finally, one more question: do you have to believe in god to be a good christian?
Erm...the meaning of the word is "Followers of Christ"...Jesus was God in the flesh, so....yes you do have to believe in him to be a christian in the first place.
Actually that depends on where you live... being a Christian in Europe can also mean that you do not believe in Jesus Christ. Yeah, I agree that it's a bit funny when you look at where the word Christianity comes from, but it's true... On the other hands it's a bit funny to me how you have to believe in Christ to be a real Christian in the eyes of American Christians. As if such a condition makes sense regardless of whether or not Jesus existed or not
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and actually that depends on what facts you look at, a few of his conversations supported the "Einstein believes in God" theory.
If you look deeper into it then you will find that Einstein was actually really an atheist, and a pretty convinced one for that, but he wasn't close minded to the subject. The confusion about what he believed comes from how he thought about terms like religion, God, atheism, and agnosticism and also the church and press that wanted people to believe that Einstein was a religious person.
His famous quote 'God does not play with dice' has very little to do with actually believing in God, but more so it was an analogy people would easily understand for what he meant to say in that context. It's disturbing to see how often it gets ripped out of context, even when Einstein was still alive. In fact, there should be a quote on what he said about people abusing that particular quote and others, which quite clearly shows he's an atheist and has been consistent in his beliefs all his life.
Here;
On 22 March 1954 a self-made man sent Einstein in Princeton a long handwritten letter-four closely packed pages in English. The correspondent despaired that there were so few people like Einstein who had the courage to speak out, and he wondered if it would not be best to return the world to the animals. Saying "I presume you would like to know who I am," he went on to tell in detail how he had come from Italy to the United States at the age of nine, arriving in bitter cold weather, as a result of which his sisters died while he barely survived; how after six months of schooling he went to work at age ten; how at age seventeen he went to Evening School; and so on, so that now he had a regular job as an experimental machinist, had a spare-time business of his own, and had some patents to his credit. He declared himself an atheist. He said that real education came from reading books. He cited an article about Einstein's religious beliefs and expressed doubts as to the article's accuracy. He was irreverent about various aspects of formal religion, speaking about the millions of people who prayed to God in many languages, and remarking that God must have an enormous clerical staff to keep track of all their sins. And he ended with a long discussion of the social and political systems of Italy and the United States that it would take too long to describe here. He also enclosed a check for Einstein to give to charity.
On 24 March 1954 Einstein answered in English as follows:
I get hundreds and hundreds of letters but seldom one so interesting as yours. I believe that your opinions about our society are quite reasonable.
It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.
I have no possibility to bring the money you sent me to the appropriate receiver. I return it therefore in recognition of your good heart and intention. Your letter shows me also that wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.
And here:
There is in the Einstein Archives a letter dated 5 August 1927 from a banker in Colorado to Einstein in Berlin. Since it begins "Several months ago I wrote you as follows," one may assume that Einstein had not yet answered. The banker remarked that most scientists and the like had given up the idea of God as a bearded, benevolent father figure surrounded by angels, although many sincere people worship and revere such a God. The question of God had arisen in the course of a discussion in a literary group, and some of the members decided to ask eminent men to send their views in a form that would be suitable for publication. He added that some twenty-four Nobel Prize winners had already responded, and he hoped that Einstein would too.
On the letter, Einstein wrote the following in German. It may or may not have been sent:
I cannot conceive of a personal God who would directly influence the actions of individuals, or would directly sit in judgment on creatures of his own creation. I cannot do this in spite of the fact that mechanistic causality has, to a certain extent, been placed in doubt by modern science.
My religiosity consists in a humble admiration of the infinitely superior spirit that reveals itself in the little that we, with our weak and transitory understanding, can comprehend of reality. Morality is of the highest importance-but for us, not for God.
I especially like this part;
Morality is of the highest importance-but for us, not for God.Cheers
