Irving Finkel

who did not have the disadvantage of growing up in a stifling religion, but are just normal people, get a lot more interested when they're really ill or when they have a big disaster.

All of a sudden, God or gods seem a lot more important than they do normally.

So few people walk about in a state of religious awe, and a good proportion of clergymen I've ever met don't do that either.

It's a kind of conception that's not actually based on reality.

The individual's response to religious stimuli...

fluctuates and is varied and is often a response to need.

It doesn't come from nothing.

I mean, people don't suddenly feel, I've got to thank the Lord for the rainbow or something like that.

I think it's probably true today.

I mean, when you read the investigations they make of religion today, Christianity in this country is on the decline.

because people who are supposed to be Christians say they aren't anymore, they're atheists.

So the people who say, I go to church and I believe in everything, is a relatively small number of people.

So now this is the situation, which is quite remarkable if you think about it.

Who all knows what the consequence will be for the human race, whether religion will balance out, whether it will die off?

Who knows?

I think that's true.

But I think in Mesopotamia, it was different in terms of its potency and immediacy because there's no skyscrapers in Iraq.

You know, if you live in southern Iraq and you sleep on the roof...

There are no lights at night.

You know, you're under the stars.