I was one of the two or three people who stumbled onto the Anthony Edwards show “Zero Hour.” It doesn’t look particularly good but it held my interest for a few minutes. But while I was watching, they mentioned this quote and I was stunned to hear it on national television and then very surprised about who said it.
It’s not very often one hears praise for the Church from the media, especially for their actions during World War II. So I’m pretty grateful.
Read it and guess who said it:
Only the Church stood squarely across the path of Hitler’s campaign for suppressing truth. I never had any special interest in the Church before, but now I feel a great affection and admiration because the Church alone has had the courage and persistence to stand for intellectual truth and moral freedom. I am forced thus to confess that what I once despised I now praise unreservedly.
It was this guy:
There was some doubt in the combox that he said it but this video would seem to counter that and vouch for the veracity of the quote:
March 1, 2013 at 9:45 pm
It's attributed to Einstein, but when asked later he said although he said something like that, this quote that keeps getting cited was not what he actually said.
March 1, 2013 at 9:56 pm
My "doubt" was merely pointing out that Einstein acknowledged saying something like that – but not exactly that – as the clip you posted even says!
In 2008 the Antiques Roadshow television program aired a manuscript expert, Catherine Williamson, authenticating a letter from Einstein in which he confirms that he "made a statement which corresponds approximately" to Time magazine's quotation of him, however "I made this statement during the first years of the Nazi regime—much earlier than 1940—and my expressions were a little more moderate."
March 2, 2013 at 8:02 am
Einstein can say what he wants. I'm more impressed that Time published it.