Einstein's often debated opinion on faith and God is finally put to rest by 1954 letter.

Albert Einstein described belief in God as "childish superstition" and said Jews were not the chosen people, in a letter to be sold in London this week, an auctioneer said Tuesday.

The father of relativity, whose previously known views on religion have been more ambivalent and fuelled much discussion, made the comments in response to a philosopher in 1954.

As a Jew himself, Einstein said he had a great affinity with Jewish people but said they "have no different quality for me than all other people".

"The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish.

"No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this," he wrote in the letter written on January 3, 1954 to the philosopher Eric Gutkind, cited by The Guardian newspaper.

Some of Einstein's quotes have been ambiguous on the subject of God which has allowed Christians to point out that one of the greatest scientific minds in history was a man of faith.

Clearly this definition is false.

The power of Einstein's intellect would make it impossible for him to believe in something with no empirical evidence to support it, but also too imaginative to completely dismiss the possibility of some great power that conducts the orchestra of the cosmos.

After all science and poetry are kissing cousins in the world of intellectual beauty.