Merry Christmas!
Albert Einstein’s remark in a 1929 interview with The Saturday Evening Post: “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.”
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ElwoodBlues · M
I have my doubts about the veracity of that quote and about Einstein's belief in Jesus. The following copypasta is from StackExchange:
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Einstein was quite dismissive of most religion. This can be seen in letters he wrote, such as this one from 24th of March, 1954 (relevant paragraph only):
[quote] It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.[/quote]
In another letter, he opines
[quote] I have repeatedly said that in my opinion the idea of a personal God is a childlike one. You may call me an agnostic, but I do not share the crusading spirit of the professional atheist. ... I prefer an attitude of humility corresponding to the weakness of our intellectual understanding of nature and of our own being.[/quote]
And in a 3rd of January, 1954 letter to philosopher Eric Gutkind, Einstein said
[quote] The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this.[/quote]
In the same letter, he also said
[quote] For me the Jewish religion like all others is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions. And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people. As far as my experience goes, they are 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.[/quote]
These letters, in Einstein's own hand, portray a man who considered the Bible and its contents to be stories rather than historical facts, who took religion in general to be questionable, and whose belief was often misrepresented by others.
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Einstein was quite dismissive of most religion. This can be seen in letters he wrote, such as this one from 24th of March, 1954 (relevant paragraph only):
[quote] It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.[/quote]
In another letter, he opines
[quote] I have repeatedly said that in my opinion the idea of a personal God is a childlike one. You may call me an agnostic, but I do not share the crusading spirit of the professional atheist. ... I prefer an attitude of humility corresponding to the weakness of our intellectual understanding of nature and of our own being.[/quote]
And in a 3rd of January, 1954 letter to philosopher Eric Gutkind, Einstein said
[quote] The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this.[/quote]
In the same letter, he also said
[quote] For me the Jewish religion like all others is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions. And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people. As far as my experience goes, they are 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.[/quote]
These letters, in Einstein's own hand, portray a man who considered the Bible and its contents to be stories rather than historical facts, who took religion in general to be questionable, and whose belief was often misrepresented by others.
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Bumbles · 51-55, M
That quote can’t actually be fully attributed. He was quite skeptical about religion.
https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/38024/did-einstein-comment-on-feeling-the-presence-of-jesus-while-reading-the-gospels
https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/38024/did-einstein-comment-on-feeling-the-presence-of-jesus-while-reading-the-gospels
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