fayfreethinkers.com

DOUG
Despite false claims to the contrary, it is clear that Einstein was an atheist.

==
"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.

"No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this," he wrote in the letter written on January 3, 1954 to the philosopher Eric Gutkind, cited by The Guardian newspaper.

See here.
====

DOUG
The letter was recently in the news because it was up for auction.

DAR
Excellent. Another nail in the "Einstein believed in God and so should you" coffin.
In that Barker/D'Souza youtube debate you sent me Doug, D'Souza, the lying sack of crap that he is, lists Einstein as one of the great scientists who believed in god (so you should too).

D.
---------------------
"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." [Albert Einstein, 1954, from "Albert Einstein: The Human Side", edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, Princeton University Press]

DAR
I had forgotten this:

"Einstein's musings on science, war, peace and God helped make him world famous, and his scientific legacy prompted Time magazine to name him its Person of the 20th Century."

More from the letter:

"For me," he added, "the Jewish religion like all other religions is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions."

Addressing the idea that the Jews are God's chosen people, Einstein wrote that "the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people. As far as my experience goes, they are also no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. Otherwise I cannot see anything 'chosen' about them."

DAR
Watch how theists are trying to spin it:

"John Brooke, emeritus professor of science and religion at Oxford University, said the letter lends weight to the notion that "Einstein was not a conventional theist" — although he was not an atheist, either.

Like many great scientists of the past, he is rather quirky about religion, and not always consistent from one period to another," Brooke said."

LINK

DAR
Little update from Bob Park:

***
2. EINSTEIN’S GOD: PUTTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT.
Like many scientists of his era, Einstein often used God as a metaphor for
forces of nature that are not yet understood. As a result, he is often
incorrectly cited as a physicist who believed in God. It happened again
in yesterday’s AEI debate. Ironically, at that very moment a January 3,
1954 letter from Einstein to philosopher Eric Gutkind went on sale in a
London auction house. The letter, handwritten in German one year before
his death, described belief in God as "childish superstition," and
ridiculed the belief that Jews are "the chosen people." The letter sold
to someone with "a passion for theoretical physics," for $404,000, 25
times the pre-sale estimate

LINK
***

Darrel wrote:Like many great scientists of the past, he is rather quirky about religion, and not always consistent from one period to another," Brooke said."

Honestly that last part is a blanket statement that could be applied to about anyone, scientist or not. The entire statement (except being a scientist) could be applied to myself and some other freethinkers I know. Afterall, I wasn't always an atheist and I've always been a bit quirky. Brooke is just making excuses for still claiming that Einstein was a theist. That statement really says nothing at all, except that Einstein was a human and had differing opinions on religion throughout his life. Just like alot of other people on this planet. However, this letter strongly suggests that Einstein was an atheist during the last years of his life. That should be a big enough nail.