Originally Posted by
bostondawg
If it were truly scientists in this society that we bestow glory upon, rather than athletes or models or actors I think we'd be in a much better place.
Also, doing the thing children do when they keep asking "why?" does not disprove scientific theory. In fact, some of the questions you raised in that post have concrete answers, but I suspect you don't care what the answers really are.
Also, I think you have a pretty misunderstood view of Einstein's view of religion and philosophy. This isn't the place to hash that out, but calling him a "non-practicing Jew" is giving him way more credit than he deserves. He, like many scientists before him, held something close to Spinoza's god as a philosophy--and of course Spinoza was literally expelled from the Jewish community for that view. Einstein didn't believe in a personal god who gives a damn about humanity. Calling anyone who believed in some sort of spiritual connection to the universe (which could be manifested as a wonder at the stars or the worship of David Bowie) religious in the sense that Christians use the word is disingenuous at best, and probably underlies a complete misunderstanding of what the schism in the science vs. religion dilemma actually is. Einstein, Sagan, Feynman, and Hawking all stated some sort of spiritual wonder toward the universe. Why do you respect Einstein and not the others?
ETA: In fact, one could cherry pick many quotes from other scientists to make whatever point you're trying to make. For example, Hawking once said, "The laws may have been decreed by God, but God does not intervene to break the laws." That's a pretty similar religious view to the one Einstein held.