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 3 of 24)
31. "Atheists seem very eager to claim Einstein for one of their own."
Dinesh seems very eager to exhume Eistein's remains, and restore him as an animatronic puppet that wanders the Dartmouth campus, saying "I believe in god! Atheists are fanatics! Buy the new D'Souza book, now available on Amazon.com!"
Mokele Mbembe at 4:27PM on May 21st 2008
32. DD,
after you're finished obfuscating the truth you can tell us the part about how Einstein rejects organized religion.
Mokele Mbembe
>>
Catch a clue ... you stupid Moke. YOu claim to be an atheist. That means that your argument is not with organized religion, but with the existence of God. Maybe you're a Theist and just too damn stupid to understand the difference? If not, you need an argument that goes beyond organized religion. You need to believe that life, the universe and everything in it was an accident, which calls for more faith than those that believe in a Christian god.
Thomas J Gassett at 4:27PM on May 21st 2008
33. PV, I actually kind of agree with you on all that (30).
Mokele Mbembe at 4:29PM on May 21st 2008
34. Tom; you apparently have no clue as to what any of us believe. You've been wrong twice so far...
Ryan Anderson at 4:30PM on May 21st 2008
35. Prof X to Thom G., "look Thom you have to push its head back, see,
the candy pops out, read the scripture on the candy. No Thom!, you're
doing it wrong, you're going to break the scriptural pez dispenser...no, no miracle, you have to put new candies in when it runs out..."
JefFlyingV at 4:30PM on May 21st 2008
36. "Obviously, arguing for any particular religion's attempts to define that supreme creative intelligence is another discussion for another day."
PV, as long as it doesn't involve a discussion of human contracts and what they are or aren't, have at it!
brandon at 4:31PM on May 21st 2008
37. Thomas J Gassett,
Where's YOUR reading comprehension? I NEVER said I was an atheist (not that I would be ashamed). Just last page I told that I WASN'T. Catch a clue. I'm embarrassed for you.
Mokele Mbembe at 4:31PM on May 21st 2008
38. "Catch a clue ... you stupid Moke. YOu claim to be an atheist. "
No, YOU catch a clue, you stupid, arrogant blog-whore.
Mokele has never claimed to be an atheist.
brandon at 4:33PM on May 21st 2008
39. "35. Prof X to Thom G., "look Thom you have to push its head back, see,
the candy pops out, "
Jef, just got a disturbing image of a priest using that line on a kid...
Sorry, lack of sleep has my mind rather fuzzy...
brandon at 4:35PM on May 21st 2008
40. DD, have you heard the music of the spheres?
Being able to hear the music of the spheres says so much about Mr. E.
Pinchas at 4:36PM on May 21st 2008
41. Athiests will be crying and whining when Christ comes again. Until then we just have to put up with them like we do roaches and hemorrhoids.
Bobber at 4:36PM on May 21st 2008
42. Ok Dinesh, you win. Einstein was as much an atheist as Hitler.
AndrewV at 4:38PM on May 21st 2008
43. "Athiests will be crying and whining when Christ comes again. Until then we just have to put up with them like we do roaches and hemorrhoids."
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That is what you think might be.
At this moment, atheists are laughing at your sad little delusional fanatasy. You are a child.
Linda at 4:40PM on May 21st 2008
44. You are all idiots, your little minds are too weak to even begin to comprehend a living God. But one thing is certain, your rush to type your idiotic argument to dispute the existance of God is a sure sign that you know in your own mind that you are not sure one way or the other. What Einstein was saying is this....Nature is no accident, there is an intelligence that controls it. The natural laws of the universe are laws that were designed by an intelligence far superior to the mind of man.
Richard at 4:40PM on May 21st 2008
45. Abortion will end like black slavery.
To end abortion we must do exactly how the English abolitionist William Wilberforce did to slavery, to kill the idea that it is good. Like any movement in history, the use of images, devices & testimonies of both victims and abusers have all proven powerful. While the acts of slavery & abortion have existed throughout history and even to today, people now shun the idea that slavery is a good. It's barbaric. Legalized black slavery practically lasted up to 300 years. During that course, if one was to say that it would end, you would have been scoffed. Abortion will one day be scoffed.
The parallels of the events surrounding slavery & abortion are so strikingly similar. I will draw up a list to examine it.
ABORTION SLAVERY
Planned Parenthood Slave Trade
graphic image Slave Ship
post-abortion post-slavery
conversion conversion
egg/sperm human being
prayer prayer
healing healing
racism racism
hope hope
lawless horrors lawless horrors
dignity of victim dignity of victim
garbage cans overboard
community community
testimony testimony
pro-choice(aborting) pro-choice (owning)
FEEL FREE TO ADD MORE IF NEED TO
Godless Becomes a Beleiver at 4:42PM on May 21st 2008