that can defeat enlightenment skepticism and open the way for fine-tuning of revelational theism. This paper traces the gradual journey of Oxford philosopher Antony Flew from his systematic defense of atheism to belief in a God who is both an incorporeal, omnipresent spirit and who interacts with the world. Flew did not take the final step of belief in the deity of Jesus but opened the door to arguments based on divine miracle and providence.