Einstein’s Letter Questioning God Goes Up for Auction
October 6, 2012 4 Comments
The private letter expressing his views on God and religion will go up for auction Monday on eBay.
From studying slices of his brilliant brain to probing profound physics theories, scientists and enthusiasts alike have long been spellbound by Albert Einstein. Now, an auction is offering the world a peek at Einstein’s thoughts on what may be humanity’s most profound question: the existence of God.
The private letter written by Einstein expressing his views on God and religion will go up for auction Monday (Oct. 8) on eBay. In the letter, he calls belief in religion and God “pretty childish” and ridicules the idea that the Jews are a chosen people.
“This is the most historic and significant piece we have listed on eBay,” Eric Gazin, president of Auction Cause, the agency managing the sale, told LiveScience in an email. “We are excited to offer a person or organization an opportunity to own perhaps one of the most intriguing 20th-century documents in existence. This personal letter from Einstein represents the nexus of science, theology, reason and culture.”
Einstein handwrote the letter in German to Jewish philosopher Eric B. Gutkind on Jan. 3, 1954, a year before Einstein’s death. The letter was a response to Gutkind’s book “Choose Life: The Biblical Call to Revolt” (1952, H. Schuman; 1st edition).
In part of his letter, Einstein writes, “For me the Jewish religion like all other religions 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 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,” as translated from German by Joan Stambaugh. (Religious Mysteries: 8 Alleged Relics of Jesus)…
The “God” letter goes on sale Oct. 8, with an opening bid of $3 million. Anyone interested (with the money to spare) can make an eBay bid here.
About Fr Stephen Smuts
Yeah Einstein’s words ain’t much in eternity, at least not to the true Judeo-Christian sense, for the “Lord God” says the Jews are HIS chosen people! “And you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for His own possession (special treasure) out of all the people who are on the face of the earth.” (Deut. 14:2) Amen!
You know who thinks Einstein is relevant in anything? NO ONE IMPORTANT. You ask a physics student or some of the more advanced subsection of that science who the most influential physicist was of the last century, and you’d find different names than Einstein. Einstein is like a precursor to the “celebrity scientist” like Stephen Hawking, Richard Dawkins, Carl Sagan, Michio Kaku and the like- they’re there to say things as if they’re on the cutting edge of everything and make pseudo-philosophical statements about science changing everything and basically have this smug tone knowing how many idiots think that just because they’re really good in one field, well, that must mean they’re “really smart in everything!” And people LOVE them because people -feel- smarter from the watered down, made-for-public-consumption soundbites statements about scientific studies…. even if all they’ve become is condescending, pseudo-intellectual, over-educated morons who they themselves fall trap to their own fallen human nature. They become those folks who say “Truth can only come from the scientific method,” despite not being able to go to a laboratory and perform a quantitative experiment that proves that statement.
Well, if I wanted to know something about God or morality, why would I consult a biologist or a physicist, especially one who married his cousin? You see these posters of Einstein with quotes talking about war, even though you have a wider range of military minds that are more qualified to talk about war than someone who admitted to be a failure with relationships. I’d prefer a psychotic Patton talking to me about war when it’s in my interest to talk about war, but why would I talk to Einstein about war, when that man RAN from war and knows nothing about the experience of war due to his running to Switzerland? I’d find more useful conversation from veterans who know nothing about particle physics.
If I wanted someone to speak about God, listen to the Pope. Listen to a monk. But please don’t listen to someone who says “There is no God” because id you did, you are as foolish as the fool who says in his heart: “There is no God”
Now, if I were a latter-day Voltaire, and I wanted to Crush the Infamous Thing, it would be the fetishization of the intellect, of scientists and science that I would like to see guillotined. Because we know the result of putting faith in something so amoral and so monstrous that what we are seeing in our time is the abolishment of mankind. Last century alone, and more dead through godless ideologies and “science”.
Well, everyone one is entitled to their own opinion. I respect him as a scientist not a theologian. There are people however that will take Einstein’s words as gospel and say see ‘see he didn’t need God neither do I’. Just like the people who bought into the DaVinci Code lie and declared themselves athiests. Oh, “Einstein’s thoughts on what may be humanity’s most profound question: the existence of God”. Not really. Humanity’s most profound question: ‘where is the next meal coming from’?
and those people who think the being an atheist makes one automatically smarter while religion makes one stupid?
It’s offensive at first, then infuriating. Then, it just becomes ridiculous. And then, it gets depressing as to how frequently “Enlightened” and “Educated” people can swallow the load of tripe. These are our “intellectual elites” now. (Or they’d like us to think so.)