Earlier today, the "Thinking Atheist" tweeted a meme with a quotation attributed to the late Isaac Asimov:
Agree or disagree? pic.twitter.com/gkVf3fuLDo
— The Thinking Atheist (@ThinkingAtheist) January 6, 2023
Asimov's statement can be read in two ways. First, it could be an empirical claim: people who properly read the Bible tend to become atheists. Second, it could be a normative claim: people who "properly" read the Bible ought to become atheists. In my opinion, the word "properly" is doing a lot of work here; properly read, Asimov is making the normative claim.
But why believe the claim?
On Twitter, one person replied to me and suggested that Asimov said "atheism" but really meant "the falsity of Judaism and Christianity." Maybe , but if so that's pretty embarrassing for Asimov. The distinction between "atheism" and "the falsity of Judaism and Christianity" is pretty basic. Even middle schoolers can understand it.
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