So much for Einstein the believer

Email Print posted by bfaul 05/13/2008 01:10:40 PM EST

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So many have argued for so long that Einstein actually believed in God and professed to be a "religious" person.  His use of the word "religious", he tried often to explain, was simply to describe the feelings of awe he experienced at the vastness and wonder of the universe. 

His thoughts on religion itself, and the belief in God as described by religions, are made clear in a letter to philosopher Eric Gutkind in 1954 which goes up for auction this week in London.

Here are some choice excerpts from the letter:

"The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish.  No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this"

"For me the Jewish religion like all others is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions,"

"And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people."

"As far as my experience goes, they are no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. Otherwise I cannot see anything 'chosen' about them."

 

Whoops.  So much for the "But Einstein believed in God!" crowd. 

 

 

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So much for Einstein the believer | 1 comment (1 topical, 0 hidden)
I largely agree with Einstein (none / 0)
Though anyone with an ability to think could have surmised his views from his more widely known statements, even (or especially) the ones used by religious folk to support their argument that he was a type of "creationist."

I also think of God being behind creation, mostly due to the beautiful complexity of the universe, the magnificence of life and evolution and the laws of nature and physics which we still are struggling to grasp. I think science proves God more than retarded "it happened because God spoke it" theories. When it says in most religious texts "God works in mysterious ways" or something similar, it means to me that He put all this into motion with these laws from the big bang in a complex and intricate pattern. A pattern that inevitably leads to life and to sentience, though we cannot see how yet.

Sorry for that diversion, got carried away as usual. I'm actually more of an agnostic/non-believer. I can no longer believe in any organized religion. But that doesn't make people like me anti-God. To the contrary, I very much hope that there is a God and an afterlife. Just so that there is some ultimate justice... and also so I continue to exist, of course.

by Weapon X on 05/13/2008 03:46:04 PM EST

So much for Einstein the believer | 1 comment (1 topical, 0 hidden)
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