First up from the God machine this week is an unexpected story about Albert Einstein and a previously unknown letter in which the scientist detailed his theological perspective.
A letter the physicist wrote in 1954 to the philosopher Eric Gutkind, in which he described the Bible as “pretty childish” and scoffed at the notion that the Jews could be a “chosen people,” sold for $404,000 at an auction in London. That was 25 times the presale estimate.
The Associated Press quoted Rupert Powell, the managing director of Bloomsbury Auctions, as describing the unidentified buyer as having “a passion for theoretical physics and all that that entails.” Among the unsuccessful bidders, according to The Guardian newspaper, was Oxford evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, an outspoken atheist. […]
Diana L. Kormos-Buchwald, a historian at the California Institute of Technology and head of the Einstein Papers project, said she was not surprised that the Gutkind letter, which was known to Einstein scholars, fetched such a high price.
“It is an important expression of Einstein’s thoughts and views on religion, on Judaism, on his views about God and religious texts,” she wrote in an e-mail message. She said the letter, which was not written for publication, was “concise and unvarnished” and more straightforward than the metaphors he usually turned to in public.
Einstein had described himself as an agnostic, but his religious beliefs have nevertheless been the subject of speculation for many years. While rejecting the notion of a personal, interactive God, Einstein would frequently use divine metaphors in his explanations of physics, and his line on religion and science has been repeated endlessly: “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”
Statements like these led some believers to hope that Einstein might be sympathetic to theism, and this auctioned letter effectively settles the debate. Einstein wrote that “the word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honorable but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish.” All religions, the physicist opined, are “an incarnation of the most childish superstitions.”
They aren’t the kind of assertions that leave much doubt about Einstein’s perspective.
Other news from The God Machine this week:
* The Arizona Constitution prohibits the state from using tax dollars to finance private religious ministries and their schools. Two years ago, the legislature signed a voucher bill anyway. Yesterday, a unanimous state appellate court ruled that the program is illegal. While the Legislature sets public policy, “only by ignoring the plain text of the Arizona Constitution prohibiting state aid to private schools could we find the aid represented by the payment of tuition fees to such schools in this case constitutional,” Judge Garye L. Vasquez wrote.
* Something for Pittsburgh residents to look out for: “A religious group is planning to distribute 250,000 Pittsburgh-themed New Testament Bibles in advertising pouches to be delivered with editions of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette newspaper.”
* Good news out of Texas: “Hallelujah. Rationality returns. A religious group has been rejected in its bid to offer a Master of Science degree. The Institute for Creation Research, which backs a literal interpretation of the Bible, including the creation of Earth in six days, seeks a certificate to grant online degrees in science education in Texas, reports Nature. But the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board voted unanimously last week not to pass the request, following the recommendation of Raymund Paredes, the state’s commissioner of higher education. ‘Religious belief is not science,’ Paredes said.”
* Focus on the Family has launched a new crusade: “Focus on the Family Action is calling on families to co-sign a letter urging Marriott hotels to stop offering in-room pornography. The letter, signed by 47 family groups, will be presented at a meeting May 14 between pro-family leaders and Marriott International officials. It’s the first time a major hotel chain has agreed to meet to discuss the issue.” The meeting occurred earlier this week, but Marriott would not commit to making any changes.