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.
