Einstein definitely wasn't religious (Full Version)

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ianz -> Einstein definitely wasn't religious (5/12/2008 10:33:44 PM)

Einstein pops up now and again as someone thought to have been religious, but it seems that a letter written by him, which is to be auctioned, answers once and for all that he was not religious at all.

Cheers, Ian



drj11 -> RE: Einstein definitely wasn't religious (5/12/2008 11:20:19 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: ianz

Einstein pops up now and again as someone thought to have been religious, but it seems that a letter written by him, which is to be auctioned, answers once and for all that he was not religious at all.

Cheers, Ian


Yea, I thought the issue had been pretty much settled already. He had made it clear that he did not believe in any personal God, although he referenced God in a sort of pantheistic, romantic way quite frequently. He wasn't anti-religious either, he just apparently didn't swallow it. I completely understand ;)



essentialsaltes -> RE: Einstein definitely wasn't religious (5/12/2008 11:42:11 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: ianz

Einstein pops up now and again as someone thought to have been religious, but it seems that a letter written by him, which is to be auctioned, answers once and for all that he was not religious at all.

Cheers, Ian


Wow, that's pretty astonishing in its frankness.



CatholicCritter -> RE: Einstein definitely wasn't religious (5/14/2008 11:38:14 AM)

Einstein changed his view on God as often as he changed his shirt. This letter can only be taken in that vein, his view on God and Religion at that point in time. Those who are taking this to the 'Einstein was an Atheist' conclusion are inserting their own prejudice, IMO. The prejudice is that smart people are skeptics and dumb people are religious. That viewpoint is proven invalid by history, however.



ianz -> RE: Einstein definitely wasn't religious (5/14/2008 5:41:34 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: CatholicCritter

Einstein changed his view on God as often as he changed his shirt. This letter can only be taken in that vein, his view on God and Religion at that point in time.

Did he? My recollection is that he was not at all religious throughout his life. Many of his statements were taken out of context or misunderstood.

Putting aside whether or not this is true - do you believe that someone would in fact regularly change their view on something as fundamental as the existence of god?

quote:

The prejudice is that smart people are skeptics and dumb people are religious.

That is certainly not my view.

Regards, Ian



EStan -> RE: Einstein definitely wasn't religious (5/15/2008 2:17:18 PM)

it's a shame that a man as brilliant as Einstein refused to accept the evidence for a Creator God. Will those of us who have faith in Christ see him when we get to heaven? That would be nice - but very unexpected.



drj11 -> RE: Einstein definitely wasn't religious (5/15/2008 3:25:20 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: EStan

it's a shame that a man as brilliant as Einstein refused to accept the evidence for a Creator God. Will those of us who have faith in Christ see him when we get to heaven? That would be nice - but very unexpected.


First off, Einstein was Jewish... so even if he did accept the "evidence", he would still most likely not accept Jesus Christ.

Secondly... isn't it a little presumptuous of you to assume you will even get into heaven? I think Jesus himself had some things to say about such hubris.



Agahnim -> RE: Einstein definitely wasn't religious (5/15/2008 3:36:13 PM)

quote:

Did he? My recollection is that he was not at all religious throughout his life. Many of his statements were taken out of context or misunderstood.

Putting aside whether or not this is true - do you believe that someone would in fact regularly change their view on something as fundamental as the existence of god?

My understanding of Einstein’s views on religion is that he believed there to by a type of intelligence behind the universe, which could arguably be considered a “god”, but that he thought religious doctrines such as Christianity and Judaism were insufficient to describe it. This seems consistent with what he said in that letter—the letter is specifically attacking Judeo-Christian religion; not the idea that God exists at all.



JimboFletch -> RE: Einstein definitely wasn't religious (5/15/2008 3:41:11 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: drj11
Secondly... isn't it a little presumptuous of you to assume you will even get into heaven? I think Jesus himself had some things to say about such hubris.

I've known I'm going to heaven for 41 years. The Bible tells us so (for a short course, read the epistle of 1 John).

I'd hate to have a graceless, work-based religion that couldn't assure me of heaven. What kind of religion do you subscibe to?



Jhud -> RE: Einstein definitely wasn't religious (5/15/2008 4:00:55 PM)

quote:

First off, Einstein was Jewish... so even if he did accept the "evidence", he would still most likely not accept Jesus Christ.

Secondly... isn't it a little presumptuous of you to assume you will even get into heaven? I think Jesus himself had some things to say about such hubris.


Actually, I agree with your first point, that it is really irrelevant from a Christian perspective what flavor or degree of belief Einstein had, but as to your second point, the entire purpose of Christ's coming was so we could know what our eternal destiny would be; it's no more hubris for a Christian to be assured of salvation than it would be hubris for a person to assume that gravity isn't going to stop working tonight and everyone is simply going to drift off into space.



hammurabi -> RE: Einstein definitely wasn't religious (5/15/2008 4:02:38 PM)

Einstein professed belief in Spinozism. That means God or Nature. God coextensive with Nature, in a sense. Go here to find out more.



Kames -> RE: Einstein definitely wasn't religious (5/25/2008 8:01:59 PM)

I thought that was an interesting thing, for me it was Einstein professing a belief in the supernatural and an attack of organized religion which seems guilty, to him, of demystifying "It/Id"

I recently read another interesting related article: Einstein and Darwin: A tale of two theories
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7490426/page/2/



Marcus. -> RE: Einstein definitely wasn't religious (5/27/2008 10:37:18 AM)

May 26, 2008 18:36 | Updated May 27, 2008 15:21
Bit of bible may have helped
By SHMULEY BOTEACH

It's always a revelation when a world-renowned intellectual attacks religion as silly and juvenile to discover that his or her own personal life might have greatly benefited from a commitment to the "infantile" biblical values they so casually dismiss.

Such was the case recently when the news broke that Albert Einstein's letter on God, in which he described the Bible as "pretty childish," sold for more than $400,000.

If history has taught us one thing about intelligent people, it is that even the most brilliant need help when it comes to formulating and living with proper values. Paul Johnson's 1990 book, Intellectuals, demonstrates just how warped the values of some intellectuals - such as Rousseau, Marx, and Tolstoy - could be.

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