The Anti-Science Party

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

How about this in his own words.

"I'm NOT an atheist and I don't think I can call myself a pantheist. ">We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangements of the books, but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God."

Sounds like old Albert is trying hard not to be defined by anybody. Damn non-conformist!

[luckytxn 2,263]

Sounds like old Albert is trying hard not to be defined by anybody. Damn non-conformist!

I agree. He loved debating anyone on anything.

[faust-yusov 103]

A not to distant papal encyclical defined Pantheism as just another variant of Atheism, so it is tough to be neither an Atheist, nor Abrahamic, without being vilified, or claimed, by both.

I agree. I just take issue with the notion that Einstein would ever cast aspersions on an entire group of people, as the headlines (but not the content) of your quotes imply.

I tend to find that most atheists are less eager to "claim" Einstein than they are to correct others on the nature of his beliefs. This isn't all that surprising. The logical consequence of the rejection of religion is the rejection of tribalism in general, and so to attempt to substantiate atheistic belief by rabidly "claiming" authority figures to your "side" is a more than a little hypocritical.

[faust-yusov 103]

"We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangements of the books, but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God." [/size][/font]

Isn't this a rather critical statement toward religion?

[Amby 490]

I'm so happy I gave you all so many quotes to debate with. I came back to some entertainment

oh btw if you read far into that article from Time they quote him explaining one of his quotes people have "misunderstood". I've done a lot of hw since I read it early so I don't remember what exactly he said

[The_Dude 1,142]

I'm so happy I gave you all so many quotes to debate with. I came back to some entertainment

oh btw if you read far into that article from Time they quote him explaining one of his quotes people have "misunderstood". I've done a lot of hw since I read it early so I don't remember what exactly he said

I'm still waiting on that lecture on aardvarks

[Amby 490]

I'm still waiting on that lecture on aardvarks

hmmmm...I took zoology a long long time ago. the main thing I remember about that class is skinning a cat.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Isn't this a rather critical statement toward religion?

It can be. It could also be the very definition of the Universe.

"Faith" has been misused by the clergy, to dissuade the masses from asking the hard questions in life, as well as "Science" has been misused by modern governments to do the same thing. I attend mass irregularly to please the wife, and even in our "liberally enlightened" parish, certain scriptures are ignored explanation, or agonizingly mischaracterized, during the homily, despite the plainness of the text. The centuries wear hard on those Roman vestments in a modern world.

On the other had, Einstein's use of a library to describe the Universe, suggests even brightest among us cannot escape what a child inherently realizes, that something beyond understanding defines existence.

[Peikko 1,575]

What most people ascribe to a 'belief in god' is not that 'something' outside of the current understanding of the universe might exist and might have had some influence in the makeup and creation of the universe (even that I personally don't believe but for sake of argument), but that there is a guiding force that cares exclusively for the outcome of not only the human species, but each individual human and that this caring translates as an ability for humans to appeal to this power and affect different outcomes from the ones that otherwise seem inevitable; such appeals being listened to and acted upon dependent on whether one conforms with the ascribed rules that have been laid down by this power or not and that ultimately, if one should live a life that either conforms to the rules or one is able to convince the power that despite not conforming to the rules one really does have faith in the power then one is granted eternal 'life' in some form that one could and would recognize as having recognizable traits to those one exhibits and experiences during life. Einstein definitely did not believe that such a 'being' existed.

Edited February 2, 2011 by Madame Cleo

[Jenn! 918]

What most people ascribe to a 'belief in god' is not that 'something' outside of the current understanding of the universe might exist and might have had some influence in the makeup and creation of the universe (even that I personally don't believe but for sake of argument), but that there is a guiding force that cares exclusively for the outcome of not only the human species, but each individual human and that this caring translates as an ability for humans to appeal to this power and affect different outcomes from the ones that otherwise seem inevitable; such appeals being listened to and acted upon dependent on whether one conforms with the ascribed rules that have been laid down by this power or not and that ultimately, if one should live a life that either conforms to the rules or one is able to convince the power that despite not conforming to the rules one really does have faith in the power then one is granted eternal 'life' in some form that one could and would recognize as having recognizable traits to those one exhibits and experiences during life.

And the longest sentence award goes to...

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

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