Spinoza’s God: Einstein believed in it, but what was it?
I'll try to state the thought more simply.<p>"God" is a name we assign to the force behind the original, unexplained creation.  Presently that would be the force behind the origin of this amazing universe, light, space.  Maybe we push that envelope further in the future, but the boundary always exists.  In our understanding there always is a 'first'. We have only the vaguest idea in a cosmic sense how that first came to be.<p>It's pretty neutral and sensible to call "everything" the <i>creator</i>, as Spinoza apparently did, cuz "nothing" sure didn't make the universe.  And as a matter of definition, that would be <i>God</i>.  What's so fascinating is where this thought exercise may lead.  We are talking about <i>everything</i>, acting by law unknown, generating an impossible, unexplainable result.  What then don't we know of <i>everything</i> and what possibilities does that raise, relative to its consciousness and intelligence on unimaginable scales of time and of space.  I mean, are we gnats on God's ... I'd say eyeball but <i>everything</i> clearly is not human so ... presence?<p>I'm not sure how a serious person who considered the question openly could avoid these conclusions.