Einstein letter on God auctioned on eBay
Document in which Jewish physicist dismissed idea of God as product of human weakness being sold on online auction site for starting price of $3 million
The letter, handwritten in 1954 in Einstein’s native German, a year before his death, was addressed to philosopher Eric Gutkind.
In it, Einstein discussed his views on religion, including calling "the Bible a collection of honorable but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish…
"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 also no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. Otherwise I cannot see anything 'chosen' about them."
The letter was first bought by a bidder in London in 2008 for just over $400,000 and has since been stored in a special facility with a controlled environment.
The anonymous collector put it on sale on online auction site eBay from Monday. The auction closes October 18.
Eric Gazin, a spokesman for the sale, said Sunday: "With the interest in Einstein, along with the questions this (letter) touches on, we feel it is well worth the price."
Reprinted with permission from Shalom Life
