by KateWild 110 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Why are Einstein's views on god any more significant than my postman's views on Manchester United?-cofty
They are not, start a thread lets talk about your postman now
yadda, thanks very much....I have read most of this, but you put a balanced point across of Einsteins religious beliefs
Kate xx
rip,
I like what Einstein was saying in your last quote from him. I agree we should not believe in God in a blind way. Do I agree with him that God does not help humans directly and miraculously, kind of I suppose.
But then again my kids are miricles, and now one is an adult she wil be supportive in the future if I ever need her help. Do I think he will part the Red Sea for me? No
I also agree with Einstein that there is superior intellegence involved with the order and precision of the universive. So I believe the the person responsible for this is God
Nice quotes rip, I am glad you find this topic interesting
Kate xx
Kate I have only just looked at this thread and I don't know what Einstein belied about God. I did find it interesting that my university taught me that in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries scientists were looking for natural laws because they believed a God of order and design would work with them. Apparently scientists thought that because God created everthing harmoniously and according to natural laws they should be able to discover those laws. This shocked me because I was trying to get away from religion and study history including history of science but I was taught that people's beliefs always inform their work.
Kate- Yes, I'm enjoying this thread. I like Einstein.
Just a footnote on yadda yadda's post: Albert Einstein's letter to philosopher, Eric Gutkind, January 3, 1954.
This handwritten half-page letter sold for $404,000.00(US) at an auction in London on May 15, 2008.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
" I don't try to imagine a God; it suffices to stand in awe of the structure of the world, insofar as it allows our inadequate senses to appreciate it."
To S. Flesch, April 16, 1954. Einstein Archives 30-1154
Einstein was a genius who figured out a lot of important things from first principles. That was a long time ago. Many physicists and astronomers now know far more than he could.
Professor Lawrence M. Krauss and Brian Cox are two notable examples of modern physicists who have commented on how their knowledge informs the views on god. Krauss in particular has offered explanations for some of the mystery that wowed Eintein in his "Universe From Nothing". Einstein's views on god are historically interesting.
This handwritten half-page letter sold for $404,000.00(US) at an auction in London on May 15, 2008.-rip
I do find that inpressive if your source is reliable. The Guardian, 13.05.08, wrote about the auction and stated is was expected to sell for more than £8,000 sterling. But for arguments sake can' t be bothered with accurate conversions.....£300,000.00 sterling is a lot more.
Very interesting that Einstiens religious beliefs are so valuable to many
Kate xx
I wonder if Einstein was around today, would his views be more in line with Krauss and Cox.....if their opinions differ from his.
Personally I think it is a Jewish up bringing that drives scientists like Einstein to philosophise about God and Religion. And then maintain some sense of faith in an intelligent creator. IMO.
Very interesting that Einstiens religious beliefs are so valuable to many
I think it says a lot about the fragility of faith.
Einstein is the icon of genius. If he had a notion of god, however vague, then perhaps.......
I think it says a lot about the fragility of faith.
I agree, it does. People want to follow their icons when they have doubts. Lovely point cofty
The problem with Einstein is not what he knew but what he or anyone else didn't know 60 years ago.
I welcome anyone to explain where the god of outer space, the god of harmony and precision is in the following:
".........actual shooting stars do exist. Yes, there are very real stars -- as in "great balls of nuclear fire a million miles across" -- with a velocity so great that they can actually escape the gravitational pull of their galaxies and roam free throughout the universe. These freewheeling stars are the Hells Angels of the cosmos. sun-size balls of nuclear energy zooming wherever they want at speeds of up to 4,000 kilometers per second, Burning everything they come across.
Then there are those pesky asteroids.
For instance the Pan-STARRS telescope system has found no less than 19 completely unknown asteroids that pose a potential danger to Earth. And these have been buzzing around a mere 7.5 million kilometers away. Universally speaking, that's not on our doorstep -- that's right in our living room.
Science has also found out that black holes can move about at terrible velocities, too! there are hundreds of rogue black holes roaming our galaxy alone.
Galactic Cannibalism is another problem. Basically, smaller galaxies succumb to the gravity of a bigger one and are slowly absorbed into it, thus adding to its mass and making it even larger....... one of the bigger galaxies that's heavily into eating its kin is Andromeda. our closest neighbor that is way bigger than our galaxy. http://www1.ucsc.edu/currents/02-03/0113/debris.html
The Gama Ray Burst is nothing less than a Death Star-style destruct-o-beam, but on a cosmic scale. It's caused by a particularly massive star collapsing into a black hole, which initiates a supernova explosion, which in turn emits twin energy flares in opposite directions. Each of these flares has energy levels that make even the supernovas that birthed them blush. A typical burst releases as much energy in a few seconds as our sun will in its entire 10 billion-year lifetime."
You'll have to forgive me on this next point but I find it insulting to place a man made concept of a loving god at the helm of the good ship 'creation' as if any god would want to create the kind of dangerous things that we now know exists in the known universe.
God is too simple an explanation for what's really out there.
