Einstein and Religion

I am a deeply religious person. I fervently believe in a personal, Christian God. Yet I cringe when I see other theists quote Einstein in an effort to support the possibility of God, or to indicate that Einstein believed in God.

I think Einstein, like many of us, had a deeply ingrained desire to "understand it all", and much of what he said in a philosophical context was an expression of his humility at not being able to fully comprehend the universe.

Religiosity seems to be built into us. Some even theorize that it's in our genetic makeup, and explains how we modern humans have flourished as a species these last 10,000 years since we arrived on the evolutionary scene. Belief is what makes us human, or as Terry Pratchett put it in Hogfather, "Take the universe, grind it down to the finest powder and sieve it through the finest sieve, and then show me one atom of justice; one molecule of mercy. And yet you act as if there were some sort of rightness in the universe by which it might be judged." Indeed, even the staunchest atheist can have the most fervent ardor for justice and mercy and compassion and sacrifice.

There is nothing wrong with belief in something that is greater than yourself, and I think if Einstein were here, he would shake his head in shame at the rantings of theists and atheists alike.

Wcrowe 11:30, 15 May 2008 (EDT)