............Albert Einstein asked this, I guess it's about freewill and determinism?

Question

......That is, if this being is omnipotent then every occurrence including every human action, every human thought, and every human feeling and aspiration is also his work. How is it possible to think of holding men responsible for their deeds and thoughts before such an almighty Being?

Prior to this he speaks of the notion of personal god offering man solice.

Answer 1

"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

Answer 2

That's not determinism. Determinism is where every action is predestined because every action you take is a simple effect of some preceeding cause.

This is a notion, however, of no free will - that an almighty Being precisely directs every human action. With such direction, there is no free will. And this passage concludes with this question: can one be held responsible for an action someone else (the almighty Being) *forced* them to take?

Answer 3

The idea of a "personal god" is hard to take seriously. Here we are; not many generations removed from belief in a flat earth and an earth-centered universe (notions that sound farcical today)...yet we still hold this notion of a gigantic human-like geenie in the sky as, not only plausible, but downright indisputable.

Aldous Huxley once said, "All truth begins as heresy and ends as superstition." One can only assume that the idea of an omnipotent being will follow this path.

"Cannot the lord make a firehose big enough to extinguish the flames of hell?"
-newseamus 3:16

Answer 4

The short answer is that just because you (or God) has certain power, that is not the same as having RESPONSIBILITY.
You may have it in you power to stop someone from some act that you deem wrong or bad, but ultimately, that person is responsible for their actions, just as you are for yours.
This really is about Freewill.
IF you (or God) intervened every time someone started to do something you (or God) disagreed with, would that person really be free, if you (or God) would not allow them to make their own mistakes?

Answer 5

Albert Einstein was a brilliant scientist, but I think he reasoning is a little flawed here, if you are quoting him properly. God did give us free will, but that does not mean that every thought, emotion or action is His responsibility. If a man creates an intelligent, free-thinking robot, who then commits murder, should the inventor be put on trial? I hope I understood and answered your question.

Best wishes.

Answer 6

Genetics has shown that certain aspect of who we are are pre determined. Psychology has shown how much the actions of others when we are children determine who we are. Where is the free will. I suppose we all got to realise that for whatever reason, once we get to adulthood we all have the capacit to reason our actions. This is the same for god, he gave his son so that we may have free will. If you were to create a really good hunting rifle and someone used it to shoot his spouse, would it be your fault.

Sorry for the crass analogy but I couldn't think of one better in time

Answer 7

I always wondered if God knows are actions before we do it, then how can we be held responsible for doing them. Wouldn't He be just as guilty as us for not trying to stop us from committing the sin?

But then I found the answer. As it turns out, God is not as omniscient as what is commonly believed. There is alot of stuff He cannot do. Namely, He cannot do the impossible.
So, if an action is not possible to do, He cannot do it OR
If an action is possible, then He can do it. (However you want to see it).

Maybe its impossible to predetermine human action? If that's so, there would be no contradiction between Free Will and God's Omniscience.

"Jesus died for your sins. Why make his sacrifice meaningless by stop sinning?" - Oscar Wilde

Answer 8

I agree with Einstein's position that there is a god but that he does not control our every action and that is why we can be held accountable. He gives us the ability to do good but the work is up to us. Most think he was athiest but I've heard much to the contrary.

Answer 9

EINSTEIN
The University professor challenged his students with this question"Did God create everything that exists?"A student bravely replied, "Yes he did!"God created everything?" The professor asked,Yes sir", the student replied:The professor answered, "If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principal that our works define who we are, then God is evil."The student became quiet before such an answer. The professor, quite pleased with himself, boasted to the students that he had proven once more that the Christian faith was a myth.
Another student raised his hand and said, "Can I ask you a
question professor?"Of course", replied the professor:The student stood up and asked, "Professor does cold exist?"What kind of question is this? Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?" The students snickered at the young man's question:The young man replied, "In fact sir, cold does not exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-460? F) is the total absence of heat; all matter becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have no heat."The student continued, "Professor, does darkness exist?"The professor responded, "Of course it does."
The student replied, "Once again you are wrong sir, darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact we can use Newton's prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is a
term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present."
Finally the young man asked the professor, "Sir, does evil exist?"Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course as I have already said. We see it everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil.
To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least is does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light."The professor sat down.The young man's name -- Albert Einstein (gotta love 'em)

Answer 10

I think there was more....? The reason I say that is...free will vs determinism is a large subject and I believe I have seen more to this quote...such a full article on the topic.