A letter written by Albert Einstein in which he dismissed belief in God as a “product of human weaknesses” was auctioned off Thursday for more than $330,000 US, destroying previous selling records of letters by the renowned physicist.
The letter, written in German in 1954 to philosopher Eric Gutkind, was sold in London, England, by Bloomsbury Auctions to a private collector. It had initially been expected to fetch between $12,000 US and $16,000 US.
“It beats the world record for an Einstein letter by about four times," managing director Rupert Powell told the Guardian newspaper. "It's a massive difference."
In the letter, Einstein writes "the word 'God' is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish."
Einstein, who was Jewish, also rejects the notion that Jews were God’s chosen people
"For me, the Jewish religion like all other religions is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions," he wrote.
He added that "the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong, and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity, have no different quality for me than all other people.
“As far as my experience goes, they are also no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. Otherwise, I cannot see anything 'chosen' about them."
Einstein's religious and spiritual beliefs have been the subject of much speculation by both believers and skeptics.
Moments like these make me wish I had money.
3 comments:
What is so striking is the complete deconstruction of the fable regarding Jewish election. Einstein clearly repudiates the notion that the Jewish people, as a whole, are the "Messiah", the divinized race, destined to lead the world into the messianic age. This is the redoubt of Reform Jewry, which, while rejecting the notion of a supernatural Messiah, regard themselves symbolically therein represented. Einstein ridicules this notion by declaring that the only thing that has preserved the Jews from the "worst cancers" of other races is their lack of power, i.e their perpetual victimhood. The State of Israel is rapidly redressing that weakness!
Three cheers to His dark eminence, Sin, for presenting this important document to his devotees!
Nicolas Eymeric
Help! Help! I am the "genius" spirit of the blogosphere. This blog is dying! Where is its master? Alert. We need new infusions of material, new matters for dispute and dialogue! Help the blog to blossom and grow! Kinder shaft' neues! Man does not live by sake alone!
Even marsupials must act and create to survive!
Huangdi
This blog stinks! I make many comments, but blog master must be sleeping or drunk.
Wake up loser!
Tariq
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