Extraordinary TLS signed “A. Einstein,” one page, 8.5 x 11, blindstamped personal Princeton letterhead, September 17, 1953. Succinct letter to Wes Nunn on the topic of God and religion, in full: "I have always avoided superstition, the belief in a personal God and personal immortality included." In fine condition. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope and Nunn's retained copy of his letter to Einstein, asking for clarity on his religious beliefs; Nunn explains that he has been bothered by claims of Einstein's religious faith, and would "be relieved to know once and for all just where you do stand."
Although he did not believe in a personal deity, Einstein was not averse to speaking of God in a scientific context when discussing differing interpretations of quantum physics—perhaps leading to Nunn's confusion and inquiry into Einstein's religious leanings. In 1929, Einstein said that he believed 'in Spinoza's God, who reveals himself in the harmony of all that exists,' and in the 1950s wrote, '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.' It was these harmonious structures—the things at the very core of creation—that Einstein hoped to uncover and describe in his quest for knowledge as a physicist, forming a bridge between the scientific and the spiritual. In this letter, he offers a forthright statement of his disbelief in a "personal God," casting the concept alongside superstition. Letters by Einstein discussing his personal religious beliefs are extremely rare.
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