Belief in God 'childish,' Jews not chosen people: Einstein letter

BREITBART ^ | May 13, 2008

[DungeonMaster]

I can’t imagine God wanting to be feared. As for should be, I think that would be up to the individual and his beliefs.

God is a righteous judge and He will condemn all who are found guilty of sin. That condemnation is either eternal punishment or eternal destruction. And you don't think He should or wants to be feared?

[DungeonMaster]

Only in the same way that a parent want's a child to fear punishment to avoid doing something that could be injurious to the child or others or that is wrong.

Ultimately, God wants our love not our fear.

I'd say that without being born again the only feeling left for a person to have for God is fear because judgement is coming. If one is born again then his relationship with God has changed to one where we say "abba father". Yet even a Daddy will put a hurt on us if we are way out of line. But he won't destroy us.

[quadrant]

How one believes varies by religious faith.
Of course my examples are simplifications but in general: Muslims believe that one must adhere to the Five Pillars of Wisdom, Jews believe that one draws closer to God through the Law, Roman Catholic believe that one comes close to God through the Church, and Protestants believe that one draws close to God through a personal relationship with Jesus.
What one believes are the specific “articles of faith” that are unique to each faith.

[stuartcr]

Well, we certainly do have different responses and ideas for what generates them.

[stuartcr]

I suppose that is one way to look at it, if one believes that God does punish people.

[stuartcr]

I disagree.

[stuartcr]

Right, and each faith is unique.

[quadrant]

You are correct, but since each is unique, only one may be true.

[stuartcr]

I disagree with that, as I believe with God, anything is possible.

[quadrant]

I agree that with God anything is possible but what has He said that He would do?

[stuartcr]

That would be relative to a person’s beliefs, wouldn’t it?

[quadrant]

An omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent God is not (indeed, cannot be) relative to the beliefs of fallible and finite humans.

[stuartcr]

My response meant, that what He said He would do, would be relative to a person’s belief. This means that what a person believes God had said or would do, would be relative to what one believes. ie, a Christian would believe he interpreted what God said and did as a Christian, a Hindu as a Hindu, Muslim, Jew, etc. I apologise if my response was not clear.

[quadrant]

Granted that if one reads the cannons of different religions, one can read of different promises by “God”. Many of these promises are contradictory and one one can be true.

[Ethan Clive Osgoode]

I don’t know how Einstein really believed.

If you are familiar with monist literature (think Ernst Haeckel) and the characteristic ways that monists babble about Goethe, Spinoza, and 'the unity of nature', you'll instantly recognize Einstein as a monist.

[stuartcr]

Of the ones that are contradictory and affect us humans in a physical/provable manner, as opposed to the more ethereal, spiritual/supernatural promises, it might be better to qualify the statement that only one can be true at a time. Say two religions promised a ‘chosen land’ in the same place, we may find in past or future history, that indeed, those 2 different group did occupy that land, but at different times or peacefully co-existed, even if not mentioned in eithers’ writings. As for the supernatural stuff that religions may promise, like what may happen after death, they don’t even count, as no one has anyway of knowing if indeed they are contradictory, or even exist.

[stuartcr]

I am not familiar with monist literature.

[quadrant]

Only one promise can be true, as truth by itself is pure and undiluted. As the promises of religion transcend time and space, no one “knows” if the eternal promises of religion are true with mathematical certainty. To subject the spiritual promises of a religious faith to a standard of mathematical certainty is absurd. Spiritual promises operate outside the realm of the material and cannot be compared. To do so betrays a limited and unimaginative mind.
No two groups with an exclusive claim based on a religious revelation can occupy the same plot of land at the same time. They may occupy the land during different periods in history but not during the same period. Which group occupies the land at any given period will depend on a constellation (or concatenation) of events that are too numerous to mention here.

[stuartcr]

You don’t believe that God could make more than one promise true?

Besides, we’re talking about religions that have been created by man and promises read from a book. We don’t even know, or have any way of knowing/proving that God even did make any promises. It’s all based on faith...which is different for different people.

[quadrant]

How do you know that religious faith was created by man? What are your standards of proof? Do you deny the possibility of Divine revelation?