In Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion, Albert Einstein is depicted as an atheist. Dawkins pretty much has to go this route, because it would be a major embarassment for him if Einstein was a religious believer. Afer all, Dawkins seeks to show that theism is pretty much incompatible with modern science. If Einstein disagrees, then who is Dawkins to say otherwise?
Moreover, as I show in my new book What's So Great About Christianity, most of the great scientists of the past 500 years (Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Brahe, Descartes, Newton, Leibniz, Gassendi, Pascal, Mersenne, Cuvier, Harvey, Dalton, Faraday, Herschel, Joule, Lyell, Lavoisier, Priestley, Kelvin, Ohm, Ampere, Steno, Pasteur, Maxwell, Planck, Mendel, Lemaitre) were devout Christians. Gassendi, Mersenne and Lemaitre were priests.
Faced with this daunting list of believers, Dawkins is desperate to wrest Einstein for the atheist camp.
The problem for Dawkins is that Einstein repeatedly refers to God. Famously Einstein said "God is subtle but He is not malicious" and "God does not play dice" with the universe. Dawkins rewrites Einstein's remarks. "God does not play dice" becomes "Randomness does not lie at the heart of all things." Dawkins insists that his revisions are justified because "Einstein was using 'God' in a purely metaphorical, poetic sense."
Dawkins' case for Einstein's atheism is based on quotations from Max Jammer's book Einstein and Religion. At best, Dawkins writes, Einstein was a pantheist who identified God with the laws of nature themselves. But when philosopher Anthony Flew went to the original source, he discovered that Dawkins had lifted quotations favorable to his case while excluding statements that refuted it. Einstein specifically repudiated both the atheist and the pantheist label. "I'm not an atheist, and I don't think I can call myself a pantheist." Dawkins forgot to include that line. While Einstein clearly stated that he did not believe in a "personal God" he also spoke of God as a "superior mind," "Illimitable spirit" and "mysterious force that moves the constellations."
Einstein spoke of the laws of nature pointing to an Infinite Mind that to him represented the true nature of God. "Every one who is seriously engaged in te pursuit of science becomes convinced that the laws of nature manifest the existence of a spirit vastly superior to that of men, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble...My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details that we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble minds. That deeply emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe, forms my idea of God."
Isn't it interesting that these quotations appear nowhere in Dawkins' book. It seems that atheists like Dawkins have to suppress the facts in order to establish their theories. Can an atheism so selective and indeed manipulative actually claim to be sustained by evidence and reason?
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 51)
1. To: captain negative. Good question. Answer: God did not "come from" anywhere; God made all of the "wheres" constituting the universe.
We know from physics that the universe (including our world), that is, all matter, energy, space and time, began suddenly in the singularity of the big bang; this is scientific fact. Everything that had a beginning had a cause. The universe had a beginning; the universe had a cause, which is God. God did not have a beginning and therefore does not require a cause. God is the creator of the universe and is not part of it.
new reader at 4:33AM on Sep 21st 2008
2. Karl Friedrich Gauss, a brilliant mathematician and one of the truly great scientist the world has ever seen was a religious catholic. Einstein was a Jew, you cannot be a Jew and believe that there is no god.
The bible says "Trust in the LORD with all thy heart, and lean not upon thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes; fear the LORD, and depart from evil;" Proverbs 3 verses 5-7.
Both Einstein and Gauss followed these verses each in his own way.
God doesn't need us to believe in him, in any case he will remain the whole mighty power forever. It is us who need to believe in god it is us who need god to guide us to direct our paths to move away from evil. Without the whole mighty god our lives would have been a complete mess.
God doesn't exist in the form of material or any other things that eventually ends. God is eternal he is beyond the conception of any human.
The question of existence is irrelevant because god does not exist and won't be exist in any form we can possibly think of. Though god does not reveal himself to us through our senses, he does reveal to us on other ways.
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ulmbmyfuyx at 10:52AM on Jan 24th 2009
5. This is funny. Whether Einstein believed or not is irrelevant. What both you and Dawkins want us to think is "Wow, as great a genius as Einstein believed this way, so who am I to argue." You may notice that nothing Einstein says, and none of his work, comes anywhere close to even the beginnings of a proof for the existence of God.
As for those great scientists of the past (and really you should not have included Descartes in your list), we will never know whether they believed or not. Dismiss even Newton, who had some weird beliefs and ideas (not compatible with mainstream Christianity either, by the way; some of his beliefs would have condemned him to Hell according to the official Party line), as what he believed has nothing to do with his work, and nothing of his work can be used to prove any religious beliefs.
Dinesh, you are a bit like Lex Luthor. Imagine what you could accomplish if you used what you were given to achieve something worthwhile. You're obviously no fool, but you believe foolish things.
Joe Dick at 2:00PM on Feb 4th 2009
6. Dinesh,
I took a physics seminar for non-science majors at the University of Michigan. The professor had a friend of his lecture for one class. His name was Victor Weisskopf, and he was professor emeritus at MIT, having been the chairman of the physics department.
He also was one of the many scientists who worked on the Manhatten Project.
Prof. Weisskopf's lecture was on the Big Bang theory. When the class was almost over, he wrapped up by asking what caused the Big Bang.
He answered by writing on the blackboard, "GOD." Prof. Weisskopf went on to say that he couldn't prove that God made the Big Bang, but it was the only theory that had no flaws. He also said that many of his colleagues disagreed with him, but as a believer, God has to fit into science at some point.
Kent at 3:41AM on Oct 9th 2007
7. So if, "god" caused the "big bang," where did "god" come from? You christians are no Einsteins.
Captain Negative at 3:56AM on Oct 9th 2007
8. Well since Eienstein said he did not believe in God, and wrote it, I guess that rather settles it.
Almost all scientists are atheists. It comes with knowledge.
Of course there is the Templton Group. They tried to prove God exists by showing pray helps heal people who are sick. Result? Pray does nothing, at total waste of time.
cdnbirch at 4:21AM on Oct 9th 2007
9. some feel so compelled to prove that there is no God.if you really feel that way why waste your time? if i'm wrong so what, if you are wrong ,eternal hell,,,yes God is real
larry adkins at 5:45AM on Oct 9th 2007
10. Simple no one, including Eienstein has the mind to grasp how great God is.The biggest grain of salt is still just a grain of salt. Even Eienstein had limits.
Danny Iglesias at 6:02AM on Oct 9th 2007
11. Dear God,
Thank you for all these geniuses. It is such a relief to find a world where nothing counts, not even spelling.
amen
Jim Fay at 6:12AM on Oct 9th 2007
12. Hello God? It's me Margaret; Dinesh is a complete idiot. Dinesh what kind of worthless crap are you trying to write about? Einstein said he didn't believe in God. YOUR article fails to mention that. Time after time you write a one sided article that claims that the person you are attacking is one sided. Go back to wherever you come from and hold your head in shame. I win. You lose.
pletho at 6:29AM on Oct 9th 2007
13. Didn't Einstein refer to Buddhism as the perfect religion? I'll see if I can dig up the quote. No logician could support the idea of a 'creator God'.
Einstein recognized the limitations of science, certainly, something Dawkins seems to circumvent.
Einsteins parents were, as was typical in Germany, 'non-observant' Jews, agnostic at least, but Albert rebelled by going the opposite way as a boy. When he was 14 and began to get an idea of just how vast the universe is and how small he was and how unlikely it would be for him to ever truly know anything that he became suicidal, even.
tom at 6:40AM on Oct 9th 2007
14. if God didn't create the universe then how does the earth and other planets spin perfectly in their orbit? If the earth's axis was off even by one one hundredth of a degree the earth would spin eratically and at a rate which would make it unliveable. Let's face it if scientists were so smart they would come up with a better theory than that we came from some little micro organism that evolved into monkeys and then into humans. Do I smell bananas? If i am wrong by being a christian and believeing in god when i die i will just be buried in the ground and life as we know it will be over, but if you don't believe in god and die and you are wrong and there really is a god the bible says that you are going to hell. It's your choice to make.
barry walter at 6:42AM on Oct 9th 2007
15. typically cry baby christian shit. You have the ignorant writer who cant possibly believe any thing other than his own opinion and the jesus freak fans tagging along for the ride. Go use your nazi pope and shelter a few more child molesters. You can tell me and other aetheists that we are going to hell but if we dont believe in it what good does it do. Religion was established to control people. Take a history class look at how religion evolved. Look at all the polytheistic religions throughout early western vic. Your god didnt make him self known back then so are all those people in hell? You and Dinesh can be happy being brainwashed im all set. And one last everyone of you out there who thinks aetheists are bad people, Dinesh and larrry adkins this is for you, can kiss my aetheist ass. Who are you to judge me? I go to work . I pay may bills and I contribute to society. Oh I dont sit in your stone building and throw money in a basket because i will feel guilty if i dont. And in your simple minds that is what truly makes you better than me. A stone building and a collection plate, HA
santar0s at 8:01AM on Oct 9th 2007