My grandmother’s brother had degrees in mathematics and physics. He wrote several books on various subjects that are still relevant today. He worked as a scientist at Lawrence Livermore Lab and retired from there.
He was a devout Christian.
He was a fervent anti-communist.
I'm a scientist (physics/Elec. Eng.) that worked at Sandia Natl. Lab, and did my post-doc at MIT. I have met Christians everywhere, being one myself, of course. My group at MIT was also heavily Jewish, and really exceptional people.
Life and this world are complex. Their are some midwits who think they have achieved some higher level of mental capacity, that supercedes a religious capacity, but I've met some truly brilliant people over the years that were Christians, or at the very least religious.
For a fun read, check out my personal favorite super-genuis (maybe more so than even Einstein), Christian, super-anti-communist, John von Neumann.
He was not able to accept the proximity of his own demise, and the shadow of impending death instilled great fear in him.[208] He invited a Catholic priest, Father Anselm Strittmatter, O.S.B., to visit him for consultation.[18][207] Von Neumann reportedly said, "So long as there is the possibility of eternal damnation for nonbelievers it is more logical to be a believer at the end," referring to Pascal's wager. He had earlier confided to his mother, "There probably has to be a God. Many things are easier to explain if there is than if there isn't."[209][210][211] Father Strittmatter administered the last rites to him.[18] Some of von Neumann's friends (such as Abraham Pais and Oskar Morgenstern) said they had always believed him to be "completely agnostic".[210][212] Of this deathbed conversion, Morgenstern told Heims, "He was of course completely agnostic all his life, and then he suddenly turned Catholic—it doesn't agree with anything whatsoever in his attitude, outlook and thinking when he was healthy."[213] Father Strittmatter recalled that even after his conversion, von Neumann did not receive much peace or comfort from it, as he still remained terrified of death.
If someone says that religion is real, then I would say that it is only a cultural thing instead of the truth.
For the question on the existence of something which may or may not exist, it is impossible to disprove the non existence of any deity or a higher power. So, it is more logical to be agnostic rather than a believer or an atheist.
Von Neumann didn't believe in the same. It was out of fear, that he did try to use Pascal's wager to justify his belief in his final days.
Pascal's wager is too simplistic of an argument to make. Something similar on the other side would be the atheist's wager.
My grandmother’s brother had degrees in mathematics and physics. He wrote several books on various subjects that are still relevant today. He worked as a scientist at Lawrence Livermore Lab and retired from there.
He was a devout Christian. He was a fervent anti-communist.
I'm a scientist (physics/Elec. Eng.) that worked at Sandia Natl. Lab, and did my post-doc at MIT. I have met Christians everywhere, being one myself, of course. My group at MIT was also heavily Jewish, and really exceptional people.
Life and this world are complex. Their are some midwits who think they have achieved some higher level of mental capacity, that supercedes a religious capacity, but I've met some truly brilliant people over the years that were Christians, or at the very least religious.
For a fun read, check out my personal favorite super-genuis (maybe more so than even Einstein), Christian, super-anti-communist, John von Neumann.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_von_Neumann
He was not able to accept the proximity of his own demise, and the shadow of impending death instilled great fear in him.[208] He invited a Catholic priest, Father Anselm Strittmatter, O.S.B., to visit him for consultation.[18][207] Von Neumann reportedly said, "So long as there is the possibility of eternal damnation for nonbelievers it is more logical to be a believer at the end," referring to Pascal's wager. He had earlier confided to his mother, "There probably has to be a God. Many things are easier to explain if there is than if there isn't."[209][210][211] Father Strittmatter administered the last rites to him.[18] Some of von Neumann's friends (such as Abraham Pais and Oskar Morgenstern) said they had always believed him to be "completely agnostic".[210][212] Of this deathbed conversion, Morgenstern told Heims, "He was of course completely agnostic all his life, and then he suddenly turned Catholic—it doesn't agree with anything whatsoever in his attitude, outlook and thinking when he was healthy."[213] Father Strittmatter recalled that even after his conversion, von Neumann did not receive much peace or comfort from it, as he still remained terrified of death.
If someone says that religion is real, then I would say that it is only a cultural thing instead of the truth.
For the question on the existence of something which may or may not exist, it is impossible to disprove the non existence of any deity or a higher power. So, it is more logical to be agnostic rather than a believer or an atheist.
Von Neumann didn't believe in the same. It was out of fear, that he did try to use Pascal's wager to justify his belief in his final days.
Pascal's wager is too simplistic of an argument to make. Something similar on the other side would be the atheist's wager.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheist%27s_Wager