I have always been awed by Albert Einstein’s contributions to the advancement of mankind, especially in the field of physics. Although he was one of the most prolific intellects who ever lived, he attributed his successes, not to his intellect, but to his inexhaustible curiosity. He once said, “I have no particular talents; I’m just inquisitive.”
Often, his inquisitiveness focused on religion, and though he wasn’t a Christian, he praised the Savior whose birth Christians celebrate: “I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene. No one can read the gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus.”
Having made such a profound statement, how could Einstein reject the existence of a personal God, a Nazarene whose “actual presence” his words seem to confirm?
Perhaps he should have consulted the Old Testament book of Isaiah. Several centuries before Christ’s birth, the prophet wrote, “…behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Translated from the Hebrew, Immanuel means, “God is with us.” Therefore, confirming Einstein’s words, true Christians feel “… the actual presence of Jesus.”
While searching for reasons underlying the great physicist’s apparent rejection of God, I came across an article in the Saturday Evening Post. The writer posits that Einstein must have felt that the Creator designed the universe down to the last detail, and intended it to be His perfect creation.
He went on to say, “Einstein could not get past the moral problems that are present in our universe. He assumed … that a personal God would only create a universe that is both good morally and perfect physically.”
No doubt, atheists and agnostics who don’t celebrate Christ’s birth embrace similar assumptions. Agreeing with Einstein, they probably argue that an omniscient, omnipotent, perfect God would not have created an imperfect world in which His children must endure the onslaughts of evil. They take the hedonistic, epicurean approach that any opportunity to pursue pleasure should be taken, Christmas included.
Such misguided people are on a fool’s errand leading to perdition. They fail to see that anything positive cannot exist without a counterbalancing negative. How can love exist without hate? How can kindness exist without unkindness? How can courage exist without cowardice? As God intended in His cosmic balanced equation, His children could not comprehend good in a world devoid of evil.
Christians accept the Lord’s logic. They understand that if only good existed, they would have no basis for accepting Jesus as Savior. Without that basis, the hedonistic view would be accurate: The single most important day of the year is just another opportunity to pursue what appears to be good, which, more often than not, is evil.
In this ephemeral passage through mortality, those who love the Lord know that only He could create a perfect universe — and a perfect solution for the world’s evils: His Son.
Isaiah prophesized God’s perfect solution: “…unto us a Son is given … His name shall be called … the Prince of Peace.”
Jimmy Reed is an Oxford, Mississippi resident, Ole Miss and Delta State University alumnus, Vietnam Era Army Veteran, former Mississippi Delta cotton farmer and ginner, author, and retired college teacher.
This story is a selection from Jimmy Reed’s latest book, entitled The Jaybird Tales.
Copies, including personalized autographs, can be reserved by notifying the author via email (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)).
