2022 Day 11: The Invisible Gardener and my Struggle with Authenticity
2023 Day 6: Puzzles and Philosophy
"Antony Flew’s parable of the invisible gardener remains one of the most elegant and incisive critiques of religious belief within analytic philosophy. By presenting a scenario in which two people dispute the existence of a gardener tending a clearing in the jungle, Flew exposes a central issue in theological discourse: the unfalsifiability of certain religious claims. As the believer in the parable continually modifies their position—insisting that the gardener is invisible, intangible, and undetectable—Flew highlights a tendency in religious thought to redefine God’s nature in ways that make the claim impervious to critique.
The brilliance of this parable lies in how it forces us to consider whether our beliefs are genuinely open to revision or whether they are shielded from scrutiny by continual reinterpretation. Flew challenges us to ask: What would count as evidence against our beliefs? If nothing could, then are we still engaged in meaningful discourse, or have we retreated into dogmatic assertion? This question is not only relevant to religious faith but extends to any ideological or philosophical position that resists falsification.
While Flew presents his argument as a warning against unfalsifiable belief, it also prompts us to consider the role of interpretation in human meaning-making. If religion is not primarily about empirical verification but about shaping how we live and engage with the world, then perhaps the significance of belief lies elsewhere. Flew’s parable may strip away certain kinds of theological claims, but in doing so, it invites us to explore what remains. If we discard the ‘invisible gardener,’ what new ways of understanding faith and meaning might emerge?
In this way, Flew’s parable does more than merely dismantle belief—it pushes us into a space where the nature of belief itself must be re-examined. Whether one accepts or rejects his critique, the challenge he poses is one that continues to resonate far beyond the confines of analytic philosophy, reaching into the very heart of how we navigate certainty, doubt, and the search for truth." Peter Rollins
This third time around, I am finding how the changes in me are making a change in the material. When I peruse the previous posts from 2022 and 2023, I find myself uncovering yet another layer each time Antony Flew shows up in my daily reflection. This time, Pete's supplemental reflection is what stood out as significant.
"... If religion is not primarily about empirical verification but about shaping how we live and engage with the world, then perhaps the significance of belief lies elsewhere... "
I spent some time in the last two years listening to theists and atheists talk turkey about what they believed and what they didn't believe. I guess I felt that I needed to hear that side of the story. But it didn't take too long for me to understand that it's really not the whole story. I don't see most people in my circles needing to have those conversations. They just need to go about their day and embrace the beliefs and rituals that keep them where they are. There is no need to question, or debate or struggle. There is only a comfort found in the songs and in the message they hold dear.
To lose that is unthinkable for people like my mother. She won't ask questions. She won't go further than her comfort level. In the end, all I can say of her is that truth isn't the goal. She believes what she has is the truth. So to go looking for more truth... well that seems unnecessary.
I, on the other hand, look at that garden and come to no conclusions except one. Just because you can't imagine nothing as a cause, doesn't mean that making up something or embracing something made up... becomes truth. That is when "I don't know" needs to be good enough. It just isn't for most people.
