Rules set up by me were required for the evolution of humanity. Without my rules, you wouldn’t have come as far as you have. But the rules I put in place back then were intended to kick-start the self-rule process, the process by which you’d all decide how you’re going to live together. And that’s actually moving along quite well. And to answer some questions before they’re asked, evolution is a continuous process, not a discrete step. You all know that. It has false starts and setbacks. Deal.

Sorry about the last post. I’m at work and it is hard to concentrate on making a completely coherent post (grammatically and consistent in thought). Yes, I am writing a book that is in large part about why religion is here in the first place. For being something that is perceived as completely harmful and unnecessary, religion sure has a way of hanging around. That does not lend credence to its existence;however, there has to be a reason or reasons why every civilization at present has a religion. It is obvious by historical record that religion develops over time and influence. Today is a reflection of that. My project (that’s really what it is) tries to put into perspective many of the different apects of religion. It is very easy for me to go on a tangent. Religion is intertwined in most everything. And yes, I do believe religion is presently staring down a slippery slope. It seems the end of days for religion will come to pass within a few hundred years. That is being optimistic. We seem to be hard-wired to want religion. Understanding how that hard-wiring came to be is where we come to a good understanding of our brains and minds both physiogically and psychologically. We will have a firmer treatment for morality and ethics. Philosophy will have something new to think about. Either we will come to know all this, or we will know god. You know where my bet is being placed.

Hi, AK. Nice to talk to you again. I’ve been trying to keep up on your blog. I know I haven’t made too many comments recently on your blog. I’m listening, though. As far as me thinking religion was necessary for civilizations, I figured you would have thought differently. AntiFaithSTL had it right in that part of the reason for the need of religion was to control even the most primative of semi-stable communities. The big reason I keep trying to drive home is that ever since we as the human species differentiated ourselves from the other animals by organized language (that is easily learnable and common to many, and expandable, i.e. sanskrit, aramaic (sp) , cuneform) and simple to complex tool-making. Basicaly, when we as humans could put words to thoughts and create ideas that could be communicated and understood by all. at this point, death was known, but not understood. Fear and ignorance of death created most every myth and superstition imagineable. That early in our history, religion WAS science. It was a natural occurence for a creature as smart as a man to create something to counter death. Indeed the spirits that haunted this world (volcanoes, earthquakes, pestilence, beasts) gave evidence to something bigger, stronger, and better than ourselves. This is mother nature. Today we have understood mother nature to be devoid of any soul or persona. That is because we have modern educations. I find it inconceivable that people that long ago could be rational about any of it. Yes, what evidence do I have? Much less than your archaeologist, or even anthropologist. It has many more holes than the fossil record, but it has not yet been proven false. That is a starting point. I need your skepticism and criticism to refine and expand my theories. AK (and everyone, really), please continue being honest. I appreciate all of your input.

C Ray 86:

But as we have seen time and time again, they only seem to follow the rules of the bible (or any other religious book) when it suits them. And only the portions of the book that they wish to. And only their interpretations of it when they wish to. (shrugs)