Wednesday 5 November 2014

Einstein: Religion is Childish Superstition


God-bots usually cite Albert Einstein as proof that belief is an intelligent choice. But in a letter to be auctioned off, Einstein told a philosopher what he really thought: 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.

Einstein felt the same way about Judaism:

For me the Jewish religion like all others is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions. However, most non-theists already knew how Einstein felt about religion by his previous words: I do not believe in immortality of the individual, and I consider ethics to be an exclusively human concern with no superhuman authority behind it. It seems to me that the idea of a personal God is an anthropological concept which I cannot take seriously. I also cannot imagine some will or goal outside the human sphere. Science has been charged with undermining morality, but the charge is unjust. A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death.