
A “nature = god” visual of the views of Benedict Spinoza (1676); also stated as: “nature is god” (Ѻ), “nature or god”, or “god or nature”.

A “nature = god” visual of the views of Benedict Spinoza (1676); also stated as: “nature is god” (Ѻ), “nature or god”, or “god or nature”.

In terminology, Spinoza’s god, embodied in his motto “god OR nature” (“nature OR god”), the equation “god = nature”, or saying “god of Spinoza”, among others, refers to the semi-cryptic interpretation or idea of “god”, espoused by Benedict Spinoza (1676) [HD:6][FA:27], as a thing "indistinguishable from the universe" (Hecht, 2003) or the "wonderful order, harmony, and lawfulness of all that exists" (Einstein, 1929); Pierre Bayle, in his Historical and Critical Dictionary (1697) entry on Spinoza, described this as "clear atheism".

Many thinkers, e.g. Goethe (c.1780), Shelley (1811), Santayana (1922), among others, cite Spinoza's god as their definition or view of god.

Spinoza's god equates to pantheism, "pantheism as a polite form of atheism" (Schopenhauer, c.1844) (Ѻ), or secret atheism (Bunge, 2010), depending on take, argument, or view.

Overview
Spinoza’s god or nature pantheism (1650-1950), itself superseding: monotheism (and polytheism before that), in the wake of Paul Dirac’s 1927-1933 venting on Einstein and his god’s dice talk (see: God does not play dice), and how it is no longer acceptable to use the term “god” in discussions of fundamental particle physics, was superseded by zerotheism (2015), namely that in the exact science of chemical thermodynamics applied to the humanities, zero gods, precisely, exist and “god talk” is no longer acceptable in physicochemical and or thermodynamical descriptions of human behaviors and actions.

Quotes
The following are related quotes:

“Spinoza does not prove the existence of god. Being is god. If others denounce him as an atheist for this, I wish to exalt him.”
— Johann Goethe (c.1810), response to a book that labeled Spinoza as an atheist [1]

“If ignorance of nature gave birth to gods, knowledge of nature is made for their destruction. Every time we say that god is the author of some phenomenon, that signifies that we are ignorant of how such a phenomenon was able to operate by the aid of forces or causes that we know in nature.”
— Percy Shelley (1811), The Necessity of Atheism (inspired by Spinoza)

“My atheism, like that of Spinoza, is true piety towards the universe and denies only gods fashioned by men in their own image, to be servants of their human interests.”
— George Santayana (1922), “On My Friendly Critics”, Soliloquies in England (Ѻ)(Ѻ)

“I believe in Spinoza’s god who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a god who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings.”
— Albert Einstein (1929), “Cable to rabbi Herbert Goldstein” (Ѻ), Apr 24

“We followers of Spinoza see our god in the wonderful order and lawfulness of all that exists and in its soul (‘Beseeltheit’) as it reveals itself in man and animal. It is a different question whether belief in a personal god should be contested. Freud endorsed this view in his latest publication. I myself would never engage in such a task. For such a belief seems to me preferable to the lack of any transcendental outlook of life, and I wonder whether one can ever successfully render to the majority of mankind a more sublime means in order to satisfy its metaphysical needs.”
— Albert Einstein (1929), “Letter to Eduard Busching” (Oct 29); after Büsching sent Einstein a copy of his book Es gibt keinen Gott [There Is no God] [2]

“God is nature in Spinoza because god possesses the most conatus, the most ability, the most power; nature is god in Spinoza because nature is caused by nothing but itself; nature comes into existence; nature originates.”
— Nancy Levene (2004), Spinoza’s Revelation: Religion, Democracy, and Reason (Ѻ)

“Spinoza’s equation ‘god = nature’ is self-contradictory, and must be seen as a subterfuge. After all, Spinoza’s motto was ‘be prudent’. Consequently, the vulgar characterization of Spinoza as a pantheist is incorrect: he was a secret atheist because he was a naturalist. The same holds for Einstein, who once declared that his religion was Spinoza’s, i.e. none.”
— Mario Bunge (2010), Matter and Mind: a Philosophical Inquiry [3]

See also
● Plato’s god

References
1. Haught, James A. (1996). 2000 Years of Disbelief: Famous People with the Courage to Doubt (§: Johann Goethe, pgs. 105-07). Prometheus.
2. (a) Einstein, Albert. (1929). “Letter to Eduard Busching”, Oct 29; after Büsching sent Einstein a copy of his book Es gibt keinen Gott [There Is no God] (Ѻ)
(b) Jammer, Max. (1999). Einstein and Religion: Physics and Theology (pg. 51). Publisher.
3. Bunge, Mario. (2010). Matter and Mind: a Philosophical Inquiry (Spinoza, pg. 97; Mach, pg. 247). Springer.

External links
● God or Nature (section) – Stanford.edu.