Einstein’s ‘God Letter’ Up for Auction

 Commentary By Stephen: This is the famous letter, dated January 3, 1954,  in which physicist Albert Einstein wrote:  “The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weakness, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish.”

At the time, the man who identified as Jewish, was lamenting the influence of the Jewish religion which he stated: ” is an incarnation of the most childish superstition”

Ironically, it’s on eBay… But my big question is: who’s the mystery seller? And why now?

 

Albert Einstein’s ‘God Letter’ Expected to Sell for US$3 Million at Auction

By Reuters reporters, The telegraphy UK, – October 3, 2012

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9583331/Albert-Einsteins-God-Le...

A letter handwritten by physicist Albert Einstein a year before his death, expressing his views on religion, will be sold on eBay this month with an opening bid of US$3 million (£1.9m), an auction agency said

Known as the “God Letter,” the correspondence offers insights into the private thoughts about religion, God and tribalism of one of the world’s most brilliant minds.

“This letter, in my opinion, is really of historical and cultural significance as these are the personal and private thoughts of arguably the smartest man of the 20th century,” said Eric Gazin, the president of Auction Cause, a Los Angeles-based premier auction agency, which will handle the sale on eBay.

“The letter was written near the end of his life, after a lifetime of learning and thought,” he added.

Einstein wrote the letter in German on January 3, 1954, on Princeton University letterhead to philosopher Erik Gutkind after he read Gutkind’s book “Choose Life: The Biblical Call to Revolt.”

“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,” wrote the German-born scientist, who in 1921 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.

The anonymous seller of the letter, which will be auctioned with the original envelope, stamp and postmark, purchased it from Bloomsbury Auctions in London in 2008 for $404,000.

Since that time the letter has been stored in a temperature-controlled vault at a public institution.

Although the opening bid of the eBay auction is $3 million, Gazin, who handled previous high-profile online auctions, said he expects it will fetch double or triple that amount during the Oct 8-18 auction at www.einsteinletter.com

“eBay has the widest possible audience and it is so global and so accessible,” he explained, adding that 10 years ago the last major Einstein letter sold for more than $2 million.

“We feel this is a reasonable starting price given the historic importance and the interest in Einstein,” Gazin added.

From 2008:

Einstein Letter Shows Disdain for Religion

Albert Einstein regarded religions as “childish” and “primitive legends”, a private letter he wrote a year before his death has revealed.

By Stephen Adams – The telegraph, UK – from May 13, 2008

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1951333/Einstein-thought-religions-were-...

The great scientist’s views on religion have long been debated, with many seizing upon phrases such as “He [God] does not throw dice” as evidence that he believed in a creator.

But the newly-unveiled letter, a response to the philosopher Eric Gutkind, has cast doubt on the theory that Einstein had any belief in God at all towards to the end of his life.

In the letter, dated January 3 1954, he wrote: “The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weakness, 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 died the following year aged 76, did not spare Judaism from his criticism, believing Jewish people were in no way “chosen” by God.

He wrote: “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 better protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. Otherwise I cannot see anything ‘chosen’ about them.”

The letter, which for decades has been in private hands, has come to light as it is to go on sale at Bloomsbury Auctions in Mayfair on Thursday. It is expected to sell for up to £8,000.

Educated at a Catholic primary school but given private tuition in Judaism, Einstein later wrote that the “religious paradise of youth” – when he believed what he was told – was quickly crushed when he started questioning religion at the age of 12.

He wrote: “The consequence was a positively fanatic freethinking coupled with the impression that youth is being deceived by the state through lies; it was a crushing impression.”

But many of his pronouncements appear to support a belief in a divine being, or at least a wish to believe in one. The same year he wrote the letter he also said he wanted to “experience the universe as a single cosmic whole”.