Einstein Addresses Religion

In our United States of America, religion or "having religion," has become a must-have political imperative.

Politicians must have it, wars must be fought over it, vast trillions must be spent to support it, special laws must be enacted to shield it. The wall of separation between church and state erected at great cost by our Founding Fathers is now in reality a flimsy beaded curtain, easily brushed aside in the rush for political power and favor.

So.... it is instructive to read what one of the greatest thinkers of our time, Albert Einstein, thought of religion, God, the Bible, Judaism and the walls erected by ego.

In a letter to philosopher Eric Gutkind written a year before Einstein died and sold at auction this week for $400,000, Einstein branded religious beliefs as "childish superstitions" and the "product of human weaknesses" and the "Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish."

Einstein frankly told Gutkind that "In general I find it painful that you claim a privileged position and try to defend it by two walls of pride, an external one as a man and an internal one as a Jew..... With such walls we can only attain a certain self-deception, but our moral efforts are not furthered by them. On the contrary."

The letter came after Einstein was sent a copy of Gutkind's book, "Choose Life: The Biblical Call to Revolt." Einstein repudiated almost everything that Gutkind believed in with a difference.... he felt that a devout believer shared his "striving to make life beautiful and noble."

Einstein's "devout" weren't the evangelical pastors preaching hate of gays justified with fanciful interpretations of Biblical verse, or a Catholic church protecting child molesters and giving sanctuary to lawbreakers.

He wasn't referring to the plate-passing propagators and their props as the "devout." He would applaud driving the moneychangers from the temple, and government.... and the return to a solid wall of separation between church and state.

White House Christmas: Then, Now and....

A picture can be worth a thousand words.... so hope you enjoy this little jaunt through White House Christmas cards and wishes past, present and..... please, say it isn't so.... the future?

The Blue Room of the White House was the theme for the greetings sent by Presidents Lyndon Johnson in 1967 and Bill Clinton in 1995. Above is the Johnson card, a reproduction of Robert Laessig's painting, and below the Clinton card with the artistic image "Fantasy Blue Room" by Thomas McKnight.

The first President George Bush used the image of artist Kamil Kubik's impression of the National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse for their striking 1992 Christmas card.

However, proving that political good taste doesn't reproduce itself, The Decider turned his 2007 greetings into a sermon, in keeping with the GOP push to turn our country into a theocracy. The biblical message reads (and I'm not kidding)....

"You alone are the LORD, You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you. NEHEMIAH 9:6 (NIV)"

"May the joy of all creation fill your heart this blessed season 2007."

Below are the front of the Bush 2007 card with this year's holiday "theme".... our national parks and natural history. And, depicting this "Holiday in the National Parks" is the 2007 Holiday Program, and on the inside back cover, (really, I'm not kidding) is Mama Bush's portrait regally lording over a terrra cotta replica of our Mt. Rushmore worthies.... Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln.

If you love the creationist thrust of The Decider's 2007 Christmas message, then you'll love a President Mike Huckabee who calls himself the "Christian Leader" and espouses the teaching of creationism in our public schools. This Huckabee family Christmas card is from when The Huckster was governor of Arkansas, before he embarked on becoming our Ayatollah in November 2008...

Think you can see the direction our country is heading unless you stand up for the separation of church and state, and for keeping American free for all Americans.

Ring in the New Year by supporting the candidate who offers "Peace on earth and good will to all men".... regardless of belief, or lack thereof.