Naturally, since [the Sumerians] didn't know what caused the flood anymore than we do, they blamed the gods. (That's the advantage of religion. You're never short an explanation for anything.)
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the human tendency to attribute unexplained events to divine forces, illustrating the comfort religion provides in facing life's mysteries.
Isaac Asimov highlights how ancient civilizations like the Sumerians, when confronted with natural disasters like floods, sought explanations through religion, attributing these events to the whims of the gods. This tendency persists, as religion offers narratives and interpretations for various life occurrences, thereby helping people cope with uncertainties and find meaning in the inexplicable aspects of existence.
In practice
In a lecture on the influence of mythology in ancient cultures.
Democracy cannot survive overpopulation. Human dignity cannot survive it. Convenience and decency cannot survive it. As you put more and more people into the world, the value of life not only declines, but it disappears. It doesn't matter if someone dies.
Science does not promise absolute truth, nor does it consider that such a thing necessarily exists. Science does not even promise that everything in the Universe is amenable to the scientific process.
Democracy cannot survive overpopulation.
Although the time of death is approaching me, I am not afraid of dying and going to Hell or (what would be considerably worse) going to the popularized version of Heaven. I expect death to be nothingness and, for removing me from all possible fears of death, I am thankful to atheism.
A subtle thought that is in error may yet give rise to fruitful inquiry that can establish truths of great value.
During the century after Newton, it was still possible for a man of unusual attainments to master all fields of scientific knowledge. But by 1800, this had become entirely impracticable.
If space is infinite, we may be at any point in space. If time is infinite, we may be at any point in time.
Most people who offer their help do it to make themselves feel better, not us. To be honest, I don't blame them. It's superstition: If you give assistance to the family in need... if you throw salt over your shoulder... if you don't step on the cracks, then maybe you'll be immune. Maybe you'll be able to convince yourself that this could never happen to you.
There is a beautiful transparency to honest disciples who never wear a false face and do not pretend to be anything but who they are.
Women have to be extremely careful about choosing something that they consider an act of defiance that can really be used to further their enslavement.
The glory of the gospel is this: The one from whom we need to be saved is the one who has saved us.
If the universe is everything, and scientists say that the universe is expanding, what is it expanding into?
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.