Einstein On Prayer

Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

In 1936, Albert Einstein wrote a letter to a sixth grader named Phyllis who had written him on behalf of her class asking, "Do scientists pray, and what do they pray for?"  In his reply (see here), dated January 24, 1936, Einstein wrote, "Scientists believe that every occurrence, including the affairs of human beings, is due to the laws of nature. Therefore a scientist cannot be inclined to believe that the course of events can be influenced by prayer, that is, by a supernaturally manifested wish." He went on to say, however, that, "everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that some spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe, one that is vastly superior to that of man. In this way the pursuit of science leads to a religious feeling of a special sort, which is surely quite different from the religiosity of someone more naive."

An appreciative thought: whether we capitalize it as Spirit or not as spirit, there is here a recognition of a higher "something."  Einstein avoids the word, God, but no matter.  "Something" lurks behind the physical world and its laws, dimly perceived in a corner of science's pursuit of knowledge.  In some vague sense, it seems to us to be a "phenomenon" parallel to the "phenomenon" of the human spirit, but vastly greater.  "Something" is there.  Science alone will never figure out what that something is.

A critical reflection: a couple of years ago, I shared with readers a series of four postings (beginning here) on the relationship of prayer to science, making the point that non-theistic scientists often dismiss prayer on the basis of their own theological bias against the idea of god rather than on the basis of the nature of prayer itself.  Einstein does precisely that here.  Since for him there is no personal god involved in the workings of nature, he reasons that prayer does not work.  The experience of people of faith across many faiths and over thousands of years finds that assertion itself to be naïve.  Always, always, always beware of non-theistic scientists when they write about matters of the Spirit and theology.  Their ignorance of what they write about is generally abysmal.

Spirit

In his book, The Battle of Britain, historian James Holland describes a conversation British writer and homemaker Daidie Penna had with a man in a pub over the dire situation Britain faced in mid-1940 after Germany defeated France.  Speaking of the Nazis, this man is quoted as saying, "they've got to be stopped.  And I believe they will be stopped by something which is in the nature and genius of our species."  Holland quotes Penna as responding, "Spirit," to which the man replied, "Yes, spirit.  That will do it." (p. 311).

Not armaments.  Not manpower.  Not strategy.  Not diplomacy.  But spirit.

So what is it?  The first definition at dictionary.com is, "the principle of conscious life; the vital principle in humans, animating the body or mediating between body and soul."  But what do these words mean?  Not to belabor the point, the word, "spirit," is one of those words that name a "thing" that is very real to us as human beings but which is subjective rather than objective, non-physical rather than physical, and cannot be quantified with anything even remotely approaching precision.  Penna's use of the term was not at all religious and doesn't reflect what some would consider to be religious "mumbo jumbo."  And while there maybe measurable physiological symptoms associated with our experience of spirit (as when one meditates or prays), the human spirit itself is no more those symptoms than Handel's "Messiah" is the collective set of sound waves produced by an orchestra.  It isn't sound waves that drives an audience to its feet but rather the beauty, the harmony, and the depth of feeling that surfs those waves and is something majestically more than them.

In athletics, there is something more to winning than training, coordination, experience, and skill.  It is spirit.  An army equipped to the gills with all it needs to do battle still requires morale, courage, and a will to win, none of which are physical realities.  It is just such qualities as these, as spirit, that make us human—along with other meta-physical properties such as hate and lust.  Love.  Loyalty.

And, again, it is almost certainly true that these extra-physical qualities or properties are tied to human evolution and have aided us in our development of a species.  They are not "unnatural."  They are extra-physical, meta-physical, and non-physical evolutionary realities.  Like a great painting, they are much more than pigments, brush, and canvas.  What makes a painting in-spiring is something in that combination that truly is greater than the sum of painting supplies and the skill of the artist.

Morning comes quietly to the lake as the mist lifts gently and full light touches water, woods, and sky.  Riding the shifting breeze comes the first lilting call of a loon.  We hear the sounds waves with our ears, the sounds are electrically transmitted to our brain, but it is our spirit that is stirred and comforted by these sounds riding on the silence of the morning.  Amen.

Rushing On - But Where Are We Going?

Teleportation as imagined on "Star Trek"

Anyone who pays attention is aware that science is rushing forward with new discoveries leading to new applications on a variety of fronts.  A recent article on ABC Science, entitled, "Making teleportation 'fuel-efficient'," is but another witness to that fact.  Apparently, teleportation—"the transfer of matter from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them" (Wikipedia)—is not just a theoretical possibility.  It is also a technological possibility, meaning that scientists are now convinced that we can devise ways to transfer matter from one point to another without moving it through the space between those two points.  If I understand the article correctly, this is now theoretically possible at the quantum level, and that fact has important technological applications toward the construction of  "quantum computers."  Quantum computers are the next step in computing, one that will allow computations many magnitudes greater than today's computers can perform.  Apparently, most of the applications of quantum computing haven't even been discovered yet.  That is, we're headed somewhere, but we don't know where that where is or where we will be when we get "there," wherever "there" is.

We really, really need to think about these things in church—even in worship—and not in the luddite fashion of resistance and fear.  We dare not hide behind our theologies because science and its technologies are rapidly leaving our ancient truths in the dust.  Or, better, seem to be doing so.  Religious faith at its best, perceives a deeper plane or a more central aspect to life, which is not physical yet has physical manifestations.  That deeper plane is the world of the spirit and the Spirit.  Spirit is a life-giving, animating, inspired "presence" in that which has life.  The Spirit is the life-giving, animating, inspired "Presence" that impels cosmic evolution forward.  The Spirit has gifted us with love, faith, kindness, compassion, insight and wisdom, patience, and even self-control.  These are not tangible, physical properties, but they are real realities that we sense and experience with an almost physical clarity.

But is science and its technologies taking us in the direction of spirit and the Spirit—or not?  If not, should it?  What is the ultimate purpose of science and its technologies?  Will science one day achieve a breakthrough to that deeper plane, one that brings it into the presence of spirit and the Spirit?  Or is it a hinderance to the human quest for deeper meaning and wisdom?  These are among the most pressing theological questions of our day.  We need to reflect on them more deeply in local worshipping communities—in worship as well as in local study groups.  Ultimately, the right uses of science, the spiritual uses of science will depend on our collective spiritual will to seek the Spirit.  I'm not suggesting that science become somehow more religious but that it become more spiritual.  It is our calling as people of faith to encourage it in that direction.  Amen.