by Luis Alvarez
Well, it’s time to show my geek card. Today is Einstein’s birthday.
He was born on March 14, 1879 in Ulm, Germany.
Einstein
learned to speak at a late age, he was considered a slow learner as a
child, and he showed no particular aptitude for formal schooling. His
theory of general relativity (E = mc2) revolutionized science. His name is synonymous with intellectual giftedness.
Interestingly
enough this iconic scientific figure firmly believed there was a God
and was fascinated by the Historical Jesus. In the following quote he
rejects a contemporary author, Emil Ludwig’s, view on Jesus. This is
portion of an interview with the magazine The Saturday Evening Post, in 1929 :
"To what extent are you influenced by Christianity?"
"As
a child I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I
am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene."
"Have you read Emil Ludwig’s book on Jesus?"
"Emil
Ludwig’s Jesus is shallow. Jesus is too colossal for the pen of
phrasemongers, however artful. No man can dispose of Christianity with
a bon mot."
"You accept the historical Jesus?"
"Unquestionably!
No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of
Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with
such life."1
1. George Sylvester Viereck, "What Life Means to Einstein", The Saturday Evening Post, 26 October 1929.
By the way it’s 
day for all geeks too.
=-=