Didymus wrote:
It is clear that Einstein believed in both creation and divine providence. He is quoted often as saying, "God does not play dice with the universe." The assumptions behind that are: (1) God is the creator, and (2) God is in control.
Erm. What?
This is the most frequently quoted statement that is used to prove that Einstein believed in God and/or creationism. And/or didn't believe in his own science. Making him right. Wha?
Firstly, even if this had anything to do with creationism or belief in God(which it doesn't, I might as well tell you), Einstein was a far cry from an expert in evolution or theology. He was the mastermind behind special and general relativity, and was one of the most intelligent men in the world - but was only, strictly speaking,
knowledgable in the field he'd helped create. If he'd meant every word he said in the way you said it, he could say it and still be completely wrong, or uninformed. Intelligence does not make wisdom.
Secondly...
Einstein was not particularly religious - at least, not in the Judeo-Islamic-Christian-Greek-etc. sense of the word. Maybe in the Buddhist sense. He believed that everything in the universe had a definite cause and effect, and that it could all be understood via rules that formed a sort of mathematically beautiful logic. That's why he said "God does not play dice with the universe." He was upset by the implied element of randomness, which distorts the beauty and the perfection, making it an ugly, rather twisted mirrior, if you'll forgive the poetic language. The further he advanced in his theories, the less he believed in God religiously.
I don't even know where he got the whole 'Creationist' thing from. The quote simply doesn't imply that. No, not even remotely. It simply doesn't. I know orthodox Jews, for example, Jews who attend every service and say every prayer, Jews who believe far more in God than they do in the world around them, who believe totally in evolution and - though they would not scorn at those who believed in creationism - certainly think that they're wrong. What about being religious means, inherently, that you support Creationism? So even if he were a very religious Jew - which he wasn't - the quote described here doesn't imply that he was a Creationist. At all.
In fact, I don't believe he ever gave his stance on that issue - at least, not publically. He wasn't very active in the life sciences.
The quote, to put it in context, was aimed at proponents of the then-new and radical science of quantum mechanics. To be more specific, it was centered on Heisenburg's Uncertainty Principle, which states:
Heisenburg and Planck wrote:
pv >= 2PI / h
Where p = momentum, v = velocity, PI = 3.14159..., and h = Planck's Constant. What this states, essentially, is that there HAS to be some inaccuracy in both measurements. Meaning, in short, that as far as we're concerned we never know where anything is, or what it's doing. Really. This greatly upset Einstein, for the reasons stated previously about his view of the universe, and so when asked what he thought about it he responded - thoughtlessly, one might say - "God does not play dice with the universe."
There. That's it. The entire quote. The huge misconception that spawned out of it is... ugh. He's not referring to the God of the Christian sense; firstly, he didn't believe in that kind of God. Secondly, he was Jewish. When he was upset he tended to invoke the name of God, in reference to the workings of the universe. He in fact wrote a considerable amount, rather vehemently, concerning that very quote - in which he basically denied that it had anything to do with that God.
And that concludes my little rant. Ladies and gentlemen, you may argue creationism or evolutionism, but please do not invoke the name of Einstein wrongfully.
Thank you, and have a good day.