Einstein: religion is “childish superstition”
Few other historic figures have had their religious beliefs as thoroughly questioned as that of Albert Einstein. I suppose the problem is that he often used the word “God” in his conversations and writings. Of course, atheists would like to claim him as one but he consistently rebuffed this claim since he considered himself an agnostic. He did though reject the notion of a personal, interventionist god. So at most he was a deist agnostic. But even then, he emphatically pronounced that the god he talked of was “Spinoza’s God“, which broadly translates to god = nature.
The religious claims on Einstein is however a curious phenomenon. Why is it that the religious always seems to want the authority of scientists to effectively disprove science? People who believe in an entirely invisible realm without one iota of evidence ever have being produced – a concept in complete antipathy to science – somehow need a scientist to validate their fantasies. And the more famous the scientist, the better. Hence the continuous claims on Einstein as a believer in “god”.
A year before his death in 1955, Albert Einstein wrote a letter to philosopher Erik Gutkind after reading his book, ‘Choose Life: The Biblical Call to Revolt’. If anyone is still undecided whether Einstein believed in a god, I would suggest this passage from the letter will clear up the matter:
The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weakness, the Bible a collection of honorable, but still purely 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 other religions is an incarnation of the most childish superstition. And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong … have no different quality for me than all other people. As far as my experience goes, they are also 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.
Until his dying day, Einstein was in awe of nature, the universe. And like all people who know so much about it, he understood how little we know. This was his mystery, his “god”. As Walter Isaacson says in his book Einstein: His Life and Universe,
For some people, miracles serve as evidence of God’s existence. For Einstein it was the absence of miracles that reflected divine providence. The fact that the world was comprehensible, that it followed laws, was worthy of awe.
How do you do
I see you’ve met my faithful handyman.
No this isn’t a Rocky Horror blog. I can’t see there being much transsexual chatter – although you never know. Fishnet stockings? No, I’ll keep that to myself. Music? Yeah, maybe some of that. Fun? Absolutely – no dull boys around here.
Now that the disappointed Transylvanian hordes have fled, here’s what this blog is all about.
My faithful handyman is reason. Not only is reason our way of observing and deciphering the natural world, it’s a handy tool for separating the truth from lies, the stuff that works from that which never will, reality from delusion, evidence from deception, the real world from fantasy, the rational from the mystical. It is the tool that allows us to live our lives to the fullest knowing that this is our only shot at it. And if we are to be happy, we must harness our faculty of reason to make it the best life we can.
Hence, ReasonCheck. Take a step back (or is that a jump to the left?) and check for the presence or absence of reason. Simple really.
But, this is not a philosophical wank – it’s simply a place where I can comment and sometimes rant about what’s wrong (and right) in our world. I don’t respect un-reason and will not have any holy cows when pointing out the absurdities, lies and absurd beliefs of those in power, those with influence and those who are just out to hurt and defraud.
So a motley collection of religious fanatics, pseudo-scientists, power-crazed politicians, bleeding-heart nannies, environment destroyers, right-wing fascists, left-wing collectivists – and all the others who think they can fool all of the people all of the time – will be in my sights.
I am for: reason, the pursuit of knowledge, science, evolution, scepticism, free markets, constitutional democracy, fighting global warming, free speech and peace. Oh – and music, technology, friends, laughter, cricket, sailing, photography and of course, my family. And some other stuff – when it crops up. My friends tell me I’m prone to hyperbole, piss-taking and sarcasm. But don’t be fooled: I’m a sober, scrupulously fair and politically correct commentator. Or not.
I live and work in South Africa so naturally this blog will have a South African bias, but ideas are universal and as a citizen of the world, I will certainly comment on inanity wherever it occurs. There are heroes too all over the world and will laud them when I stub a toe on them.
You won’t find Earth people quite the easy mark you imagine.
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