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The following comes from "What Life Means to Einstein: An Interview by George Sylvester Viereck,"The Saturday Evening Post, Oct. 26, 1929, p. 17. The questions are posed by Viereck; the reply to each is by Einstein. Since the interview was conducted in Berlin and both Viereck and Einstein had German as their mother tongue, the interview was likely conducted in German and then translated into English by Viereck.

Some portions of this interview might seem questionable, but this portion of the interview was explicitly confirmed by Einstein. When asked about a clipping from a magazine article (likely the Saturday Evening Post) reporting Einstein's comments on Christianity taken down by Viereck, Einstein carefully read the clipping and replied, "That is what I believe." See Brian pp. 277 - 278.


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"To what extent are you influenced by Christianity?"

"As a child, I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene."

"Have you read Emil Ludwig's book on Jesus?

"Emil Ludwig's Jesus," replied Einstein, "is shallow. Jesus is too colossal for the pen of phrasemongers, however artful. No man can dispose of Christianity with a bon mot."

"You accept the historical existence of Jesus?"

"Unquestionably. No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life. How different, for instance, is the impression which we receive from an account of legendary heroes of antiquity like Theseus. Theseus and other heroes of his type lack the authentic vitality of Jesus."

"Ludwig Lewisohn, in one of his recent books, claims that many of the sayings of Jesus paraphrase the sayings of other prophets."

"No man," Einstein replied, "can deny the fact that Jesus existed, nor that his sayings are beautiful. Even if some them have been said before, no one has expressed them so divinely as he."

Well, Einstein was a brilliant man, but a theologian he wasn't. And the above interview certainly isn't exhaustive in his views. Here is something that was on my homepage today:

Einstein letter up for auction by Bloomsbury




So, there ya go.

nice...

How skillfully you dispose of one of the most brilliant minds of the human race. Congratulations.
My post concerned Jesus.
I don't see that mentioned in your post.
If indeed we were perfect, what need would we have of God?
Einstein obviously understood that.
What is honorable today is often adjudged childish by later generations; if Einstein judged same to have become outdated and unusuable, what mind more brilliant can you find to overrule him?
Your snip by the way is a second hand quote (in it, Einstein said that- he added-) - also known as "hearsay".
More than once forgeries have been auctioned off for far greater prices.

Have you ever heard of the Man Who Laughed at Newlands?

God bless you.

You have to be careful with German.
Reminds me of the time John F. Kennedy bravely shouted to a Berlin crowd - and the World -
"I AM A PASTRY!"

This letter is a translation from German obviously;
where it says "nevertheless" is it
dabei?
dennoch?
dessen ungeachtet?
gleichwohl?
ummerhin?
nichtsdestotrotz?
trotzem?
nichtdestoweniger?
- all translate "nevertheless" but can have different meanings.

Where it says "pretty childish" is it
kindisch hubsch? (pretty childish)
kindisch hubsch? (pretty doting)
or perhaps
reizend kindlich? (pretty childlike - as in innocent)
or
reizend kindlich? (pretty childish)

A native French speaker, Spanish speaker, or English speaker can all read the same message in German and come up with a different translation.

Heard of the Gospels of Barnabas?
It tells how Moses told of the coming of God's Messenger - Mohammed.
The fact that this "gospel" is a hideous fourteenth century forgery means nothing - to the Muslims who believe it.

God bless you.

Anthony, I wasn't trying to start any big argument.

You have no idea the reverence I have for him as a scientist and a brilliant mind.  I have the same reverence for Stephen Hawking, and others...physics and quantum mechanics are an interest of mine (even though I have a REALLY hard time truly grasping the principles -LOL- cat/box).

So, Einstein says Jesus was real and "really cool/deep/insightful/moving"... does he proclaim him the promised Messiah? Nope. Proclaim a personal god? Nope. In fact, he finds this to be at opposition with the ordered universe, that a god would "disorder it", by interacting with it, especially at our prayers (which he calls "wishes").

Here is a page of other quotes of Einstein's:
Albert Einstein: God, Religion & Theology

Here's a full article published in 1930:
Religion and Science - by Albert Einstein

and
Science and Religion - 1940

Plenty more links can be found.

He acquiesed to a "higher power" (we would call it today) but had no personal relationship with this Being, and didn't think it even possible to.  

Many brilliant men feel the same. Especially within the quantum mechanics world... "everything is connected and interactive"; instantaneously so. Quantum Entanglement (Einstein disagreed with this theory, tho)

If there is a god, it is part of us, as we are part of it, and both part of everything. Pantheists.(I have no links, this is just from theological conversations with many quantum mechanic "maniacs"...lol)


JFTR~


Your post concerned Einstein's opinion of Jesus.


God's.

Ripley, I was responding to your referrent letter.
My posting was confirmed by Einstein himself.

I see it has become overnight frontpage news on all the atheist blogs - that alone makes me suspect its authenticity.

What Einstein may have thought about the Messiah is nothing to me.

If any have lived according to the Mosaic Law, then I have no problem with any being judged by it. That is just.
If not then they better have an intercessor.

He is the Christ, that is enough for me - let others believe what they will.
No argument there.
God bless you.

Absolutely, but the Holy Spirit reveals it to us, not Albert Einstein...the pantheist.

Jesus was more than a "good teacher", "moral man"... He was God With Us.




It is consistent with all he said during his lifetime...look s that the links I already posted.

God bless you, Anthony, sincerely.
~Laura

I believe it!

May the Lord bless you.

This is one of the best threads I have ever seen.

This should be the topic of a book or in a JFJ news letter.