Atheists seem very eager to claim Einstein for one of their own. Richard Dawkins devotes a whole section to Einstein in The God Delusion and Christopher Hitchens' Portable Atheist is peppered with Einstein quotations seemingly rejecting all belief in God. Recently an Einstein letter surfaced which showed the great scientist scorning the idea that the Jews were in any sense God's chosen people.
But all that these quotations prove is that Einstein was not an orthodox believer. He rejected the idea of a personal God "who would directly influence the actions of individuals or would sit in judgment on creatures of his own creation." Einstein also rejeted the immortality of the soul, noting that "one life is enough for me."
At the same time, Walter Isaacson in his celebrated new biography Einstein provides ample evidence that Einstein not only believed in a higher or transcendent power, but also that Einstein despised atheists. Here are some quotations, drawn from Isaacson's book with full documentation, that I offer as a needed counterbalance to the one-sided list provided by Dawkins, Hitchens and the others.
On whether he considered himself religious: "Yes, you could call it that. Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature and you will find that, behind all the discernible laws and connections, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. Veneration for this foce beyond anything we can comprehend is my religion."
On whether he accepted the historical existence of Christ: "Unquestionably! No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life."
On whether he considered himself an atheist: "I'm not an atheist. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn't know what that is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of the most intelligent human toward God."
On the nature of God: "That deeply emotional conviction of a presence of a superior reasoning power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe, forms my idea of God."
On whether science leads to religion: "Every one who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of nature--a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble. In this way the pursuit of science leads to a religious feeling of a special sort."
On how religion motivates scientific inquiry: "The cosmic religious feeling is the strongest and noblest motive for scientific research."
On whether science and religion are at odds: "The situation may be expressed by an image: science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."
On how he feels about atheist efforts to claim him as an ally: "There are people who say there is no God, but what makes me really angry is that they quote me for support of such views."
On how he regards atheists: "The fanatical atheists...are creatures who cannot her the music of the spheres. I do not share the crusading spirit of the professional atheist. What separates me from most so-called atheists is a feeling of utter humility toward the unattainable secrets of the harmony of the cosmos."
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 24)
1. DoubleD, so how do your quotations lend credence to a christian god? It is a big stretch from the 'spirit of natural laws' to a christian god.
JefFlyingV at 2:34PM on May 21st 2008
2. "a feeling of utter humility toward the unattainable secrets of the harmony of the cosmos."
-Einstein
____________________________________________________
This atheist feels the same way. To discount that there are secrets the universe has yet - if ever - to divulge to us mere humans, or that I am not humbled by all that I do not understand is moronic.
In none of the above quotes does Einstein assert his belief in a judeo-christian god.
I assert that if there would be a god, it would be the universe as we know it, or can only dream it to be. The mother, if you will, of us all. It is indeed the cradle that gave birth to our civilization.
I suppose you could say I pray to it with each breath I take, each morning I wake. Other than that, I want nothing of it but to carve my place, even fleetingly, in it's vast existence.
TJ at 2:50PM on May 21st 2008
3. DoubleD, I would even state further, Einstein refutes all notions of organized religion, and puts forth a new idea of religion divorced from the Judeo-Christian-etc. families of religion.
JefFlyingV at 2:53PM on May 21st 2008
4. It sounds to me that Einstein felt much as I do.
He understood the complexities of the universe, and saw God as something real, but probably misunderstood by organized religions and their followers.
Some of my views...
The seven days of creation as well as Adam and Eve were written for mankind to grasp the yet still too advanced informations. The bible doesn't spell it all out accurately because we shouldn't have that much information until we are mature enough to not miss use it.
Evolution exhists, but so does God. Neither science or Religion can disprove the other.
The attempts I see show just how immature mankind is and why we were not meant to know all in the first place.
Scott Schenck at 3:11PM on May 21st 2008
5. From a correspondence between Ensign Guy H. Raner and Albert Einstein in 1945 and 1949. Einstein responds to the accusation that he was converted by a Jesuit priest:
"I have never talked to a Jesuit prest in my life. I am astonished by the audacity to tell such lies about me. From the viewpoint of a Jesuit priest I am, of course, and have always been an atheist."
"I have repeatedly said that in my opinion the idea of a personal God is a childlike one.You may call me an agnostic, but I do not share the crusading spirit of the professional atheist whose fervor is mostly due to a painful act of liberation from religious indoctrination received in youth." Freethought Today, November 2004
(I totally agree. My atheism stems from nothing of the sort)
From a letter Einstein wrote in English, dated 24 March 1954. It is included in Albert Einstein: The Human Side, edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, published by Princeton University Press. Albert Einstein, Out of My Later Years (New York: Philosophical Library, 1950), p. 27.
"During the youthful period of mankind's spiritual evolution, human fantasy created gods in man's own image who, by the operations of their will were supposed to determine, or at any rate influence, the phenomenal world... The idea of God in the religions taught at present is a sublimation of that old conception of the gods.
Its anthropomorphic character is shown, for instance, by the fact that men appeal to the Divine Being in prayers and plead for the fulfillment of their wishes... In their struggle for the ethical good, teachers of religion must have the stature to give up the doctrine of a personal God, that is, give up that source of fear and hope which in the past placed such vase power in the hands of priests."
Albert Einstein, reported in Science, Philosophy and Religion: A Symposium, edited by L. Bryson
"Thus I came...to a deep religiosity, which, however, reached an abrupt end at the age of 12. Through the reading of popular scientific books I soon reached a conviction that much in the stories of the Bible could not be true....Suspicion against every kind of authority grew out of this experience...an attitude which has never left me." The Quotable Einstein
"A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death."
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.
-- Albert Einstein, in a letter responding to philosopher Eric Gutkind, who had sent him a copy of his book Choose Life: The Biblical Call to Revolt; quoted from James Randerson, "Childish Superstition: Einstein's Letter Makes View of Religion Relatively Clear: Scientist's Reply to Sell for up to £8,000, and Stoke Debate over His Beliefs" The Guardian, (13 May 2008)
Strange is our situation here on Earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to divine a purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: that man is here for the sake of other men -- above all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness depends.
-- Albert Einstein, quoted from James A Haught, ed, 2000 Years of Disbelief, p. 241
I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation, whose purposes are modeled after our own -- a God, in short, who is but a reflection of human frailty. Neither can I believe that the individual survives the death of his body, although feeble souls harbor such thoughts through fear or ridiculous egotisms.
-- Albert Einstein, obituary in New York Times, 19 April 1955, quoted from James A Haught, "Breaking the Last Taboo" (1996)
I do not believe in immortality of the individual, and I consider ethics to be an exclusively human concern with no superhuman authority behind it.
-- Albert Einstein, 1954, from Albert Einstein: The Human Side, edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, Princeton University Press
I have more. Do you want some more?
DD, you are grasping at straws.
Don't forget, either, that the "taboo" of admitting atheism was very much in effect when Einstein was alive.
Linda at 3:18PM on May 21st 2008
6. Notice that Einstein feels negatively towards "fanatical" atheists. Not atheists.
And the fact remains, Einstein did not believe in God as most define the term. If you define "God" as the laws of the universe, and "religion" as the ability to see the beauty of the laws in the universe, then atheists (according to that definition) are God-believing religious people.
I think Einstein may have just been annoyed by the knee jerk atheists whose only point in life seems to be to ridicule religion. (Although if Einstein is not ridiculing religion by calling it "childish," or God-belief by calling it a "weakness" I don't know what he is doing.)
Einstein is more on our side than yours, D'Souza.
Lamar Hunt at 3:21PM on May 21st 2008
7. On the right panal of the site, see how Darwinism was based on Archeological Hoaxes and deception.
http://evolutionfacts.blogspot.com
FORMER ATHEIST at 3:26PM on May 21st 2008
8. Paganism and barbarianism are destroying the nations of the world from the inside out. People have invented gods (idols) so that “the person” can do their own will, and at the core, they are merely serving the very same "god of self." Therefore there really is no difference between an atheist and a religious person. In the Lord's Prayer Jesus teaches us to pray "Father Holy is your name. Your Kingdom come and Your Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven…." Jesus never came on earth to bring us a religion; he came to give us a kingdom that we lost. You see God's will is done in heaven, but it not always done on this earth. God gave this earth to the first human (Adam) and his descendants to manage and reflect God’s nature on it. But once he sinned against God, his fellowship with God was broken and all his descendents were born with a sin nature that by nature rebels against God even unto this day. We not only lost the rule of God over us – we also lost God’s holy nature within us. And that's why there is so much evil in this world today. You will never be able to educate or medicate the spiritual problem of our sin nature; it takes the power of God through Christ to kill the old nature and birth a new one. I know that you currently cannot understand how sexual purity is so valuable and priceless or why we ought to protect the sanctity of human life, because only an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior can give a person eternal life and give us that unearthly desire to be holy (set apart to do God's uncommon will).
Healthy relationships with our earthly father has become trashed and despised by this fallen world. But no one seems to look in the mirror and ask - Why? Our sin not only “cuts off” our relationship with God but it cuts off our relationship with others. You could blame feminism but it is much bigger than that. We ALL have sinned against God by breaking His Laws and we are all guilty before Him (the One and Only God - who is HOLY). God alone is the one who gave us knowledge of what is right and wrong. You can call it your conscience. The very fact that He holds everyone accountable for their actions and personally deals with everyone equally PROVES He really is HOLY and a Just God. It is our own lust to do our “own thing” that inspires people to create gods and belief-systems that will ultimately place the individual as the highest authority (lord) over their life. That’s why we all ASPIRE to see justice on earth (because we were created in God’s image) yet we see so much injustice coming out of humanity (because we all have a sin nature making us natural-born law breakers and god-haters) We by nature even celebrate and identify with rebellion because we are all ourselves are like fugitives on earth running from the law of God, knowing fully well that one day we will have our day in His court room at the point of death. The only one that could ever be our advocate would also have to be equal in essence with the Judge.
That's why only Jesus Christ is God’s remedy for our sin. He was 100% God within a 100% human body and was 100% sinless. God used the body of Christ to act as a sponge in two ways. The body of Christ was used to absorb the sins of the people of from the past, present and future who trusted in him as their Savior and Lord (Owner) – but simultaneously His body was used to absorb the full wrath and indignation of God that everyone of them and us deserves for ALL the evil and wrongs we have committed. The eternal debt of sin that each one of us owes requires an eternal payment that we could NEVER pay. Only the blood of sinless Jesus that was shed on the cross could take our sin away. When we allow Jesus to pay the debt of our sin, He becomes the owner over us and within us. That’s why we call Him “The Lord.”
That’s real love. The Lord God loved us too much to leave us the way we are. God’s love was demonstrated and reaches out to us today by offering us mercy. When His human body died – all our sin and God’s wrath and judgment against us died with it. When He was raised from the dead he gave us a promise of a new life within and gives “the people He now owns” His Holy Spirit in order to make himself known to us on earth so that we are no strangers when we meet Him face to face in eternity. God only takes into His heaven those He owns.
Don't waste another day to get right with God. Life is short. However we stand with God with determine where we stand with Him in eternity. We only have one chance to do it right. The Lord has already impressed upon my heart that, for some of you, this is your last opportunity to get right with God. Don’t you dare harden your heart when He is calling for you. You may not have another chance to repent (renounce and turn away) from a life of rebellion. Just place the weight of your life on Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Know from the heart that He arose on the third. Open your mouth and call out to Him from your heart to save you and make you his Child. He is the one and only God who has been drawing you. He is the only one who really cares. Come to Him as you are; you will never leave the same. A life surrendered to Jesus is never wasted.
http://evolutionfacts.blogspot.com/#the_message_that_we_were_born_to_hear
Once you have received Jesus as Lord, at the end of this site you can contact me directly for a free gift.
PROFESSOR X at 3:27PM on May 21st 2008
9.
Somebody needs to give professor x a hot lead enema.
Linda at 3:29PM on May 21st 2008
10. Prof X and Former Atheist are good examples of what full lobotomies and rigorous theistic brainwashing produce.
JefFlyingV at 3:33PM on May 21st 2008
11. Once you have received Jesus as Lord, at the end of this site you can contact me directly for a free gift.
PROFESSOR X at 3:27PM on May 21st 2008
============>
Free gift - you're fucking with me, right?
TJ at 3:43PM on May 21st 2008
12. My beliefs are very close to those of Einstein and his Spinozan god - yet I am constantly here in defense of atheists.
"Atheists seem very eager to claim Einstein for one of their own."
Dinesh seems very eager to exhume Eistein's remains, and rebuild him into an animatronic puppet saying "I believe in a god" and "atheists are fanatics."
What I see here is a theological sleight-of-hand with the man's semantics to backhandedly fuel your Christian Crusade. Do you honestly think he would side with you?
Dinesh, you are no Einstein.
Mokele Mbembe at 3:48PM on May 21st 2008
13. Renzo, I am looking forward to your one sided paternalistic circular logic arguments on how you and Einstein are on the same belief page. At first, I thought you were part of the catholic hierarchy, then I thought you were DoubleD himself (because of the pomposity), but now I see you as a learned man devoid of intelligence. Renzo great job of arguing forcibly without saying a thing.
JefFlyingV at 3:49PM on May 21st 2008
14. Hmmmm.....
Einstein or D'Souza.....
Einstein or D'Souza....
Hmmm.....
Captain Negative at 3:55PM on May 21st 2008
15. who cares? Why not choose to write about bush's latest triumphs, successes, and unbelievable tenacity?
America's Most Gangsta at 4:01PM on May 21st 2008