You guys are talking about a different, parallel universe?
Then it must be true, since in my universe, Einstein wrote the following (the letter from Albert Einstein to Eric Gutkind from Princeton in January 1954):
"... 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. These subtilised interpretations are highly manifold according to their nature and have almost nothing to do with the original text. For me the Jewish religion like all other religions is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions..."
(The letter from Albert Einstein to Eric Gutkind from Princeton in January 1954)
Slobodan, as you must know, there are many quotes about God and religion from Einstein.
As I mentioned a few posts ago, Einstein did not believe in the conventional, personal God who intervenes in human affairs, listens to peoples' prayers, and bestows individual favours or punishments. So thanks for elaborating on that concept.
However, having told us what aspects of religion, and ideas of God, Einstein did
not believe in, I think you should have included some quote from Einstein that gives us an idea of what religious notions he
did believe in, lest we think you are biased.
My understanding has always been that Einstein had deeply religious convictions, albeit of an unorthodox character.
A quick search on the internet came up with the following website which attempts to summarize Einstein's views on religion.
http://www.einsteinandreligion.com/religioncomments.htmlI'll post just a few of my favourite quotes from that website, to whet your appetite.
(1) I'll start off with the New York Times quote in their obituary, April 19, 1955.
"My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble minds. That deeply emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible Universe, forms my idea of God."(2) Next, a letter to a child who asked if scientists pray, January 24, 1936; Einstein Archive 42-601.
"Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe - a spirit vastly superior to that of man.... In this way the pursuit of science leads to a religious feeling of a special sort, which is indeed quite different from the religiosity of someone more naive."(3) 1920; quoted in Moszkowski, Conversations with Einstein p. 46
"In every true searcher of Nature there is a kind of religious reverence, for he finds it impossible to imagine that he is the first to have thought out the exceedingly delicate threads that connect his perceptions."(4) When asked by an astounded atheist, if he were in fact deeply religious, Einstein replied:
"Yes, you can call it that. Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature and you will find that, behind all the discernible concatenations, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. Veneration for this force beyond anything that we can comprehend is my religion. To that extent I am, in point of fact, religious."H. G. Kessler, The Diary of a Cosmopolitan, (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1971), p.157; quoted in Einstein and Religion by Max Jammer (Princeton University Press, 1999) pp. 39-40.
Just trying to redress the imbalance, Slobodan.