Einstein: Bible Is ‘Primitive, Pretty Childish’

A letter by the Nobel prize-winning physicist’s Albert Einstein spells out his religious views.

In the note, written the year before his death, Einstein dismissed the idea of God as the product of human weakness and the Bible as “pretty childish.”

Einstein penned the letter on January 3 1954 to the philosopher Eric Gutkind who had sent him a copy of his book Choose Life: The Biblical Call to Revolt. The letter went on public sale a year later and has remained in private hands ever since.

In the letter, he states: “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.”

Einstein, who was Jewish and who declined an offer to be the state of Israel’s second president, also rejected the idea that the Jews are God’s favoured people.

“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.”

The Bible According to Einstein was not written by Einstein, but a group of  scientist expounding upon the laws of Nature. The term Bible is used in reference to “a collection of books.”

http://www.jupiterscientific.org/science/baeind.html

African American Ministers Support DADT REPEAL

African American Ministers in Action addressed a letter to Senators in support of repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.

December 15, 2010

United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator:

On behalf of African American Ministers in Action, a project of People For the American Way, we write in strong opposition to all forms of discrimination against gay military personnel and in strong support of all actions needed to address and subsequently repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. We welcome today’s passage of the House amendment to the Senate amendment of H.R. 2965, and urge the Senate to take up this measure forthwith. It is time to finally send repeal to the President’s desk.

Representing progressive African American faith leaders from around the country, African American Ministers in Action is a ministry of civil engagement and social justice that embraces the “beloved community” envisioned by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Consciously recognizing discrimination and oppression, we believe in justice and equality for all, and we support all members of the armed services, including gay servicemembers, who stand and defend our country. We support their individual and collective struggle for open and honest service in our military; true service that has been denied for more than 15 years.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is contradictory to the values and teachings progressive men and women of faith express weekly to their congregations. Values such as honor, integrity, faithfulness and service are common in places of worship and associated with the armed forces, not to mention equality and freedom of expression espoused by our Constitution. Repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is necessary to restore these values. Until then, a segment of servicemembers will have to lie and hide their true identity on a daily basis. Those who live openly and share information about their spouses, significant others, or dating life risk investigation and involuntary expulsion. Any statement that one is gay – to anyone, at any time, before or after enlistment – can be reason for discharge. One’s life is a constant liability to one’s career for gay military personnel.

The faith community will continue in faithful dialogue to address the questions of LGBT equality and recognition of same-sex relationships. However, one thing people of faith should and do recognize is the need to protect constitutional and civil rights of all Americans, especially those who are discriminated against because of who they are. LGBT individuals are ready and willing to step up, and have stood up to the challenge of military service. They share in the sacrifices made by their family, friends, and neighbors. They deserve to serve honestly and openly with dignity.

There is a time and a season for every activity, every purpose. Now is the time, this is the season to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

Sincerely,

Reverend Timothy McDonald, III
African American Ministers In Action
Chairman

Reverend Dr. Robert P. Shine
African American Ministers in Action
Vice Chair

 

We all bleed RED: 2010 DADT Repeal and 1948 Segregation Repeal

Update: @ 1:33 pm  Senate vote 63-33 to invoke cloture on repeal.  Official vote taken @3pmET. At this very moment let history record 33 senators as evil doers of civil rights, democracy and justice.

It’s exactly 9:49am, 18 Dec. 2010, and I’m watching Congressmembers on C-Span debate a major civil rights injustice: Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.   Hopefully, within the next hour, DADT repeal bill will be voted upon in the Senate.

Addendum: @10:46pm John McCain took the floor with old bigoted rhetoric used to keep the armed forces segregated and anti civil rights.  No Negro in the US should be against DADT –regardless of their religious convictions.  Once again, those smae religious convictions kept slavery alive, jim crow alive, and discrimination alive historically and at present.

With such homophobia from my own black community reference gays, I  want to review desegregation of the arms services.    You see, the big difference here is that president Truman signed Executive Order 9981 on July 26 1948 desegregating the armed forces – knowing such a bill would not make it through Congress.  Why? Blatant racism and social ignorance!   Also, Turman wanted to look good for international diplomacy purposes.

So, my black community must understand that social justice must always be meet with agitation, agitation and more agitation.  Just like desegregation, DADT has been a long fight of agitation and bridging of diplomacy to get to this point.  Regardless if this bill passes or not the struggle will continue until DADT has folded – even if the president has to sign an Executive Order.

Arguments today in favor of keeping the Pentagon’s “don’t ask, don’t tell policy”—that openly serving gays would disrupt morale and erode the cohesion of combat units—echo those used to defend military segregation along racial lines just a few short years ago.

Top brass in the armed forces wholeheartedly believed the role of the military was to serve, not to change, society. Blacks served in every U.S. military conflict beginning with the American Revolution, but in separate units that were often poorly trained and ill equipped. White officers were commonly ordered to lead black units as punishment.

They also rationalized their opposition to integration by saying that the armed forces should not be an instrument of social change and that the services could only reflect the social mores of the society from which they sprang. Thus, in their view, integration not only hindered the services’ basic mission by burdening them with undependable units and marginally capable men, but also courted social upheaval in military units.

But the job wasn’t exactly finished until the Defense Department disbanded its last all-black units in 1954.