why did an evolved life-form invent "god"?

It's all about the need we seem to have to understand
how things got to be the way they are.When we have gaps in our knowledge we invent something
to fill it ... much the same as children do.Religions, of course, seem to have more to do with population
control than with explaining stuff per-se ... they just
tap into that need as a method of mass manipulation.

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I don't think a comment can be racist unless it is intended
to be.

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Couldnt disagree more. Its racist or otherwise DESPITE the intent of the speaker. Intent has nothing to do with it; racism is "the taking of race into account in circumstances in which it is otherwise irrelevant".

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racism is "the taking of race into account in circumstances in which it is otherwise irrelevant".

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Which implies an agenda ... or intent.Comparing physical traits of one or other race with one
or other animal is only racist if it is used to claim
superiority/inferiority and thus justify different treatment.I would have thought that racism was more about making
prejudicial judgements based solely upon race.

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Which implies an agenda ... or intent.

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Oh no not necessarily. Not on ht part of the speaker anyway - they may not be aware that it is in an innapropriate context. IME that possibility cannot be ruled out; but the statement may be racist none the less IMO.

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Comparing physical traits of one or other race with one
or other animal is only racist if it is used to claim
superiority/inferiority and thus justify different treatment.

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In the case of a comparison wioth animals, I would think so.

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I would have thought that racism was more about making
prejudicial judgements based solely upon race.

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True. But I think that that something can only be PRE-judicial if the scenario is not actually impacted by race, but is nevertheless constructed as one that is so impacted. (eg. Prince Philips remark about wiring looking as if it had been put in by an Indian electrician). There are some decisions that SHOULD be informed by race: for example, selection of sun tan lotion, or more contentiously, Affirmative Action. These are scenarios in which race is relevant and therefore its introduction is not dishonest or prejudicial.

the Answer to this is very simple.... with the lack of Knowledge of the time its Easy for people to want to Know an answer.
as stories and fairy tales, tall tales, and myths are today. the Bible might have started that way.... to Teach life lessons etc... and these stories got compresed into a book.....(or many books). if you are saying the only reason we have "god" is Because thier must be one.... then have a look at other Cultures the Greeks , the Romans for Example they all had Gods although they are regarded as Myths today.As for us evolving and Keeping records....... Evolution is a slow Process. One Species Has no Idea it came from another I mean. it didn't Happen all of a sudden an Ape didn't just Give birth to a Human one day.... its hard to say their where creatures that Looked like humans but might not have even been human yet. and even if they where there is also Alittle thing called surviving that was Keeping them too busy to keep records........ get what we are saying?
do you get what we are saying now?Also the Comment about People in Africa. I mean Africa is a place where some people have an "APE LIKE" lifestyle Hunting and gathering.. same goes for small south american tribes in the Jungles. but this is where we Became Human in small groups like this(there was a documentry on the science channel about this watch and you will see what I mean)[This message has been edited by DC85, 07-05-2003]

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In the case of a comparison with animals, I would think so.

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That's 'animalism' ... what makes you think other animals
are inferior to humans?Suppose someone found a higher correlation between one ethnicity
and some other animals genome ... would that fact and/or
comparitive act be racist?

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rue. But I think that that something can only be PRE-judicial if the scenario is not actually impacted by race, but is nevertheless constructed as one that is so impacted. (eg. Prince Philips
remark about wiring looking as if it had been put in by an Indian electrician). There are some
decisions that SHOULD be informed by race: for example, selection of sun tan lotion, or more
contentiously, Affirmative Action. These are scenarios in which race is relevant and therefore its
introduction is not dishonest or prejudicial.

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That would make race relevent to any evolutionary discussion.Evolution is the study of bio-diversity, and race is a biological
diversification.

There is, by the way, a page on the topic of why did we invent god in the June 14 issue of New Scientist. It is part of an article on 5 problems with evolutionary theory.`The final paragraph of the piece on god:

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...to help reinforce the group's effectiveness as a bulwark against the vagaries of a natural world.

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That's an interesting viewpoint, and for (I hesitate to say)
'primitive' religions this may be valid.The big, organised religions seemed solely targetted at
income generation and populace control.

I'd say big religions still perform this function for a lot a people-- ie. protect them from the fear of catastrophe and provide hope for assistance and support. It is psychological but reducing stress and fear is good for a community. This is religion at its best, which it rarely is. Usually, fear and stress just get redirected to 'outsiders.'As for the money making enterprises, speaking from what I observed growing up, even the money makers provide something to clutch-- a leader to rally around. I look at it and feel disgust, as I see a big lie. The people who believe, though, don't see it that way. People I knew as a child will still whole-heartedly defend Jim Baker.------------------
No webpage found at provided URL: www.hells-handmaiden.com

Hopefully they don't mimic Tammy Faye's makeup...at least what did not run off her plastic face from fake crying and begging for forgiveness ..or am I confusing Baker with the tele-evangalist who got caught with the prostitute?[This message has been edited by Mammuthus, 07-08-2003]

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or am I confusing Baker with the tele-evangalist who got caught with the prostitute?

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No confusion. That is the one. I'm not sure about the prostitute though. Another tele-evangalist was caught for that one. He was, nonetheless, banging a few gongs-- one of them that of his church secretary. He was actually tried for 'borrowing' church money and for conspiracy. No webpage found at provided URL: http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/religion/televangelists/jim-bakker/------------------
No webpage found at provided URL: www.hells-handmaiden.com

True ... but those features are true of any well-defined
membership group ... even families and extended families.As for mainstream christianity ... well, how rich is the vatican?If they followed Jesus's word they would have no possesions,
and if they really wanted to help mankind they could sell
off enough loot to support a small country for decades.Most religions exist in a 'thou shalt not...or else' culture
and claim that donations will aid your route to heaven. The other
benefits are just the hook that all good cons require.

Good to see a few of my old brain cells are still intact
Jim Baker I remember because the secretary he was "blessing" then became a regular fixture in Hollywood's B-movies/videos/etc. And then Saturday Night Live made relentless fun of Tammy Faye..although that was not much of a challenge.

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True ... but those features are true of any well-defined
membership group ... even families and extended families.

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Absolutely. No argument. I suspect that religion itself had a good start as family groups were abstracted to include ancestors, perceived relationships, mythological ancestors, etc.

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If they followed Jesus's word they would have no possesions

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Well, I never said they were doing what they should be doing to follow Christ.

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if they really wanted to help mankind they could sell
off enough loot to support a small country for decades.

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Nor did I say they couldn't do much better things with the money raised.

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Most religions exist in a 'thou shalt not...or else' culture
and claim that donations will aid your route to heaven. The other
benefits are just the hook that all good cons require.

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Religion at its worst, but still functioning as a crutch for some people. I can say that confidently because I know some people for whom it is true.------------------
No webpage found at provided URL: www.hells-handmaiden.com

I have always suspected that religion started as a control
mechanism when populations started to become more dense.By invoking an all-seeing, vengeful god one can reduced the
incidences of undesirable behaviour without having to hire
too many 'guardians' ... falls down if people don't believe
in your god though.As far as the crutch goes ... I'm sure it can be helpful for
someone who needs that ... but that's one of the factors used
to hook people into all kinds of bizarre cults. One should
be very careful.