EINSTEIN’S VIEW OF GOD
By John Fernandez
A recently published letter written by Albert Einstein casts a disparaging light on the Bible. According to the letter, Einstein believed that the Bible was a “product of human weaknesses” based on “primitive” and “childish” legends.
This is not really news, since Einstein was already on record saying that he considered God to be an impersonal force of math and science, more akin to the pantheistic God of Spinoza than anything else. So this new letter should not come as a surprise.
Whenever he was pressed to take a position on the existence of God, Einstein would claim agnosticism. He was far from being an atheist, and he specifically rejected what he called the “crusading spirit of professional atheists.”1
Einstein’s rejection of the Judeo/Christian God might have something to do with the horrors of the holocaust, which greatly impacted him emotionally. The existence of such evil in the world is often cited by non-believers as the primary reason for their disbelief in a personal, loving God. This was also one of the main barriers to faith encountered by C.S. Lewis in his journey from atheism to Christianity.
C.S. Lewis, of course, went on to publish numerous books explaining how that apparent contradiction can be reconciled, and one of those books, Mere Christianity, became an instant classic for defending the Christian faith and helping many non-believers discover Jesus Christ. It is ironic that Mere Christianity was published around the same time that Einstein wrote this newly disclosed letter denouncing the Judeo/Christian God.
There is plenty of evidence for the existence of God, but not everyone gives it the weight it deserves. There is more evidence for the accuracy of the gospels than for the writings of Plato and all other ancient figures combined. It’s not even a close comparison. To quote the late scholar, F.F. Bruce:
There is no body of ancient literature in the world which enjoys such a wealth of good textual attestation as the New Testament.2
Clearly, there are smart people on both sides of the God debate. As a Christian, I take great pleasure knowing that I share the views of C.S. Lewis, William Lane Craig, Hugh Ross, Ravi Zacharias, G.K. Chesterton, Soren Kierkegaard, J.R.R. Tolkien, and so many others who accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
I’ll leave you with the following verse from the Gospel of John:
Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world - to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” John 18:37
- Albert Einstein, Letter to Guy H. Raner, Jr., September 28, 1949.
- F.F. Bruce, The Books and the Parchments (Old Tappen, N.J.: Revell, 1963), 178, cited in Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1998), 63.