--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Naturally, since [the Sumerians] didn't…" description: "\"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 ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/582/isaac-asimov-309_advantage_naturally-since-the-sumerians-didn-t-kno_1627915.jpg" --- # Naturally, since \[the Sumerians\] didn't know what caused… ![“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.)” quote by Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/582/isaac-asimov-309_advantage_naturally-since-the-sumerians-didn-t-kno_1627915.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/582/isaac-asimov-309_advantage_naturally-since-the-sumerians-didn-t-kno_1627915.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/582/isaac-asimov-309_advantage_naturally-since-the-sumerians-didn-t-kno_1627915.jpg) > “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.)” [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage argues that religion offers ready-made explanations for phenomena, filling gaps in human understanding, even when those explanations are speculative. **In simple terms:** Religion provides quick answers for unknowns. Key Takeaway Question explanations critically. Themes religion explanations human nature Mood skeptical analytical Type critical observational When to use this quote - historical events - scientific discovery - personal belief systems Key Concepts mythology psychology cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - Why do people prefer easy explanations? - What are the risks of unexamined beliefs? A Different Perspective Reliance on simple answers can hinder deeper inquiry. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advantage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advantage/) [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Flood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flood/) [Rage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rage/) [Sumerians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sumerians/) ## Related quotes > [“When a mortal man breaks a people, it is always blamed on the gods.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-m-white/when-a-mortal-man-breaks-a-people-it-is-always-blamed-on-the-gods/) S.M. White > [Newton was not the first of the age of reason. He was the last of the magicians, the last of the Babylonians and Sumerians,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/newton-was-not-the-first-of-the-age-of-reason-he-was-the-last-of-the-2/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [120 million of us place the big bang 2,500 years after the Babylonians and Sumerians learned to brew beer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/120-million-of-us-place-the-big-bang-2-500-years-after-the/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [Notions of property, value, ownership, and the nature of wealth itself are changing more fundamentally than at any time since the Sumerians first poked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry-barlow/notions-of-property-value-ownership-and-the-nature-of-wealth-itself/) [John Perry Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry-barlow/) > [Newton was not the first of the age of reason, he was the last of the magicians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/newton-was-not-the-first-of-the-age-of-reason-he-was-the-last-of-the/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [The constancies and equivalences adumbrated work havoc with such settled topical blocks as myth and philosophy, natural reason and revelation, philosophy and religion, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-voegelin/the-constancies-and-equivalences-adumbrated-work-havoc-with-such/) [Eric Voegelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-voegelin/) > [“Between the years 3500 BC and 3000 BC, some unknown Sumerian geniuses invented a system for storing and processing information outside their brains, one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/between-the-years-3500-bc-and-3000-bc-some-unknown-sumerian-geniuses/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [Despite a full century of scientific insights attesting to the antiquity of the earth, more than half of our neighbors believe that the entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/despite-a-full-century-of-scientific-insights-attesting-to-the/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“while the examples of their art and the representations of their form and features, which were also afforded by the diggings at Telloh, proved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-william-king/while-the-examples-of-their-art-and-the-representations-of-their-form/) [Leonard William King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-william-king/) > [“On their invasion of Babylonia the Semites fell absolutely under Sumerian influence, and, although they eventually conquered and absorbed the Sumerians, their civilization remained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-william-king/on-their-invasion-of-babylonia-the-semites-fell-absolutely-under/) [Leonard William King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-william-king/) > [You have to remember that what we’re dealing with here are Sumerian gallu demons. 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(Sin) Rod of Time, Forsaken Moon, Tablet of Destiny…you Sumerians really liked your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/we-re-looking-for-anything-to-do-with-the-rod-of-time-sin-rod-of-time/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [About 120 million of us place the big bang 2,500 years after the Babylonians and Sumerians learned to brew beer. If our polls are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/about-120-million-of-us-place-the-big-bang-2-500-years-after-the/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) ## More by Isaac Asimov > [The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/the-strain-of-anti-intellectualism-has-been-a-constant-thread-winding/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Suppose that we are wise enough to learn and know-and yet not wise enough to control our learning and knowledge, so that we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/suppose-that-we-are-wise-enough-to-learn-and-know-and-yet-not-wise/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Uncertainty that comes from knowledge (knowing what you don't know) is different from uncertainty coming from ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/uncertainty-that-comes-from-knowledge-knowing-what-you-don-t-know-is/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Don't you see? 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