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At Nautilus: How Einstein reconciled religion to science

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What about Einstein’s frequent use of God language?

What Einstein said, in a note to the philosopher Eric Gutkind, whose book Choose Life: The Biblical Call to Revolt Einstein was reviewing, was nearly as scathing as any contemporary critique of religion you might hear from Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, or Christopher Hitchens. “The word God is for me,” Einstein wrote, “nothing more than the expression and product of human weakness, the Bible a collection of honorable, but still purely primitive, legends. No interpretation, no matter how subtle, can change this for me.”

It is no wonder why, for decades, Einstein’s views on religion became muddled in the popular imagination: The inconsistency is clear. Here, God means one thing; over there, another. Just going off his letter to Gutkind, Einstein appears to be an atheist. But read Einstein in other places and you find him directly declaring that he is not one. “I am not an Atheist,” he said in an interview published in 1930. “I do not know if I can define myself as a Pantheist.

Brian Gallagher, “How Einstein Reconciled Religion to Science” at Nautilus

Actually, despite the article’s title, Einstein didn’t reconcile anything. He said different things at different times to different people. And it didn’t matter. People took what they wanted from it. It sounds as though he didn’t really have a firm opinion.

Comments
From the article, Einstein declared his lack of belief in a 'personal' God as such
“I believe in Spinoza’s God, who reveals himself in the lawful harmony of the world, not in a God who concerns himself with the fate and the doings of mankind.” - Einstein
And also from the article, Einstein declared his lack of belief in the 'personal' God of the Bible as such
“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. No interpretation, no matter how subtle, can change this for me.” (The next sentence in the letter states) "For me the Jewish religion like all other religions is an incarnation of the most childish superstition." - Einstein
It is also important to realize the context in which Einstein wrote that statement. Einstein wrote that statement in 1954, not long after the holocaust in Germany had occurred. ,,, Might Einstein be forgiven for thinking that God was not concerned with "the fate and the doings of mankind" after witnessing such cruel inhumanity unleashed upon his own people? I know that I would certainly have a very hard time reconciling any belief in a personal God to the fact that over 6 million of my own people had just been mercilessly killed in the concentration camps of Germany. And yet, regardless of what Einstein's, or my, personal feelings may be about the holocaust, the fact of the matter is the holocaust itself, as unimaginably horrid as it was, reveals that God in indeed concerned about "the fate and the doings of mankind". Moreover, the holocaust itself reveals that the Bible is certainly NOT "an incarnation of the most childish superstition." No matter what our personal feelings about the holocaust may be, the fact of the matter is that the holocaust, as horrid as it was, served as the driving catalyst for the fulfillment of one of the main, and most amazing, prophecies in the Bible. The present day existence of Israel is rightly considered a stunning confirmation of numerous biblical prophecies that predicted exactly that. Here is an article that goes over the numerous Biblical prophecies in the Old Testament that prophesied the regathering of the Jewish people into Israel from the nations of the world,,
The Regathering of Israel Excerpt: The regathering of Israel is an often repeated prediction of the Bible, mentioned in a multitude of passages. The Jews were globally dispersed for 1,900 years, and yet, during that time they were able to retain their cultural and religious identity. In recent years, they were reestablished as a nation against all odds.,,, Let’s consider the predictions that the Bible makes in this regard. Below is a partial list of verses that predict the regathering of Israel. For more passages, see the endnote.[i] http://www.evidenceunseen.com/articles/prophecy/the-regathering-of-israel/
And in the New Testament, we find that Jesus Himself predicted the dispersion of the Jewish people from Israel into the nations "until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled."
Luke 21:24 They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Thus, regardless of how Einstein may have personally felt about the holocaust, and regardless of how the holocaust may have effected his own belief in a 'personal' God Who concerns Himself with "the fate and the doings of mankind", (and regardless of the fact that Einstein thought that the Bible was "the most childish superstition",,), besides all that, the fact of the matter is that the holocaust itself, as horrid as it was, served as the main catalyst for the fulfillment of one of the most amazing and miraculous prophecies in the Bible. i.e. The regathering of Israel as a nation! For instance of one prophecy, out of many, from the Old Testament..
Isaiah 11:11-12 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
In spite of our personal feelings about it, it is simply a 'miraculous' fulfillment of prophecy that the Jewish people should be dispersed across the globe for 2000 years and yet somehow be able to maintain their cultural identity, and even retain their language, and then regather as one people in the nation of Israel after two thousand years of not having a nation to call their own.
The Miracle of the Restoration of the Nation of Israel - video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydwxy9yqhzM
And besides the restoration of Israel as a nation, the Bible also has numerous other prophecies that have been fulfilled,
Fulfilled Prophecy: Evidence for the Reliability of the Bible BY HUGH ROSS - AUGUST 22, 2003 Excerpt: Unique among all books ever written, the Bible accurately foretells specific events-in detail-many years, sometimes centuries, before they occur. Approximately 2500 prophecies appear in the pages of the Bible, about 2000 of which already have been fulfilled to the letter—no errors. (The remaining 500 or so reach into the future and may be seen unfolding as days go by.) https://reasons.org/explore/publications/tnrtb/read/tnrtb/2003/08/22/fulfilled-prophecy-evidence-for-the-reliability-of-the-bible
For instance fulfilled prophecies from the Old Testament, the Old Testament prophets made some insanely accurate predictions concerning Tyre and Sidon, Thebes and Memphis, Babylon and Ninevah that can be verified as being true,,,
6 ANCIENT CITIES, 6 DEADLY ACCURATE PROPHECIES THAT PROVE THE INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE October 9, 2019 by Erik Manning https://isjesusalive.com/six-prophecies-about-six-ancient-cities/
Thus the Bible, directly contrary to Einstein's claim that it is "the most childish superstition", is in fact a uniquely amazing and stunning Book. There simply is no other book like it in the world. A uniquely amazing and stunning Book that has a remarkably accurate track record in regards to numerous fulfilled prophecies.
Isaiah 44:7 Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come-- yes, let them foretell what will come.
bornagain77
November 30, 2020
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Einstein was not raised in a religious household, which did impact his view on various religions later in life. Anyone who believes his parents were anything other than atheists who wanted nothing to do with Judaism should look into why they named their son Albert. Einstein's view on God was simple. God exists, since it was the only explanation for seeing order in the universe. He did not care about anything other than determining how God created the universe.BobRyan
November 29, 2020
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Einstein's 'biggest blunder' was premature capitulation. In part due to lack of Torah study. His 'last regret' was that he had not studied more Torah. Now Torah study while discounting that study is like a hamster running on a wheel. Lack of Torah knowledge is like driving blind. As Torah revelation is the 'owner manual' that provides context for the science. Thus Einstein contributed a lot to science, but missed much of the fat science dividends he sought. reference www.academia.edu/44176808 in volume II of the YeC Moshe Emes series for Torah and science alignment.Pearlman
November 29, 2020
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