On 28 November 2010 11:08, Sriram Karra <[email protected]> wrote: > On Sat, Nov 27, 2010 at 10:56 PM, Sriram Karra <[email protected]> wrote: > >> > >> Even Einstein believed in God. > >> > >> Kiran > >> > > > > If "God" refers to a supernatural power who created and sustains the > > world and listens to prayers and doles out favours to the faithful, > > then Einstein certainly did not believe in God. > > > > Richard Dawkins' God Delusion goes into this very misconception in some > detail. > > Now that I have my copy with me, I can give the following Einstein > quotes reproduced by Dawkins: > > "It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious > convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not > believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have > expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called > religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the > world so far as our science can reveal it." > > "I am a deeply religious nonbeliever. This is a 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. This > is a genuinely religious feeling that has nothing to do with > mysticism. > > The idea of a personal God is quite alien to me and seems even naive." > > Dawkins refers to Max Jammer's "Einstein and Religion" as his source > for these, and other, Einstein quotes. I have not read Jammer. >
I am aware of the fact that Einstein didn't believe in the standard definition of God. IIRC his major issue was with the Uncertainty Principle, which as far as I know hasn't been disproved. Once you accept that science, even his definition of God seems superstitious and starts sounding like that of those who advocate Intelligent Design. Kiran
