korrents

What Irving Finkel thinks about religion

@irving-finkel · 27 positions · 0 changes of mind

Assyriologist at the British Museum, curator in charge of its cuneiform tablet collection, where he has worked for over forty-five years.

Irving Finkel did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

8 dated positions, 2025, in their own words. Our reading of what Irving Finkel has said — not written or endorsed by them.

  1. Our readingReligious feeling fluctuates and is usually a response to need, not a steady state of awe.

    Their wordsIt’s a kind of conception that’s not actually based on reality, that the individual’s response to religious stimuli fluctuates and is varied and is often a response to need.

    ↗Deciphering Secrets of Ancient Civilizations, Noah’s Ark, and Flood Myths | Lex Fridman Podcast #487youtube.com 15th of 27 in this recording

  3. Our readingThe Mesopotamians did not believe in their gods and ghosts; they took them for granted, which is a different mechanism entirely.

    Their wordsBut they didn’t believe in ghosts, they took them for granted. And they didn’t believe in the gods, they took them for granted. This is a different mechanism, because nobody here in the world today takes those things for granted, just the opposite.

    ↗Deciphering Secrets of Ancient Civilizations, Noah’s Ark, and Flood Myths | Lex Fridman Podcast #487youtube.com 16th of 27 in this recording

  5. Our readingMonotheism was mankind's big mistake, because it brought evil into the world.

    Their wordsI think the big mistake for mankind was the creation of monotheistic religions, because they brought evil into the world. Because if you believe in a monotheistic religion, that means I’m right and you’re wrong if you don’t.

    ↗Deciphering Secrets of Ancient Civilizations, Noah’s Ark, and Flood Myths | Lex Fridman Podcast #487youtube.com 18th of 27 in this recording

  7. Our readingGenesis and Gilgamesh are not two independent accounts of one flood; one is literarily dependent on the other.

    Their wordsSo this was not only in the Epic of Gilgamesh, but it was also in the Book of Genesis. So what it meant was that it wasn’t… You couldn’t have two stories… It wasn’t two stories about the same thing. It was literary dependence.

    ↗Deciphering Secrets of Ancient Civilizations, Noah’s Ark, and Flood Myths | Lex Fridman Podcast #487youtube.com 19th of 27 in this recording

  9. Our readingThe text of the Hebrew Bible was drawn up in Babylonian exile, to stop the Judean refugees dissolving into Babylonia.

    Their wordsAnd the authorities who were there prevented this by drawing up a kind of charter of their history, explaining things from the beginning of time up until now, how it happened and what happened, and it was all intentional. So that is, in my opinion, the driving force behind the Hebrew text.

    ↗Deciphering Secrets of Ancient Civilizations, Noah’s Ark, and Flood Myths | Lex Fridman Podcast #487youtube.com 20th of 27 in this recording

  11. Our readingThe ark was never built; it is a literary construction out of the fact that the people who survived were in boats.

    Their wordsI think it’s a literary construction out of the reality that people who did survive were on boats.

    ↗Deciphering Secrets of Ancient Civilizations, Noah’s Ark, and Flood Myths | Lex Fridman Podcast #487youtube.com 21st of 27 in this recording

  13. Our readingThe noise that made the gods send the flood is a euphemism for overpopulation, and a rather sophisticated Malthusian position.

    Their wordsBefore the flood, the gods had not created death. So I think the noise was a reflex of the fact there were just too many animals, too many people, and they had to do something about it.

    ↗Deciphering Secrets of Ancient Civilizations, Noah’s Ark, and Flood Myths | Lex Fridman Podcast #487youtube.com 23rd of 27 in this recording

  15. Our readingLaw, morality, consideration and love do not depend on religion.

    Their wordsBecause not having religion does not mean not having law or morality or sensitivity or consideration or love or any of those things. None of those things depends on religion, and those are the things which are important.

    ↗Deciphering Secrets of Ancient Civilizations, Noah’s Ark, and Flood Myths | Lex Fridman Podcast #487youtube.com 25th of 27 in this recording