"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."
"For me the Jewish religion like all others is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions."
"And 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 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."
-- Albert Einstein, to the philosopher Eric Gutkind, in a 1954 letter that's about to be sold by London's Bloomsbury Auctions
I love those high heel sandals on the beach.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what he has to say about the word, "God", but what about the reality of God, which would require that he had an experience of God? I also have that in common with him, no experience, but I remain open to the possibility.
I also remain open to the possibilty that I have had experiences of God, but it is a secret that God keeps from me, 'cause he knows I couldn't properly deal with such a responsibility...yet.
My effort to be open to this possibility has helped to give me pause in life, when confronted by things that I might initially discard and/or cling to. That pause has helped me make better decisions, even saved me. It is the beginning of freedom to not be so self-absorbed and indoctrinated.
I take no comfort in it, 'cause that kills it. So I agree that the word "God" is a problem, a big problem. Maybe Einstein is a prophet - one of our Western gurus. They called 'giving God a name' activity 'idolatry' in the Bible - and the first commandment prohibits it. But maybe even the first commandment has to be smashed in the end as it too can become a source of false comfort. Maybe that is what you do Crack. You got guts.
Wow, WC, those sandals indeed! LOL
ReplyDeleteI agree with WC, you got guts, CMC (and you know it -- and you know that I know it :).
But what's with god today? There is no escaping the topic anywhere, not on TMR (no surprise), nor on SHAMblog (sigh, no surprise perhaps either).
One would like some peace and quiet once in a while... Oh, wait, can't have that either, not until death. Yeah, thanks a lot, CMC.
(Kidding, of course...)
OK, WC, I gotta come back here. There is just no escaping god today.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I like the way you describe your personal experience. There is certain vulnerability in your openness here that is refreshing (and humble; but I'm weary of this word after our recent debate on SHAMblog, LOL).
However, I do not think E. is quibbling with the *word* God here, but with the whole concept, indicating that the word itself is empty and means nothing to him (other than an expression of human weaknesses -- which belief in God is).
I also do not think E. is a prophet, nor, I imagine, he'd like to be considered such. He simply says what he thinks about religious beliefs (that they are an expression of human weakness).
Now on to more personal thoughts, I had experiences of God (at least I think that's what they were). I was a deeply religious child and teen, given to mystical experiences, which were certainly interesting and, in many ways, enriching. I grew out of them (if that's the right term, LOL) and see them today as the effects of a kind of self-induced religious trance, if you will (there may be better descriptions of those experiences in the relevant literature, but I no longer care to find them). My parting with religion and my religious aspirations (wanted to be a nun) was relatively painless, too -- it's as if the reason won, without even a major battle (which is perhaps surprising, given the depth of my religious devotion earlier in life -- or perhaps not).
In my case, the openness to "god" experience -- and the actual experience itself -- did not "take," so I'm not sure how necessary, if at all, such experience is to kindling or sustaining religious faith.
I guess I'm saying it to create a possibility that E. may have had "God experience," whatever it would mean in his case, but that does not necessarily mean that he would abandon reason and embrace religious belief based on such experiences. But of course this is just my speculation.
Back to those sandals...
ReplyDeleteThis is an unusual photo, I'd say. The sandals, his legs, the way he sits -- all very feminine. (It almost looks like the pic was photoshopped -- the top half is Einstein's, but the bottom belongs to a woman.) Interesting.
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI haven't even had a religious experience like the one you describe. Perhaps I have not felt 'burned' by the whole religious thing because of that. Not sure if you have that 'burned' feeling. I am guessing you may have, or see it as a part of your youthful years when you were more impressionable.
I have known people with lower and higher degrees of conciousness than me. By higher conciousness I mean the ability to know things objectively that one once only experienced subjectively. I am not saying that this is somehow proof that there is a God, but since higher levels of perception and understanding are possible and even verifiable, and I haven't achieved them, it would be foolish for me to say that I KNOW that there is no God.
E's take gives me pause, but perhaps he is just saying that discussions of God are futile and empty, and nothing more. He is a scientist, so he is not going to speculate. He wants to know, not just throw around concepts and words.
Me too.
WC, I can't say that I'm burned in any way -- at least I don't think so (at least I'm not aware so, LOL). It all just kinda fell away, the religiosity and the need for belief. It is what it is.
ReplyDeleteI think I know what you mean by the higher levels of consciousness (but maybe I don't), however I do not necessarily equate them with proximity to God or being religious in any way (and, to tell the truth, I am rather wary of those who do).
As to E, I looked at the comments following his letter on the site CMC linked, and chuckled, seeing how various folks used the letter's contents to mean whatever they wanted it to mean. Too bad E is not around to settle it *once and for all* already (though even then there would be those who'd insist that it's just a phase in his life, or he has a bad day, or something such).
P.S. Me too.