In January 1954 , Albert Einstein wrote a letter to Jewish philosopher Eric Gutkind , in which the physicist reply to Gutkind ’s bookChoose life history : The Biblical Call to rising . Gutkind ’s playscript , as thisCommentary reviewexplains , sought to reconcile religious belief , science and humanism , by drawing upon Christian Bible to press people to institute about a better universe . Einstein , who had take the book of account at the urging of a Quaker , was n’t buy it .
" The Bible ' God ' is for me nothing but the aspect and product of human weaknesses;the Biblea accumulation of honorable but still naive legend which are nevertheless pretty childish , " he wrote , according to atranslationpublished in the Guardian , a British newspaper , in 2008 .
In his letter , Einstein dismissed the conception ofGodand faith all in all . " The countersign God is for me nothing but the expression and ware of human weaknesses , the Bible a solicitation of venerable but still rather primitive legend . No interpretation , no matter how insidious , can ( for me ) change anything about this , " he wroteaccording to the version from Christie ’s .
Einstein , a Jew , was harsh in his view of Judaism , which he wrotein the letter was " like all other religions , an incarnation of naive superstitious notion . "
On Dec. 4 , 2018 , more than 64 years after Einstein wrote those words , what has become known as the ' God varsity letter ' was auctioned off by Christie ’s New York . The auction house primitively reckon its value to be between $ 1 million and $ 1.5 million . Instead it fetch arecord - breaking price of $ 2.9 million . When the letter last changed hands eight years ago , it sold for $ 404,000 , grant toThe New York Times .
Christie ’s say the letter is " Einstein ’s single most famous letter on God , his Judaic identity operator , and man ’s eternal search for meaning , " which could explain the huge sale Leontyne Price .
