Einstein on God

Sorry Mr. Rstones, I had to step out but are you kidding ? I don't think it gets better than that. lol

Kirk Cameron as a small but partial narrator to that video does not move me.Dawkins opinion about Einstein's belief equally,does not move me.The part that isn't meaningless are the actual quotes that were shown from Einstein, to get any insight about his belief about God, that is the only way.

The poster that you said didn't list any sources for the quotes were basically covered in that video. Did you watch and read the quotes " " ?

 

Are you intentionally clueless? Maybe even ignored the content within the video?

He didn't believe in a personal god, accept it and get over it.

 

Source? He used god as a metaphor for the universe, which is very pantheistic.

The narration is ultimately irrelevant if dealing with the actual words of Einstein. If he explicitly says he does not believe in a personal god, what bias is there to be had? All of the theistic type quotes that are posted on theistic websites are quote mined, and exclude context.

My favorite being "god does not play with dice". It has very little to do with a deity, and much more to do with Einsteins disbelief that a branch of physics can only be determined by probability and not by definite outcomes.

 

Are your struggling with the English language?

I believe I was rather clear in my post about what Einstein did and did not accept about God, making the same point that you are now treating me as a idiot as you make it .... while ignoring the fact that Einstein believed in God and is thus not an atheist - but doesn't stop the dishonest twits of atheism from claiming he was anyways.

I have already accepted the truth of Einstein's beliefs. He was a theist, he was not an atheist, and he does not need to Christian for me to respect him or his work. I will take him as he is, and honor him as a good, intelligent, and honorable human being.

All he is to atheists is a club to bash people with, as if to say, "Look how smart we atheists are, we have Einstein and therefore you are stupid!"

Accept atheists do not have Einstein. You have Dawkins and Hitchens, angry, obtuse, and ommission based priests of atheism. Be proud of what you have, and, as the Bible states, do not covet what others have carved out for themselves.

 

So Einstein was a theist despite explicitly stating otherwise?

An interesting world you live in.

 

You could say probably more accurately that Einstein was a deist but what you can't say is that Einstein did not believe in God.

 

To be a theist you just have to believe in God. Einstein did. He simply, and as both you and I have stated now, struggled with his comprehension of how vast teh universe is and how a God could possibly care about something as tiny as us (on an individual level) in something so vast. He was very, very respectful of others who, through faith, understood this even as he struggled with the reality of the claim - one we think best demonstrates just how much God DOES ove us.

You however, are trapped by your own spin and need to insult people. You, not us, cannot bare the relaity of our teachings, of Einstein's teachings, the definition of theist, or teh concept of civility.

What an utterly boring, self centered world you alone exist in.

 

Possibility, however theism is far removed from deism. Of Einstein was a deist, then he was an atheist. A-theist. Rejection of a the personal god.

Atheism is often used to include both, and more so to include other claims of the supernatural.

 

I suggest watching the video, you obviously haven't a clue.

 

Yep, I have no clue what a theist and an atheist is. I have directly quoted Einstein and referred to his beliefs, but have no idea what he says.

I suggest you come down off your high horse. Knowledge is not something known only by you, though it certainly seems to surprise you that other people know things .... sounds like a personal problem.

Nice to see the strength of your debate is "watch you tube!" (Assuming you are even debating at this point?)

No thanks, I'll stick to books and scholarship.

 

Deists believe in God. Atheists do not. Ipso facto, Einstein was not an atheist.

 

Agh, so we have indeed changed the definition of atheism.

a : a disbelief in the existence of deity b : the doctrine that there is no deity

Funny, I don't see the word 'personal' in there for some reason?

Just like I said huh? Atheists will bend their rules one way to include people, even when they themselves do not classifiy themselves as atheists, as atheists. See Einstein, Jefferson, and even Buddhists.

But, when the people are generally non-religious, or explicitly reject God, and wind up in jail? Well, those people are not atheists.

Mitt Romney is though

What do you really have to be in order to be atheist? Successful. Then, no matter what you write, or any criticism of internal spiritual issues, will be used to pull you into the church of atheism.

 

Neither was he a believer in any kind of personal spirit. He described himself as agnostic. Who would presume to gainsay Einstein as to what he believed?

"I am a deeply religious nonbeliever.

This is somewhat new kind of religion. I have never imputed to Nature a purpose or a goal, or anything that could be understood as anthropomorphic.What I see in Nature is a magnificent structure that we can comprehend only very imperfectly, and that must fill a thinking person with a feeling of humility.

My position concerning God is that of an agnostic. I am convinced that a vivid consciousness of the primary importance of moral principles for the betterment and ennoblement of life does not need the idea of a law-giver. Especially a law-giver who works on the basis of reward and punishment.

To assume the existence of an unperceivable being… does not facilitate understanding the orderliness we find in the perceivable world. I don`t try to imagine a personal God; it suffices to stand in awe at the structure of the world, insofar as it allows our inadequate senses to appreciate it. "

Albert Einstein

 

Two things:

#1 - Notice that the religious people are advocating that Einstein was a theist, and a Jew, and one who struggled with the concept of faith that evolved through a complex life.

#2 - Notice that atheists are trying very hard to make Einstein an atheist, even though he himself did not classifiy himself as such.

"It is best, it seems to me, to separate one's inner striving from one's trade as far as possible. It is not good when one's daily break is tied to God's special blessing." -- Albert Einstein

"So long as they don't get violent, I want to let everyone say what they wish, for I myself have always said exactly what pleased me." -- Albert Einstein

"God may be subtle, but He isn't plain mean." -- Albert Einstein

"Before God we are all equally wise - and equally foolish." --Albert Einstein

The truth of Einstein's spiritual journey is one of a journey. Again, I do not need him to be anything other than what he was, his insights, his evolution, give insights into what and whom he was. I see nothing trite there, even as I find some things he writes to be right on and others well wide of the mark.

What I do see is many atheists needing Einstein to be something he was not, to make hash his life and thoughts, and who seem to think another man's life is little more than a club to bash others.

Einstein was a man who believed in God and struggled, honestly, with the concept his whole life. Atheists have no struggle. Not with God (apparently, but we know better), and not with usurpation of facts and ommission.

 

In my mind, the credibility of your posts is diminished by your constant attacks on atheism. Faulting atheists for attacks on theists and then attacking atheists in a similar manner seems a bit hypocritical to me. Just my 2 cents.....

 

Agh, the super victim cape.

Let me know when you apply the same standard to atheists who constantly attack religion.

I fault atheists for things like this BTW:

http://www.atheists.org/religion

The idea that a Christian, or anyone, would or should accept that garabage is nothing short of delusional.

BTW - I have only ever seen one atheist reject it - Cass. The rest? Seem to think it is accurate. But its wrong to point out how inaccurate it is?

Your cape brother.

 

This is not a "bash atheists and insult individuals" thread, Neutral, it's about Einstein's understanding of god.

That's been clearly documented, watch the video, it's a good summary.
It can be backed it up with actual written, sourced quotes, as I have done before on this subject.

Einstein's views come close to Spinoza's pantheism, as he said himself.
Einstein believed in an all pervading intelligence, and also believed in a transcendental aspect of this force beyond nature.
That's lightyears away from the personal god Christians who wish to claim Einstein as one of their own, as I already said.

It's a view many atheists, including myself, don't have a problem with, though materialists will of course frown at the transcendental notion.

 

No, he has not redefined atheism, but refers to the narrow definition of theism, which is the belief in a personal god as opposed to deism, which is not.

It always helps to familiarise oneself with the territory before hurling accusations at others.
Reading the subject further than oneline concise dictionary definitions is very useful in this respect.

 

And here I thought after your many whine fests, you were an agnostic atheist.

Now you are a pantheist? Or, just like I said, will an atheist change what he believes in at the drop of a hat so long as it is the opposite of anything said by a Christian?

Feel free to share with us your tremendous temper and sense of injustice and moral outrage at being called on your statements - which you have no doubt never made - but have. As long as you can hi-jack another thread who your irrighteous idignation it'll all be good.

Its all about crapping on Christians and giving vent to your anger isn;t it.

WHose debating Einstein slick? I believe I have made many quotes from Einstein and stated that his views on God were quite complicated, evolving, and an honest wrestling with the issue - I see NONE of that from any of the atheists laying claim to his mantel.

Einstein to atheists is just a club used in ignorance by the ignorant to bash people of actual ability.

 

In other words, he changed the defintion of atheism in a way that allowed it to include the definition of theism .... and findamentally violates the definition of the one thing that all atheists state about atheism: The disbelief in God or Gods.

Unless of course you are Einstein.

Or just have a chip on your shoulder and want to get in to bullying internet fight because you have self esteem issues, then the definition of atheism can be anything it wants to be.

Gottcha.

 

No, not "in other words", and the narrow definition does not include theism, as I just explained.

Try to understand what you read instead of reinterpreting it to suit your anti-atheist agenda.

 

Quit the personal insults, Neutral.

No, I am not a pantheist.
Try to understand what you read.

 

Agh, no, its just rationalization to be utterly intrasigent, obtuse, and combative.

The CHANGED definition of atheism being advocated in this thread puts it into the definition of theism and of even Philosophical Theism .... which, incredibly, none of teh lecturing atheists on this forum have referrenced.

What a shock.

Now, how many have called other people 'stupid'? Yep, that is atheism.

 

Nope, just utterly intrasigent.

And already a victim again.

 

Certainly been subjected to uncalled for insults and accusations, again.

Are you going to respond to any of the thoughtful commentary on Einstein, or is rational exchange not your style?