EINSTEIN BELIEVED IN A CREATOR

Einstein has been a challenge for atheists who cannot accept that such a "modern" genius would believe in a Creator. Some have resorted to his statement that he believed in "Spinoza's God" to neutralize that possibility. In fact some have stated that Einstein only believed in "nature," or that Einstein used the term "God" as a "metaphor" rather than a reality.

By believing in Spinoza's God, Einstein  is clearly refuting the idea of a "personal" God, in the Judeo-Christian tradition. He, consequently, did   not embrace the belief that the Creator sits on a throne in Heaven having   a body and human-like features, nor did he believe that God had any reward or punishment in store for humans. Yet he did believe in a conscious, powerful, intelligent, good Being who manifests His greatness within His creation. Understanding this great Being, he stated,  was the driving force behind his scientific search.

Therefore, the reader is asked to judge for himself or herself by reading the quotes offered below. They should be sufficient in helping the reader to reach his or her own conclusion.

To get a glimpse into what Spinoza believed about God, please read   the Spinoza quotes in the "Philosophers" section.

"I believe in Spinoza's God, who reveals Himself in the harmony of all being, not in a God who concerns Himself with the fate of actions of men." (Schilpp, 1969, 526)

"I believe in ... God, who reveals Himself in  the harmony of all being" (Schilpp, 1969, 103).

"You believe in God playing dice, and I in perfect laws in the world of things existing as real objects, which I try to grasp in a wildly speculative way" (Ibid., 1969, 176)

"I defend the Good God against the idea of a continuous game of dice" (Speziali, 1972, 425).

"I'm not much with people, and I'm not a family man. I want my peace. I want to know how God created this world. I am not interested in this or that phenomena in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts the rest are details" (Clarck, 1971, 18, 19). 

"The scientist's religious feeling takes the form of a rapturous amazement at the harmony of natural law, which reveals an intelligence of such superiority that, compared with it, all the systematic thinking and acting of human beings is an utterly insignificant reflection"(Iain, 1982, 57).

FOR AN EXPANDED ANALYSIS CLICK HERE

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Schilpp, P. Albert Einstein, Philosopher-Scientist. London: Cambridge University Press, 1969.

Speziali, P. Albert Einstein-Michele Basso Correspondence, 1903-1955. Paris: Herman, 1972.

Clarck, R. The Life and Times of Einstein. New York: The World Publishing Co., 1971.

IIain, P. Science, Theology and Einstein. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982.