Why I Don't Believe In God

[name suppressed]
From: "[name suppressed]"
To: "Positive Atheism" <editor@positiveatheism.org>
Subject: Positive_Atheism_Letters_Section
Date: Monday, June 26, 2000 11:38 AM

-- Heinrich Heine, Gedanken und Einfalle

I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice
it always coincides with their own desires.
-- in 1896, addressing the National American Woman Suffrage Association meeting

“In dark ages people are best guided by religion, as in a pitch-black night a blind man
is the best guide; he knows the roads and paths better than a man who can see. When
daylight comes, however, it is foolish to use blind, old men as guides. “

Recently I decided to write a rant for a friend, I got very into what I was
writing about, so I decided I'd let someone else read it. I haven't really proof
read it, but I think it's very interesting.

Why I don't believe in God:

Religion is ignorance, it is just a bunch of B.S. that people believe because

some man said there was a god 2000 years ago. People thought the world was
flat 2000 years ago also, so if I go sail the oceans will I fall off the earth at
some point? I think not. When I was little people told me there was a Santa,
but as I grew older due to common sense I knew he was not real, same with
god, common sense, he(or her, or whatever people believe it is) is not real.
What proof do we have that there is a god? Ok some people claim they have
seen god, people also claim they have seen the boogy man, the loch ness
monster, the Easter bunny, and one I see every year at the mall, Santa. About
3 years ago in my old town, god was supposedly seen on a local church wall. It
was on the front page of the paper, people from all over came to see it, people
believed god was present in that church. Of course out of curiosity, I went to
see, since it was nearby anyway. This was the most ridiculous thing I have
ever seen.. remember when you were younger you always pointed out that
that cloud in the sky looks like a tree? Or it looks like a cow or something? Well
this wall slightly resembled the shape of 'god.' My ceiling has circles all over it,
one circle intersects and forms a weird shape, this must be a sign right? How
people could be so amazed with this wall astonishes me, its like seeing a group
of people staring at a cloud shaped like a tree, its stupid.
A friend once said to me she believes in god because the world must have
come from somewhere. I'm gonna believe in Santa now because those
presents must have come from somewhere. Sure that analogy is a bad one, but
its pathetic if the only reason you believe in something is because you have
nothing else to believe. Every religion is so sure that their religion is true, don't
people realize that if there's 100 religions(I don't know how many there
actually are), then all 100 religions CAN'T be true?? It's common sense people,
common sense. Many people say that god exists because the bible said god
exists, if the bible said that humans could fly I wouldn't be surprised when
they find dead bodies at the bottom of cliffs. Sure there's proof that a man
named Jesus existed. It's also proof that a girl named [name suppressed]
exists. It doesn't mean anything does it? How do we know that Jesus is any
more special than [name suppressed]? Jesus was probably a guy who had a
friend who decided to tell a tall tale and decided to use his friends name. I
could easily make my own religion stating anything I want, and if I pushed
these beliefs on enough people, people would probably start to believe it. Are
people so insecure that they have to believe in something in order to live a
stable and fulfilling life? My life is very good, I have shelter, i have food, i have
clothing, and above all i have happiness, do i really need a god? I'm fine
without it.

Now if God was supposed to be loving, and love everyone, then why would
he send people to hell? Religious people say that those that go to hell did not
devote their lives to God. So basically someone who was nice, maybe even won
a Pulitzer prize or something would go to hell because he did not devote his
life to god. Is that fair? Why would anyone wanna love a god who would do
that to someone anyway? Here's a story, ok you were born on a farm in a
secluded area, your parents were not religious, so you had little knowledge of
religion. You never once learned about religion because you never once had
the opportunity to. When you were 20 you died. According to the bible you will
go to hell. Is that fair? This person was a kind human being with high morals,
never hurt a soul in his life, he never denied god because he never had any
knowledge of him in the first place. Why would anyone want to believe in a god
who would punish someone from lack of knowledge of him? I strongly believe
there is no god, and even if there was, I'm glad I don't worship a god like that
anyway. If I go to hell so be it, better than going to heaven for believing in a
god that would have sent an innocent uneducated child to hell. I go to church
every once in a while because my friend asks me too, I go because honestly I
think its interesting(the Christian one). Of course I don't believe anything they
say that relates to god, but I go for 2 reasons. The moral reasons, some
churches talk about morals, in life having morals is an important thing.
Another reason I go, is because in order to criticize religion so much, I have to
have knowledge about it. I have gone to church many many times in my life, i
think i know enough about it to be able to criticize it. It's amazing that when I
go I see so many people so glued to the church. I have been to 2 churches with
different religions, both I feel the need to make fun of. First Catholic churches,
they are the worst. You walk in, you dip your finger into holy water and put it
on your head(personally I'd rather keep my head dry). Then as you approach
your seat you kneel down and make a cross(personally the energy to kneel is
just not worth it). Then you sit quietly, if you're not quiet people glare at you,
so not only do we have to go through the torture of going to the church in the
first place, you have to be silent there too. Then the priest reads some story
from the bible, the story is ridiculous, it never makes sense, and its just plain
boring to listen to.
Then the priest keeps talking and talking, and I honestly don't even know what
about cause my attention span for things that are boring and pointless is
rather small. In between there, you say several poems that everyone in that
church has memorized, I would never waste my time memorizing anything that
stupid, the only reason I have one memorized is because in order to get my
communion when I was little I was forced to recite it. I didn't like it as a kid,
and as I get older I think its more and more stupid. Also during the Mass you
give handshakes to the people around you and say 'god be with you.' Next
Christmas I'm going to give everyone a handshake and say 'santa be with you.'
Its insanely ridiculous how people are so glued to the church, what does it
really do for them? Takes time out of their sundays? Yeah that's about it. Now
on to my other church, a Christian one, now this church is much less irritating,
and this is the one I previously talked about how I sometimes liked going to.
You walk in, you sit, it's a lot more of an open environment than the catholic
churches. The first 30 minutes you worship, as in you sing church songs and
dance. You would not believe how funny it is to see a group of people dancing
in a circle with their hands up, they say they are praising god, but really all
they are doing is looking silly. After this worship the priest gives his sermon,
for some time he talks about moral type things and doesn't mention god that
much, now that is somewhat interesting, now he goes to talking about god and
how you must praise him. What does he know, he wasted his whole life
worshiping god when he could have accomplished so much. Religion is
ridiculous, it's amazing how so many people can follow something that is the
same as one of those silly fairy tales you hear as a child. Is there really a
difference? It's simply just wishful thinking, I always wanted Santa to be real,
but then common sense hit me, how does this common sense seem to miss so
many people? I just don't get it. Here's a quote I once read, "I don't believe in
god, because I don't believe in mother goose," by Clarence Darrow. That is the
base of my belief, god is just a little made up fairy tale. It is has no reasonable
proof what so ever, and until they find something, which i believe will be
never, i will remain believing what i believe.

Recently a friend told me that she doesn't think she would be able to be
friends with someone who did not believe in god. Obviously she does not know
my opinion on god, if she did then I'm sure she would change her opinion of
me. I'm still the same person whether I believe in god or not. The thing that
bothers me is that it seems that most religious people are so narrow minded. I
am capable of being friends with people no matter what they believe, yet the
believers of god find it hard to like anyone who is not a believer of god. Has the
belief in god, and their church controlled their opinion on others that much?
Apparently so. These people are a bunch of hypocrites. According to them god
taught them to be loving and caring and to respect others, it seems like they
have no respect for anyone but their own kind. The bible says preaching is a
sin, if I said I did not believe in god to them, the preaching would immediately
begin. I don't bother them with my opinions why do they feel they can bother
me with theirs? We are entitled to believe whatever we want. Another sin in
exact words, 'one who tries to straighten out others,' yet people seem to think
its ok to try to straighten out atheists and make them believe, or take
homosexuals and try to make them heterosexual. Hypocrites

Thanks for your time

[name suppressed]
-- Heinrich Heine, Gedanken und Einfalle

I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because
I notice it always coincides with their own desires.
-- in 1896, addressing the National American Woman Suffrage Association
meeting

Fun With the Bible

Feb 19, 2007 Deep Thoughts

Do you live your life according to the Bible? Do you think the Bible doesn’t
contradict it’self? Do you know someone that works on Sundays? You better
kill the fucker or God will get very mad at you and possibly have to send you to
hell for eternity!

From the good book written by our Lord and God, Exodus 35:2

For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy
day, a sabbath of complete rest to the LORD; whoever does any work on it
shall be put to death.

Nope, that totally doesn’t contradict anything else written in the Bible eh? I
love it when people say lines like “the bible is the word of God and doesn’t
contradict it’self”. If the bible really was the word of God, why:

a) would he be using the language of mere mortals? shouldn’t he be using

some perfect mothod of communication, fit only for the gods?

b) would there be *any* flaws in what he said? God is supposed to be perfect,

so anything he says should be perfect as well, meaning no contradictions.

c) would he need humans to do his bidding? if God is as powerful as people

claim him to be, then he should surely be fully capable of killing heathens
himself, right?

Incase you didn’t catch the bit about contradiction, I’ll highlight an onscure
passage from the good book, in fact, the exact same chapter as the sunday
quote; Exodus 20:13:

You shall not murder.

I guess this is one of those gray areas where we just gotta use out best
judgement and instead, kill people when we feel like it or something. Since
clearly murder is an action condoned by God himself when people blashpeme.

Morality Didn’t Exist Prior To The Christian Bible

Feb 13, 2007 Deep Thoughts

After seeing that garbage debate on CNN about atheism in America I was just
about ready to punch my TV in hopes that the asshole on their “panel” would
feel it. There were two main things that pissed me off about the trash that they
were spouting.
 1. Atheists apparently don’t believe in anything.
2. If you don’t believe in God/Bible you have no morals.

Both these points are so wrong it disgusts me. What the hell makes these
idiots think I don’t believe in anything? Oh, right cause I don’t believe in what
they believe in, clearly means I don’t believe in anything. Right. I guess that
makes a lot of sense according to their twisted logic since, they also claimed
that 97% of the US is Christian; totally false. Here we are

According to the 2001 American Religious Identification Survey (discussed

below), 80% of the U.S. is Christian and 15% adhere to no religion or are
Atheist/Agnostic

Awww, look at that, I guess you were completely wrong. 15% of 300,000,000
is 45,000,000. Yes, that’s right, 45 million Americans that do not believe in
your god(s).

What do I believe in? I believe in truth, an end to lies, an end to hate and an
end to intolerance. We are all humans and should all be treated equally. But I
guess that doesn’t actually count as anything since.. you know, I’m an atheist.

Next on their agenda, the bit that if you don’t believe in god or the bible, which
means you have no morals. This point has been repeated so many times I
honestly don’t think anyone has ever even stopped to think about what they’re
saying. The implication was that the bible invented human morality; this is
beyond laughable. Not only that, but how about the fact that the bible does not
actually teach morality?! I’ve never met anyone that believes every story in the
bible has good moral value and can be used as moral teaching material.

Let’s take the story of Abraham for example.. if we were to try and pull morals
from the story it would have to be something like this: If God tells you to kill
your son, don’t question it, just do it. You will be rewarded for your actions.

Fan-fucking-tastic. So all those news stories of the insane mother that thought
God ordered her to make a human sacrifice chose to throw her three children
into San Francisco Bay were justified, since the bible taught these amazingly
moral values, right?! NICE.

So anyway, back to our topic, we clearly cannot take every story in the bible as
being good for use in our moral teachings, then how do we know what’s good
to use and what’s not? Oooooooh, right.. we use our already existing moral
sense to pick and choose the good stories from the bad! So basically, the bible
is just something people use to justify their garbage beliefs, like say.. hating
gays or killing people who disagree. How many bible thumpers have you seen
give away all their possessions and lead a life dedicated to serving the poor
and needy? Ted Haggard certainly didn’t, Pat Robertson certainly didn’t, so
clearly the teachings of Jesus have no positive moral values, since they choose
to not use them in their own lives. You might just say they used their own
sense of morality (or in these two cases, greed since their moral values are
just about null, self gain is number one) to pick what dictates their morals,
which means the bible is effectively good for nothing.
So what is the bible good for? Fire-paper perhaps?

10 Signs You’re a Fundamentalist Christian

Feb 10, 2007 Deep Thoughts

Top 10 Signs You’re a Fundamentalist Christian

10 - You vigorously deny the existence of thousands of gods claimed by

other religions, but feel outraged when someone denies the existence of yours.

9 - You feel insulted and “dehumanized” when scientists say that people
evolved from other life forms, but you have no problem with the Biblical claim
that we were created from dirt.

8 - You laugh at polytheists, but you have no problem believing in a Triune

God.

7 - Your face turns purple when you hear of the “atrocities” attributed to
Allah, but you don’t even flinch when hearing about how God/Jehovah
slaughtered all the babies of Egypt in “Exodus” and ordered the elimination of
entire ethnic groups in “Joshua” including women, children, and trees!

6 - You laugh at Hindu beliefs that deify humans, and Greek claims about
gods sleeping with women, but you have no problem believing that the Holy
Spirit impregnated Mary, who then gave birth to a man-god who got killed,
came back to life and then ascended into the sky.

5 - You are willing to spend your life looking for little loopholes in the
scientifically established age of Earth (few billion years), but you find nothing
wrong with believing dates recorded by Bronze Age tribesmen sitting in their
tents and guessing that Earth is a few generations old.

4 - You believe that the entire population of this planet with the exception of
those who share your beliefs — though excluding those in all rival sects - will
spend Eternity in an infinite Hell of Suffering. And yet consider your religion
the most “tolerant” and “loving.”

3 - While modern science, history, geology, biology, and physics have failed
to convince you otherwise, some idiot rolling around on the floor speaking in
“tongues” may be all the evidence you need to “prove” Christianity.

2 - You define 0.01% as a “high success rate” when it comes to answered

prayers. You consider that to be evidence that prayer works. And you think
that the remaining 99.99% FAILURE was simply the will of God.

1 - You actually know a lot less than many atheists and agnostics do about
the Bible, Christianity, and church history - but still call yourself a Christian.

Not a Christian? Off To Jail With you!

Feb 1, 2007 News

Who cares what you think! Us Christians know better than you, if you disagree,
we’ll throw you in the slammer for a year! What? Con-sti-tu-tion? What the
fuck is that? No no, I don’t care about some stupid old paper that says you’re
allowed to believe in your own religion, I’m right, and I’m the decider.. now..
off you go!

Here’s a sweet law that I bet you didn’t know about.. It’s illegal to not accept
Jesus Christ as your lord. Yup. This is what you call freedom in America.
Chapter 272: Section 36. Blasphemy

Section 36. Whoever wilfully blasphemes the holy name of God by denying,
cursing or contumeliously reproaching God, his creation, government or final
judging of the world, or by cursing or contumeliously reproaching Jesus Christ
or the Holy Ghost, or by cursing or contumeliously reproaching or exposing to
contempt and ridicule, the holy word of God contained in the holy scriptures
shall be punished by imprisonment in jail for not more than one year or by a
fine of not more than three hundred dollars, and may also be bound to good
behavior.

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. No interpretation no matter
how subtle can (for me) change this.
-- Albert Einstein, in a letter responding to philosopher Eric Gutkind, who had
sent him a copy of his book Choose Life: The Biblical Call to Revolt; quoted
from James Randerson, "Childish Superstition: Einstein's Letter Makes View of
Religion Relatively Clear: Scientist's Reply to Sell for up to £8,000, and Stoke
Debate over His Beliefs" The Guardian, (13 May 2008)

For me the Jewish religion like all others is an incarnation of the most childish
superstitions. And 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 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.
-- Albert Einstein, in a letter responding to philosopher Eric Gutkind, who had
sent him a copy of his book Choose Life: The Biblical Call to Revolt; quoted
from James Randerson, "Childish Superstition: Einstein's Letter Makes View of
Religion Relatively Clear: Scientist's Reply to Sell for up to £8,000, and Stoke
Debate over His Beliefs" The Guardian, (13 May 2008)

Make everything as simple as possible but not simpler.

-- Albert Einstein (attributed: source unknown)

[O]nly if every individual strives for truth can humanity attain a happier future;
the atavisms in each of us that stand in the way of a friendlier destiny can only
thus be rendered ineffective.
-- Albert Einstein, Foreward to Homer W Smith, Man and His Gods
Strange is our situation here on Earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not
knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to divine a purpose. From the standpoint
of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: that man is here for the
sake of other men -- above all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our
own happiness depends.
-- Albert Einstein, quoted from James A Haught, ed, 2000 Years of Disbelief, p.
241

I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation,
whose purposes are modeled after our own -- a God, in short, who is but a
reflection of human frailty. Neither can I believe that the individual survives
the death of his body, although feeble souls harbor such thoughts through fear
or ridiculous egotisms.
-- Albert Einstein, obituary in New York Times, 19 April 1955, quoted from
James A Haught, "Breaking the Last Taboo" (1996)

However we select from nature a complex [of phenomena] using the criterion
of simplicity, in no case will its theoretical treatment turn out to be forever
appropriate (sufficient).... I do not doubt that the day will come when [general
relativity], too, will have to yield to another one, for reasons which at present
we do not yet surmise. I believe that this process of deepening theory has no
limits.
-- Albert Einstein, acknowledging that all claims to knowledge are de facto
subject to revision upon presentation of newer, better evidence, quoted from
Victor J Stenger, Physics and Psychics

I do not believe in immortality of the individual, and I consider ethics to be an

exclusively human concern with no superhuman authority behind it.
-- Albert Einstein, 1954, from Albert Einstein: The Human Side, edited by Helen
Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, Princeton University Press

[Excerpt]
A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education,
and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be
in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of
reward after death.
-- Albert Einstein, "Religion and Science," New York Times Magazine, 9
November 1930

[Passage]
It seems to me that the idea of a personal God is an anthropological concept
which I cannot take seriously. I also cannot imagine some will or goal outside
the human sphere.... Science has been charged with undermining morality, but
the charge is unjust. A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on
sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary.
Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of
punishment and hope of reward after death.
-- Albert Einstein, "Religion and Science," New York Times Magazine, 9
November 1930

One strength of the Communist system ... is that it has some of the
characteristics of a religion and inspires the emotions of a religion.
-- Albert Einstein, Out Of My Later Years (1950), thanks to Laird Wilcox, ed,
"The Degeneration of Belief"
It was the experience of mystery -- even if mixed with fear -- that engendered
religion.
-- Albert Einstein (attributed: source unknown)

Scientific research is based on the idea that everything that takes place is
determined by laws of nature, and therefore this holds for the action of people.
For this reason, a research scientist will hardly be inclined to believe that
events could be influenced by a prayer, i.e. by a wish addressed to a
Supernatural Being.
-- Albert Einstein, 1936, responding to a child who wrote and asked if
scientists pray. Source: Albert Einstein: The Human Side, Edited by Helen
Dukas and Banesh Hoffmann

Albert EinsteinI 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. [He was speaking of Quantum Mechanics and the breaking down of
determinism.] 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.
-- Albert Einstein, from Albert Einstein: The Human Side, edited by Helen Dukas
and Banesh Hoffman, Princeton University Press

I cannot conceive of a God who rewards and punishes his creatures, or has a
will of the kind that we experience in ourselves. Neither can I nor would I want
to conceive of an individual that survives his physical death; let feeble souls,
from fear or absurd egoism, cherish such thoughts. I am satisfied with the
mystery of the eternity of life and with the awareness and a glimpse of the
marvelous structure of the existing world, together with the devoted striving
to comprehend a portion, be it ever so tiny, of the Reason that manifests itself
in nature.
-- Albert Einstein, The World as I See It

I am convinced that some political and social activities and practices of the
Catholic organizations are detrimental and even dangerous for the community
as a whole, here and everywhere. I mention here only the fight against birth
control at a time when overpopulation in various countries has become a
serious threat to the health of people and a grave obstacle to any attempt to
organize peace on this planet.
-- Albert Einstein, letter, 1954

God does not play at dice with the Universe.

-- Albert Einstein, (attributed: source unknown), to which Neils Bohr allegedly
responded "Quit telling God what to do!" However, in the Bhagavad Gita, Krsna
is quoted as having said: "I am the game of dice. I am the self-centered in the
heart of all beings." (See our commentary on this quotation.)

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.
-- Albert Einstein, 1954, from Albert Einstein: The Human Side, edited by Helen
Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, Princeton University Press

Laws alone cannot secure freedom of expression; in order that every man
present his views without penalty there must be a spirit of tolerance in the
entire population.
-- Albert Einstein, Out Of My Later Years (1950), quoted from Laird y, ed, "The
Degeneration of Belief"

Albert EinsteinThe more a man is imbued with the ordered regularity of all
events the firmer becomes his conviction that there is no room left by the side
of this ordered regularity for causes of a different nature. For him neither the
rule of human nor the rule of divine will exist as an independent cause of
natural events. To be sure, the doctrine of a personal God interfering with the
natural events could never be refuted, in the real sense, by science, for this
doctrine can always take refuge in those domains in which scientific
knowledge has not yet been able to set foot. But I am persuaded that such
behaviour on the part of the representatives of religion would not only be
unworthy but also fatal. For a doctrine which is able to maintain itself not in
clear light but only in the dark, will of necessity lose its effect on mankind,
with incalculable harm to human progress....
If it is one of the goals of religions to liberate mankind as far as possible
from the bondage of egocentric cravings, desires, and fears, scientific
reasoning can aid religion in another sense. Although it is true that it is the
goal of science to discover (the) rules which permit the association and
foretelling of facts, this is not its only aim. It also seeks to reduce the
connections discovered to the smallest possible number of mutually
independent conceptual elements. It is in this striving after the rational
unification of the manifold that it encounters its greatest successes, even
though it is precisely this attempt which causes it to run the greatest risk of
falling a prey to illusion. But whoever has undergone the intense experience of
successful advances made in this domain, is moved by the profound reverence
for the rationality made manifest in existence. By way of the understanding he
achieves a far reaching emancipation from the shackles of personal hopes and
desires, and thereby attains that humble attitude of mind toward the grandeur
of reason, incarnate in existence, and which, in its profoundest depths, is
inaccessible to man. This attitude, however, appears to me to be religious in
the highest sense of the word. And so it seems to me that science not only
purifies the religious impulse of the dross of its anthropomorphism but also
contributes to a religious spiritualisation of our understanding of life.
-- Albert Einstein, Science, Philosophy, and Religion, A Symposium, published
by the Conference on Science, Philosophy and Religion in Their Relation to the
Democratic Way of Life, Inc., New York, 1941

The mystical trend of our time, which shows itself particularly in the rampant
growth of the so-called Theosophy and Spiritualism, is for me no more than a
symptom of weakness and confusion. Since our inner experiences consist of
reproductions, and combinations of sensory impressions, the concept of a soul
without a body seem to me to be empty and devoid of meaning.
The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. The religion which based
on experience, which refuses dogmatic. If there's any religion that would cope
the scientific needs it will be Buddhism....
 If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward,
then we are a sorry lot indeed.
The further the spiritual evolution of mankind advances, the more certain it
seems to me that the path to genuine religiosity does not lie through the fear
of life, and the fear of death, and blind faith, but through striving after rational
knowledge.
Immortality? There are two kinds. The first lives in the imagination of the
people, and is thus an illusion. There is a relative immortality which may
conserve the memory of an individual for some generations. But there is only
one true immortality, on a cosmic scale, and that is the immortality of the
cosmos itself. There is no other.
-- Albert Einstein, quoted in Madalyn Murray O'Hair, All the Questions You Ever
Wanted to Ask American Atheists (1982) vol. ii., p. 29

The minority, the ruling class at present, has the schools and press, usually the
Church as well, under its thumb. This enables it to organize and sway the
emotions of the masses, and make its tool of them.
-- Albert Einstein, letter to Sigmund Freud (30 July 1932) ††

[Excerpt]
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.
-- Albert Einstein, quoted from the various poster-portraits of Einstein that
have graced Cliff Walker's wall for almost two decades, this being Cliff's motto
and all-time favorite quip

[Passage]
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.
The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to
hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence.
-- Albert Einstein, quoted in part from the various poster-portraits of Einstein
that have graced Cliff Walker's wall for almost two decades

One thing I have learned in a long life: that all our science, measured against
reality, is primitive and childlike -- and yet it is the most precious thing we
have.
-- Albert Einstein, echoing Robert Green Ingersoll ("I admit that reason is a
small and feeble flame, a flickering torch by stumblers carried in the star-less
night, -- blown and flared by passion's storm, -- and yet, it is the only light.
Extinguish that, and nought remains." from the Field-Ingersoll Debate), quoted
from PhysLink.com

Stenger: To Einstein, 'God' is 'Nature'

"Both deism and traditional Judeo-Christian-Islamic theism must also be

contrasted with pantheism, the notion attributed to Baruch Spinoza (d. 1677)
that the deity is associated with the order of nature or the universe itself. This
also crudely summarizes the Hindu view and that of many indigenous religions
around the world. When modern scientists such as Einstein and Stephen
Hawking mention 'God' in their writings, this is what they seem to mean: that
God is Nature."
-- Victor J Stenger, Has Science Found God? (2001), chapter 3