Freethought & Rationalism Archive

03-05-2002, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by cjr1851:
.... In the 1950's he was actually offered the job of President/Prime Minister of Israel which he (even more wisely) turned down.
cjr

In Ronald W. Clark's Einstein, The Life and Times (1971) at pp 748-751 is the story of Prime Minister David Ben Gurion's offer (on the death of Chaim Weisman in 1952) to have the Knesset elect Einstein the President of Israel.

Hondo · 03-05-2002, 06:54 PM

Quote:

It seems to me that the idea of a personal God is an anthropomorphic concept which I cannot take seriously. I feel also not able to imagine some will or or goal outside the human sphere. My views are near to those of Spinoza: admiration for the beauty of belief of and belief in logical simplicity of the order and harmony which we grasp humbly and only imperfectly. I believe that we have to content ourselves with our imperfect knowledge and understanding and treat values and moral obligations as a purely human problem--the most important of human problems.
Albert Einstein pages 138-139, Einstein and Religion by max Jammer

This a great book that proves convincingly that Einstein was far from being a Xtian.

David H

03-05-2002, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by missus_gumby:
"Einstein was once asked -- to settle an argument -- whether he believed in God. He replied that he believed in Spinoza's God’. Since for Spinoza the words 'God' and 'Nature' were synonymous Einstein was, in the eyes of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, unequivocally an atheist." - from Albert Einstein: Philosopher Scientist, Harper Torchbooks, Vol. 1,1959 page 103.

Spinoza and Einstein were both Jews who had been set free from the bondage of Judaism much in the same manner as Jesus of Nazareth. This makes them Christians but not according our concept of Christians.

Moreover, if we (including me) are eager to condemn self proclaimed Christians as pretenders we should really examine these two and wonder if they were not the true Christians. Newton was another such character and we must agree that if anyone had the mind of God it was them. If next we look at what it means to have the mind of God they were Christians.

To be sure, Spinoza held that "essense precedes existence" and this means that God is in all creation. This makes them Deist or Pantheist and the "end" of religion is the pantheistic view (not to be confused with Pantheism as an -ism).

[ March 05, 2002: Message edited by: Amos ]

svensky · 03-05-2002, 07:36 PM

Quote:

most of the smart people were atheists. I gave the examples of Carl Sagan, Arthur C. Clarke, Mark Twain and Stephen Hawking

Well good to see you have a clue. Many of the early scientists where christians (and the rest where theists or deists of one sort or another), including my favourite Maxwell.

Quote:

Dad then told me that Einstein was a Christian.

Einstein was not a christian but he was a fairly loose sort of theist.

Jason

[ March 05, 2002: Message edited by: svensky ]

03-05-2002, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by svensky:

Einstein was not a christian but he was a fairly loose sort of theist (maybe as low down as a deist).

Jason

"low down"? What does that mean?

svensky · 03-05-2002, 07:42 PM

Oh yeah, and the presumption of a rational ordered universe that can be studied is a christian idea

Jason

svensky · 03-05-2002, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Amos:


"low down"? What does that mean?

I edited that bit out, becasue I didn't really think it made sense as such. I had in mind some sort of scale from theist at the top to atheist at the bottom. Which presumed a bit much. Hence I snipped it.

Jason

Seeker196 · 03-05-2002, 07:48 PM

So the question becomes, if not a Christian: "Was Einstein An Atheist?"

A "Real" atheist...I recall he once said something about Buddhism (an atheist religion) being the 'religion of the future'.

MadKally · 03-05-2002, 07:48 PM

svensky,
You're not the brightest bulb on the tree, are you?

Ford Prefect · 03-05-2002, 08:54 PM

Oh yeah, and the presumption of a rational ordered universe that can be studied is a christian idea

I thought it had it�s origins in Greek culture. Which was then passed to the Roman's. Then the Byzantine Empire. Then came the Muslims. finally it was passed on to the Christian world through contact with Muslims in Spain and Italy.

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03-05-2002, 07:42 PM	#16
svensky Regular Member Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Emerald City, Oz Posts: 130	Oh yeah, and the presumption of a rational ordered universe that can be studied is a christian idea Jason

03-05-2002, 07:48 PM	#18
Seeker196 Regular Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Canada Posts: 278	So the question becomes, if not a Christian: "Was Einstein An Atheist?" A "Real" atheist...I recall he once said something about Buddhism (an atheist religion) being the 'religion of the future'.

03-05-2002, 07:48 PM	#19
MadKally Banned Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: LALA Land in California Posts: 433	svensky, You're not the brightest bulb on the tree, are you?

03-05-2002, 08:54 PM	#20
Ford Prefect Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Boulder, Co Posts: 35	Oh yeah, and the presumption of a rational ordered universe that can be studied is a christian idea I thought it had it�s origins in Greek culture. Which was then passed to the Roman's. Then the Byzantine Empire. Then came the Muslims. finally it was passed on to the Christian world through contact with Muslims in Spain and Italy.

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