Einstein on Christianity. Peoples views?

Question

I'd like to hear what Xians and non think?


"To what extent are you influenced by Christianity?"

"As a child, I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene."


"You accept the historical existence of Jesus?"

"Unquestionably. No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life. How different, for instance, is the impression which we receive from an account of legendary heroes of antiquity like Theseus. Theseus and other heroes of his type lack the authentic vitality of Jesus."

"Ludwig Lewisohn, in one of his recent books, claims that many of the sayings of Jesus paraphrase the sayings of other prophets."

"No man," Einstein replied, "can deny the fact that Jesus existed, nor that his sayings are beautiful. Even if some them have been said before, no one has expressed them so divinely as he."

Edit: I know he does not believe in Christianity, just thought it was interesting after reading a lot of posts on here recently that there is supposedly no evdence for his life.

source:http://www.einsteinandreligion.com/einsteinonjesus.html

2nd edit: Some of you are a bit incorrect. He did believe apparently in God, but not a PERSONAL God. He said he believed in the God of Spinoza, who reveals himself in nature...

Answer 1

Einstein was a theist, a Jew, but not a Christian. He made the mistake which is made by probably millions of people. He called Jesus a fine teacher and moralist which, of course, He was. However, one can't really believe that unless one believes that He was also the incarnate Son of God which He also claimed to be. People who claim to be God are not nice teachers. They are kooks, madmen, and dangerous people to avoid. But they are not pleasant moralists you would invite to tea. Jesus must either be taken for what He claimed to be - the eternal Son of God who is deserving of our worship and praise - or He must be avoided as a nincompoop. But, please, don't call Him a nice guy. You'd be more accurate calling him a poached egg.

Answer 2

These two quotes pretty much say it all:

"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."

"I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation, whose purposes are modeled after our own -- a God, in short, who is but a reflection of human frailty. Neither can I believe that the individual survives the death of his body, although feeble souls harbor such thoughts through fear or ridiculous egotisms."
-- Einstein

Answer 3

You quoted from = "What Life Means to Einstein: An Interview by George Sylvester Viereck,"The Saturday Evening Post, Oct. 26, 1929, p. 17.

Einstein opened doors to my Jewish people to take a look at Jesus-His wife was a believer in the Divinity of the Messiah.

Isaiah 9:6 "Unto us a child is born, a son is given, and he will be the mighty God, the wonderful counselor, the everlasting father and the prince of peace."

since the comming of Jesus many Jewish people believe in him personally, including all the Jewish writers who wrote the entire New Testament as promised in Jeremiah 31:31 and following. Yet some are closet believers too.

this is what helped me as a Jew to make the final breakthrough=praying for you in Jesus amazing grace that saved me=John 3 repented of my sins-even one lie, and asked Jesus in to forgive me and help me do better, and be my friend. amen. Revelation 3:19&20 "I love you and ask you to repent, Behold I stand at your heart door and knock, if you ask me in I will be your friend."
best wishes, David

Answer 4

Personally I am a Deist, but I have to say that I didn't hear Einstein specifically say that he believed that Christ was divine. After all, there are plenty of non-Christians who believe that Jesus existed, though they tend to believe that he wasn't divine. I know, for example, that Muslims believe that Jesus was a prophet, though they don't believe that he was the son of God.

Answer 5

So Einstein felt Jesus was a real man with a gift for words. This is your proof positive that he is the one true path to salvation? That kind of circular (il)logic is why the christians get verbally beat up by the atheists on this site on a daily basis.

Answer 6

"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."

Albert Einstein. - Deist.

Also:

"I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with fates and actions of human beings."

The idea of a personal God is an anthropological concept which I am unable to take seriously.

What I cannot understand is how there could possibly be a God who would reward or punish his subjects or who could induce us to develop our will in our daily life. I cannot then believe in this concept of an anthropomorphic God who has the powers of interfering with these natural laws.

The man who is thoroughly convinced of the universal operation of the law of causation cannot for a moment entertain the idea of a being who interferes in the course of events - provided, of course, that he takes the hypothesis of causality really seriously.

Science has therefore been charged with undermining morality, but the charge is unjust. A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hopes of reward after death.

Answer 7

First:

I want to know your source.

Second:

So he acknowledged the figure of Jesus as a real human being. Most people do so. Notice he never says a thing about Jesus being messiah or divine.

------------

You do, of course, realize that Spinoza's God is actually an atheistic philosophy, yes?

------------

Randy G:

Much obliged. I should be able to find it from knowing the magazine. You wouldn't by any happenstance have the particular month/year of it, would you? If not, no worries, I should be able to find it all the same.

Answer 8

"A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death." - Albert Einstein, "Religion and Science", New York Times Magazine, November 9, 1930

Answer 9

Wow, Einstein said all that?

I like the last quote. According to scripture, Jesus himself said he came to fulfill the law, not break it. He wasn't the first to carry God's message to the world; just the best at it. (But since I believe Jesus is God, of course he'd be the best.) We just aren't always very good at listening.

Answer 10

I don't know why Einstein would be considered an authority on the subject, but I do notice that he very clearly stops short of proclaiming Jesus the son of God, or the Messiah.