I cannot think of a single instance where the Greek philosophers shrugged off enigmas or paradoxes as the caprice of the gods. It would not have made much sense considering they did not regard the universe as ultimately contingent upon the gods. Maybe they just didn't bother writing about such perceptions, if they ever actually had them.
Wonder how Asimov would explain the Muslims stuck in the 14th century..
As a result of theistic, totalitarian government. The norm for most of Western and middle eastern history.
I'm not sure either. I don't even think Asimov was sure. It's been quite some time since I read it, but my recollection (which is an uncertain source of knowledge according to my list) is that he wrote it more as a conjecture than a firm conviction.
In any event, I don't agree with the claim some have posted here that our Western development of science is specifically attributable to Christianity. It's certainly true that science was developed -- since Galileo mostly -- while the religion of the West was Christianity, but there's the awkward fact of a thousand years of Christianity prior to Galileo which are virtually barren of science, and who gets credit for that? As I've pointed out before, poor ol' Zeus is never given credit for the accomplishments of the Greeks. Anyway, without something more persuasive than mere historical sequence, the alleged causal connection between science and Christianity may be no more than post hoc, propter hoc.
It does speak well of Christianity, however, that it coexists with a science-oriented society. There are certainly tensions, as the evolution threads will demonstrate, but it's a whole lot better environment for science than Islam.