"Science without religion is lame"

[Darth Wong]

One of the most famous quotes by Einstein on the relationship of science to religion is this:

Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind

I have had this quote thrown at me countless times by numerous individuals, even in real-life. Well, I have found the original source for the quote, and I have posted the entire text of that source so that the quote may be viewed in context. The full text is located in the Library sub-forum:

http://bbs.stardestroyer.net/viewtopic.php?t=120261

This is, of course, not the first time that someone has pointed out the Christians' misuse of Einstein as a source of quotes in favour of their dogma. However, I feel it may be useful to have the full text of this treatise on the subject of Science and Religion posted on the board in an accessible location.

For those who are unfamiliar with the issue, Einstein's true beliefs on science vs religion can be summarized as follows: when he says "religion", he explicitly rejects those religions which require belief in a personal God, and even calls upon all teachers of religion to categorically reject this notion. Moreover, he makes sure to qualify his famous line by expanding upon it with this explicit rejection of personal deities immediately after saying it: something that the countless abusers of the text never recognize.

I would recommend that anyone interested in Einstein's views on the subject take the time to read the entire article.

[K. A. Pital]

But science can only be created by those who are thoroughly imbued with the aspiration toward truth and understanding. This source of feeling, however, springs from the sphere of religion. To this there also belongs the faith in the possibility that the regulations valid for the world of existence are rational, that is, comprehensible to reason. I cannot conceive of a genuine scientist without that profound faith.

This is really good. Einstein really talks about pursuit of truth and knowledge and the "faith" in... scientific materialism This is the "profound faith" Christians really lack.

And by "religion" Einstein means enforcing secular humanist morals and abandoning sky pixies. "Striving for rational knowledge" is more like a reverence and heavy promotion of scientific values than any of the known world religions:

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. In this sense I believe that the priest must become a teacher if he wishes to do justice to his lofty educational mission.

What a great surprise. I'm amazed how many times Einstein gets abused as a defender of religion or something; this quote, then "God doesn't play dice" (we all know what his concept of god really is) and ultimately the "angry atheist professor" story which is complete bollocks.

I wonder why really. All of it is a huge lie, but it cemented as some of the most common Christian apologist arguments.

[Shroom Man 777]

Makes me want to start a massive information campaign to defeat all the wanton disinformation going about the world - the Age of Bullshit, as Wong calls it.

[PeZook]

I wonder why really. All of it is a huge lie, but it cemented as some of the most common Christian apologist arguments.

You want to know why? I'll tell you why.

Because ripping the quotes out of context supports their cause, while quoting them in their entirety doesn't. Also, most people don't put any thought into their religion at all, so they take the quotes and don't bother with the context. Because that's comfortable.

Really, you can see it amongst all kinds of idiots. Moon hoaxers, for example, criticize moon photographs because there are no stars on them. And the real genius of this position is that no future photograph of the Moon will have stars on it, so they can conveniently declare any photo taken in the past and the future as a hoax.

It's all about intellectual comfort, nothing else. There's a crapload of people out there who claim to search for truth, but in reality they only search for easy answers.

[Rye]

I wonder why really. All of it is a huge lie, but it cemented as some of the most common Christian apologist arguments.

It's really straightforward; Einstein was smart, Einstein said something positive about scientific pantheism using the word religion, so likely a christian lied about it (this was even going on in Einstein's time) and pretended it also referred to magical sky men and zombies.

"I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with fates and actions of human beings."

"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."

"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."

Those last 2 are from Albert Einstein - The Human Side, the first one is from a telegram, I believe.