1. Albert Einstein’s (1882- 1955) View on God

2. Interesting Facts about Einstein After getting his BS degree in 1900, he couldn’t get a faculty job for five years. His letter to Marcel Grossmann regarding being persistent about getting a job: “I leave no stone unturned and do not give up my sense of humor. God created the donkey and gave him a thick skin.” “I rarely think in words but pictures…afterwards the words come.” As a child, he went to a Catholic school. Later, he composed his own hymns for the glorification of God that he sang on the way home from school. He never failed in school or mathematics (he finished calculus at 15) At 12, he ran away from religion but never lost the notion that the mind of God was expressed in the creation of the universe or its laws. He was an ardent violinist and played everywhere he could inspiration came to him when he played the violin. Moszkowski’s 1920 biography noted that “Music, Nature, and God became intermingled in Einstein a complex of feeling and moral unity.”

3. Einstein’s family life Married college sweetheart Mileva Maric (1903-1919) Divorced: (1919) Two children: Hans Albert (1904-1973) and Eduard (1910-1965), who had a nervous breakdown (Schizophrenia) in 1930 1921 Nobel Prize money went to Mileva Remarried Elsa (Einstein’s cousin) (1919-1936) Two daughters from first marriage: Ilse and Margot

4. Einstein’s Thoughts When Elsa His Wife Was Dying (1936) “Strenuous intellectual work and looking at God’s nature are the reconciling, fortifying yet relentlessly strict angels that shall lead me through all of life’s troubles.”

5. Einstein’s Jobs (1900) Graduated with BS degree (1905) Could not get an academic position, but finally got a job at Patent Office (1910-1911) He was considered for a university position at University of Prague but came in second place to Gustav Jaumann. Some noted that anti- Semitism was part of the decision-making. Gustav Jaumann heard that the decision was not based upon merit, so he refused the job. Einstein got the job after proclaiming that his faith was “Mosaic” and not Jewish (1912) Zurich Polytechnique sought to hire Einstein but offers kept lingering. Einstein responded to Heinrich Zangger, “Leave the Polytechnique to God’s inscrutable ways.” He was later offered the job. (1914) Prussian Academy at the University of Berlin, full professorship position and leading intellectual institution in world. He was recruited by Max Planck and got job. (1918) rejects offer from the Swiss Polytechnic and the University of Zurich (1933) University of Princeton (USA)

6. Albert Einstein the Engineer Note: Theodore von Karman: “Science is the discovery of what exists; engineering is the creation of what never was” His dad was an engineer who ran a company with his uncle; they had patents, were entrepreneurial, and made the products His first job was at a patent office (8 years from 1902-1909) “Imagination is more important than knowledge” Patented several items Machine that measured very low voltage electricity In Moszkowski’s 1921 Book on conversations with Einstein wrote: “a definite connection between the knowledge acquired at the patent office and the theoretical results.” In Einstein’s theoretical papers he would write up an experiment that needed to be engineered to validate the hypothesis

7. Albert Einstein the Engineer (Part 2) In 1907, he created and patented several items, built them, and sold them (electrical devices); one device was a machine that amplified tiny electrical charges In 1930 Einstein worked with Leo Szilard to create a patent on a new refridgerator. In 1934 he worked with Gustav Bucky to create a patent on a photographic diagram.

8. Einstein on Ernst Mach “Mach’s weakness, as I see it, lies in the fact that he believed more or less strongly that science consists merely of putting experimental results in order; that is, he did not recognize the free constructive element in the creation of a concept. He thought that somehow theories arise by means of discovery and not by means of invention.” 1948

9. 1905 Miracle Year (Four Major Papers) 1.Electromagnetism and radiation: light is a particle (quanta): photoelectric effect 2.True size of atoms 3.Brownian motion is random motion and proves that atoms really do exist 4.Special Theory of Relativity: Electrodynamics of moving bodies * E=mc 2 (addendum to Paper 4)

10. On Publishing and Writing His Work Down Although working 6 days at patent office, he wrote: 5 papers in 1905 6 papers in 1906 10 papers in 1907 He wrote 30,000 unique documents; 300 scientific papers; 150 non-scientific papers

11. Einstein’s Road to Nobel Prize (1910) Nominated by Ostwald for Special Relativity (1920) Nomination letter from Lorentz for General Theory of Relativity was late in submission. The voters waited till General Theory was validated experimentally. Lenard of the Nazi party argued against a Jew winning the award. (1921) Nomination by 14 submitters. Gullstrand from Sweden argued against such “speculative theories.” (1922) Einstein won Nobel Prize with Neils Bohr but they dated Einstein’s in 1921 for the photoelectric effect and not the two general theories of relativity. Einstein’s Nobel Prize presentation was on “The General Theory of Relativity!” Isaiah 40:22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

12. Constant Battle (1925 to 1955, his death) with the Incompleteness of Quantum Mechanics He was guided by a faith in a God who would not play dice with the universe He did not believe that God allowed things to happen by chance (God’s sovereignty was to be the basis of his belief) God’s Soveriegnty versus Free-will was at the heart of the debate “The more successes the quantum theory enjoys, the sillier it looks.” (1912) “It is a weakness in the theory that it leaves the time and direction of the elementary process to ‘chance’” (1916) “I find the idea quite intolerable that an electron exposed to radiation should choose of its own free will not only its moment to jump off but also its direction.” (1920) comments to Max Born “In that case, I would rather be a cobbler, or even an employee of a gaming house, than a physicist.” (1924) comments to Max Born. “Quantum mechanics is certainly imposing. But an inner voice tells me that it is not yet the real thing. The theory says a lot, but it does not really bring us any closer to the secrets of the Old One. I, at any rate, am convinced that He does not play dice with the universe.” (1926) to Max Born “Einstein mockingly asked us whether we could really believe that God’s providential authority took recourse to dice playing, to which I replied by pointing with great caution in ascribing attributes to Providence in everyday language. I frankly told Herr Einstein that it cannot be for us to tell God how He is to run the world.” (1927 Solvay Conference)

13. God’s Sovereignty (Calvinism) versus Human Free Will (Arminianism) Einstein’s comments to a little girl in New York (1936): “Scientific research is based on the idea that everything that takes place is determined by laws of nature, and this holds for the actions of people. For this reason, a scientist will hardly be inclined to believe that events could be influenced by prayer, i.e. by a wish addressed to a supernatural Being. Every one who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe – a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble. In this way the pursuit of science leads to a religious feeling of a special sort, which is indeed quite different form the religiosity of someone more naiive.” (1936) “I do not believe in free will in the philosophical sense. Everybody acts not only under external compulsion but also in accordance with inner necessity. Schopenhauser’s saying, ‘A man can do as he wills, but not will as he wills.’ has been a real inspiration to me since my youth; it has been a continual consolation in the face of life’s hardships, my own and others’, and an unfailing wellspring of tolerance/” (1930) Max Born questioned Einstein: “I cannot understand how you can combine an entirely mechanistic universe with the freedom of the ethical individual.” Einstein responded, “Everything is determined, the beginning as well as the end, by forces over which we have no control. It is determined for the insect as well as the for the star. Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible player.” (1931)

14. On the General Relativity Not Being Related to Relativistic Thinking In 1919 The New York Times editorial on Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity pushed the notion that relativity was associated not only with science but with morality, art, and politics as well. Einstein was appalled. He considered calling the General Theory of Relativity as the General Theory of Invariance because physical laws were invariant rather than relative. Einstein was a deterministic and had a quest for certainty with absolute moral convictions that were unchanged Lord Haldane (1921) asked Einstein before the Archbishop of Canturbury: “What ramifications did the theory of relativity have for religion?” Einstein responded, “None.”

15. Einstein’s Belief Were Based Upon Spinoza Spinoza (1632-1677) Jewish philosopher from Amsterdam God is reflected in awe inspiring beauty in nature, rationality, and the unity of nature’s laws God is not personal and is not involved in daily living; It is a brand if Deism Determinism is the fundamental attribute of God….cause and effect God does not play dice with the universe All things are determined by His divine nature and does not change “In the beginning, God created Newton’s laws of motion together with the necessary masses and forces.” When he turned 50 years old, he articulated his deep appreciation of his Jewish heritage and belief in God in various essays, interviews, and letters.

16. Einstein on Atheism “Do you believe in God,” a question from George Sylvestor Viereck (1931) to Einstein: Einstein’s response, “I am not an atheist. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books, but doesn’t know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand these laws.” “There are people who say that there is no God, but what makes me really angry is that they quote me for support of such views.” (1941) “The fanatical atheists are like slaves who are atill feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They are creatures who – in their grudge against traditional religion as the “opium of the masses” – cannot hear the music of the spheres.” (1941)

17. His View of Cosmos: God Made Ordered and to be Studied He was in awe of nature because of its internal harmony and order “Strenuous intellectual work and looking at God’s nature are the reconciling, fortifying yet relentless strict angels that lead me through all of life’s troubles.” “The belief in an external world independent of the person observing it, was the basis of all science” (1927). Einstein stated this in agreement with Maxwell, who was a Creationist and strong Christian. In the context of a dinner party and someone making fun of religion and asked if Einstein was religious. Einstein responded, “Yes, you can call it that. Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature and you will find that, behind all the discernable laws and connections, there remains something subtle, intangible, and inexplicable. Veneration for this force beyond anything that we can comprehend is my religion. To that extent, I am, in fact, very religious.”

18. Einstein’s View on Creation: It Wholly Designed “The highest satisfaction of a scientific person is to come to the realization that God Himself could not have arranged these connections any other way than that which does exist, any more than it would have been in His power to make four a prime number.” (1929) “When I am judging a theory, I ask myself whether, if I were God, would I have arranged the world in such a way” to Banesh Hoffman (1942) “When Einstein posed that question, there was one possibility that he simply could not believe: that the good Lord would have created beauty and subtle rules that determined most of what happened in the universe, while leaving a few things completely to chance. It felt wrong: ‘If the Lord had wanted to do that, he would have done it thoroughly, and not kept to a pattern…He would have gone the whole hog. In that case, we wouldn’t have to look for laws at all.’” Walter Isaacson “Belief in an external world independent of the perceiving subject is the basis of all natural science.” (1954)

19. Einstein’s Comments on Light Carrying Mass “The thought is amusing and seductive; but for all I know, the good Lord might be laughing at the whole matter and might have been leading me up the garden path.” “Really to exist in nature” was a phrase often used by Einstein but not liked by Mach, Hume, etc. Einstein was a realist who believed that an underlying reality existed in nature that was independent of our ability to observe or measure it.

20. Einstein’s Comments on Wave-Particle Duality of Light (1910) “Is it possible to combine energy quanta and the wave principles of radiation? Appearances are against it, but the Almighty - it seems – managed the trick.” Note: Since that time, physicists have accepted the apparent contradiction of light being a wave and yet a particle. However, these same physicists have trouble believing that Jesus was both God and man!

21. Einstein’s View of forces affecting rotating electrons in a magnetic field He started a theory and realized it was wrong. His response to Paul Ehrenfest, “The angel had unveiled itself halfway in its magnificence, then on further unveiling a cloven hoof appeared and I ran away.”

22. Einstein’s Comments on the Theory of Relativity (1913) to Ludwig Hopf “I enjoy controversies. In the manner of Figaro: Would my noble Lord venture a little dance? He should tell me! I will strike up the tune for Him.”

23. Einstein’s Response to the Michelson-Morley Experiment that Indicated that the Speed of Light was Variable “Subtle is the Lord, but malicious He is not. Nature hides her secrets because of her essential loftiness, but not by means of ruse.” Later in life, Einstein told Weyl the following regarding quantum mechanics: “Who knows, perhaps He is a little malicious.”

24. Einstein to Strauss (1935) on mathematical Simplicity and Elegance of Nature’s Handiwork “This is so simple that God could not have passed it up.”

25. In Reference to America in Relation to McCarthyism (1950), Einstein wrote to his son Hans Albert “God’s own country becomes stranger and stranger…but somehow they manage to return to normalcy. Everything, even lunacy, is mass produced here. But, everything goes out of fashion very quickly.”

26. Einstein On Politics and The Jewish Cause (1918) To students at Berlin: “ All true democrats must guard lest the old class tyranny of the Right be replaced by a new class of tyranny on the Left.” (1919) Einstein embraces the Zionist cause. He was in favor of Jewish settlements in Palestine and refuted German National Socialism (Nazi). He started a push for a Hebrew University in Palestine. (1922) Einstein’s name appears on the Nazi list “for sympathizing with Jewish causes.” (1931) (1948) Israel becomes a nation. (1954) After declining the Presidency of Israel he said, “My relationship with the Jewish people has become my strongest human tie.”

27. Einstein on Jesus Christ and Christians In an interview with George Sylvestor Viereck in 1931 was asked what Christianity’s influence had on him. Einstein responded, “As a child I received instruction both in the Bible and the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene.” Viereck responded, “Do you accept the historical existence of Jesus?” Einstein responded, “Absolutely! 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!” A Christian prayer group gathered together to make intercession for the persecuted Jews. Einstein surprised them by showing up at their meeting and asked if he could play his violin and he played a solo at a particular quiet time.(1933) When Elsa Einstein’s daughter Ilsa died, the Blackwood family ministered to Elsa and Albert. Elsa asked Caroline Blackwood if she was Jewish, but Caronline Blackwood said, “no, we are Presbyterians but we know about the deep connection between the jewish heritage and Christianity….and besides Jesus was a Jew!” Elsa hugged her: “No Christian has ever said that to me before.” Caroline Blackwood gave Elsa a copy of Martin Luther’s translation of the Bible in German. Elsa clasped it and said that she wished that she had more faith. Later, it was Caroline Blackwood and her husband who brought Einstein’s notes to America (1934)