As a Christian I find it hard to believe darwin and Einstein converted.?

Question

I have heard this before in a few churches. However, I have found nothing proving otherwise. If it is not then why state those things. Please if anyone can give me evidence for or against this. I've yet to find otherwise(That they became Christian). Until then I will assume they were not.

Answer 1

Einstein never converted, but some other prominent figures have. Here's an account of Einstein's actual words, and also an account of the actual conversion of the chief Rabbi of Rome:

After Hitler revealed his true intentions, the Catholic Church opposed him. Even the famous Albert Einstein testified to that. According to the December 23, 1940 issue of Time magazine on page 38, Einstein said:

Being a lover of freedom, when the revolution came in Germany, I looked to the universities to defend it, knowing that they had always boasted of their devotion to the cause of truth; but, no, the universities immediately were silenced. Then I looked to the great editors of the newspapers whose flaming editorials in days gone by had proclaimed their love of freedom; but they, like the universities, were silenced in a few short weeks...

Only the Church stood squarely across the path of Hitler's campaign for suppressing truth. I never had any special interest in the Church before, but now I feel a great affection and admiration because the Church alone has had the courage and persistence to stand for intellectual truth and moral freedom. I am forced thus to confess that what I once despised I now praise unreservedly.

In another, similar statement, Einstein referred explicitly to the Catholic Church (Lapide, p. 251). This is an extraordinary testimony by an agnostic German scientist of Jewish heritage. Even though there were traitors in her ranks, the Church still opposed the Nazi movement.


The charity and work of Pope Pius XII during World War II so impressed the Chief Rabbi of Rome, Israel Zolli, that in 1944 he was open to the grace of God which led him into the Catholic faith. As his baptismal name, he took the same one Pius had, Eugenio, as his own. Later Israel Eugenio Zolli wrote a book entitled, Why I Became a Catholic.

But Pope Pius XII was not completely silent either, especially in his Christmas messages. His 1941 and 1942 Christmas messages were both translated and published in The New York Times (Dec. 25, 1941, p. 20 & Dec. 25, 1942, p. 10). To prevent retaliation, he did not refer to Nazism by name, but people of that era still understood him, including the Nazis. According to The New York Times editorial on December 25, 1941 (Late Day edition, p. 24):

The voice of Pius XII is a lonely voice in the silence and darkness enveloping Europe this Christmas... he is about the only ruler left on the Continent of Europe who dares to raise his voice at all... the Pope put himself squarely against Hitlerism... he left no doubt that the Nazi aims are also irreconcilable with his own conception of a Christian peace.

Also The New York Times editorial on December 25, 1942 (Late Day edition, p. 16) states:

This Christmas more than ever he is a lonely voice crying out of the silence of a continent... Pope Pius expresses as passionately as any leader on our side the war aims of the struggle for freedom when he says that those who aim at building a new world must fight for free choice of government and religious order. They must refuse that the state should make of individuals a herd of whom the state disposes as if they were lifeless things.

Both editorials recognize and highly praise Pius' words against Hitler and totalitarianism.

Answer 2

None of us on Earth ultimately know what another absolutely believes at any given moment, particularly their last. The fate of either one of these two men is not our place to know.

As far as conclusive evidence goes, there is no proof that either one converted to Christianity.

Darwin and Einstein were both agnostics, by the way. Though many may believe Darwin was an atheist, his agnosticism is confirmed by the words of his son, Francis, in a letter in 1917.

I've also attached a link to a Christian website that confirms the story of Darwin's conversion is nothing more than legend.

Answer 3

Summary of eRumor:
Charles Darwin, the author of THE SPECIES BY MEANS OF NATURAL SELECTION in 1859 and the champion of evolution, renounced his evolutionary theory and became a Christian on his deathbed. This was reported by noblewoman Lady Hope who said she visited Darwin at his home in England at the close of his life. She described him as reading the book of Hebrews in the New Testament of the Bible. She also said that he regarded his writings about evolution to be questions that people made into a religion. Lady Hope said Darwin asked her to conduct a meeting outside a summer house he owned so he could hear the singing of the hymns.

The Truth:
The question of whether Charles Darwin accepted Christianity and rejected evolution is an emotional and intense one. To many Christians, Darwin is a villain who articulated a godless creation. To others, he is a brilliant hero who led the way to an enlightened view of where we came from. There are researchers and authors who have worked hard to prove and disprove any notion that he converted to Christianity and TruthOrFiction.com's conclusion is that when all is said and done, there is not enough good evidence that the story is true. We stop short of declaring it fiction, but regard it as not sufficiently proven. The report about Darwin's change of heart comes from one person, Lady Hope, an energetic Nineteenth Century Christian, while many members of Darwin's family denied it and there is nothing from Darwin's friends, colleagues, his own statements or writings to substantiate it. If Darwin did experience something so dramatic as a conversion to Jesus Christ and a complete revision of the theory of evolution that characterized his life and work, there isn't a shred of evidence of it outside of the claims of Lady Hope.

I guess those evolutionists that think that they have to dismiss God are going to have another dark hole to live in if this story is true.

Answer 4

Just because you therorize as to other things like for instance evolution does not mean you can or can not believe in a God.

Darwin even gave a loophole to his whole evolutionary therory. It is not a rumor it is fact. I don't remember exactly how it went but he states something like if something disproves my therory then it is false.

See the truth is both of these men were brilliant men. Niether one of them were athiest. They were so brilliant that they both came to the realization that they don't know much. In other words they would not denounce God because they did not know. However they didn't promote God either for the same reason.

You see the whole evolution therory was just an alternate thought of Darwin; he never said that he, himself, truely believed it.

To truely find truth you have to look at it from all angles. That means if Darwin was a Christian he decided to try to find other ways that man could have been created. This is to truelly see if God is real. If there was no other explanation it would be easy; however he did find an alternative creation theory called evolution. So then he would try to see if it added up or could be disputed; which even today it still can not be disputed and can be added up as easily as the God theory.

Answer 5

My understanding is that Darwin did not convert. Looks like Darwin may have been an Agnostic (rather than a committed Atheist).

Einstein did believe in a God of sorts (but did not go any further than that in terms of believing in the Judeo-Christian God, as far as I can tell).

Quote from Einstein: "My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior Spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble minds. The deeply emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning Power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe, forms my idea of God."

For a discussion of Einstein and God, see http://www.ctinquiry.org/publications/torrance.htm

Cordially,
John

Answer 6

that is MYTH! they were NEVER christian.
here in their OWN WORDS, you can see. since they are dead...the cannot defend themselves...it is normal for "hero's" to be put on a perfection pedestal.

Direct quotes from Darwin and Einstein:

"The mystery of the beginning of all things is insoluble by us, and I for one must be content to remain an agnostic."~Charles Robert Darwin, English naturalist (1809-1882).


"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 religion than it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it."~-Albert Einstein, German-born American physicist

Answer 7

Darwin was never an atheist, he was likely a pantheist. However the rumor that Darwin converted to Christianity on his death bed was just that, a rumor.

"...though the claims were refuted by Darwin's children and have been dismissed as false by historians. His daughter, Henrietta, who was at his deathbed, said that he did not convert to Christianity."

Answer 8

Darwin's daughter Henrietta was at his beside when he died in 1882, and she said that he did not convert to Christianity. Also, Darwin was not an atheist even thought some of his veiws were. He claimed to be an avowed agnostic in his writings.

Answer 9

Information from their letters and close friends indicate that they Believed in God but were not "Religious" per se.

I think Einstein is quoted as saying that he believed that "God created the Garden but he was not a Gardener". ;-)

Darwin was even more perplexed by his Science than Einstein, he really had a hard time reconciling his religious believes with what he "observed" but in the end he concluded that what he was observing was "real" and that was that.

Answer 10

Charles Darwin was initially a believer in God but as he grew older, doubted more and more the existence of God. He was Agnostic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Darwin#Religious_views

Einstein seemed to believes in a God, but not necessarily the Judeo-Christian-Muslim God.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einstein#Religious_views

On a similar note, Isaac Newton did believe in a God though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_newton#Religious_views

Excellent and very relevant question!