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*avoids b-slap* okay then. What we know is generally about getting the same results every time such that we can identify cause and effect relationships and predict the outcomes of related experiments to test (other, related tests help narrow down possible causes and get us to what truly causes such and such to happen). What we know at first is largely confined to what the five senses can tell us. We know what we can observe or experience and measure (sometimes). We know what a pear tastes like, but we can't really measure it, (save in the chemical receptors it triggers, i suppose).

back to the cause-result stuff. back in the ancient times, before people really took the time to closely study the causes of much of what happens in the world, people usually jumped to a hasty conclusion if they saw even the tiniest similarity or coincidence between two cases (or saw anthing unique from that one situation compared to everything else). They took 'precautions' to make sure some of these things didn't happen, and when they didn't happen again, they thought they had the answer.

Behold, the birth of superstition!!!!

In all of this, men begin to notice that there was a certain order to everything the natural world. Though it was sad that that little bird over there fell out of a tree and died, it made a meal for that fox over there, etc,etc... From this, among other things, people derived false (arguably) purpose: it's all for some higher design we're not privy to. And no design is possible without a designer (arguably)... So what we have is someone out there, looking out for us, making every A-Ok, just for us humans. "you know what, jorge? I think it'd be a good idea to keep that big guy happy, so everything goes right for us. better safe than sorry, ya know...". Heh, we'd all like to believe there's someone else out there, making sure things work out for us the way we want it, or even better than that. "No worries here, mate, the big guy'll take care of us". We'd also like to be able to control things we really can't, like the weather. "He'll take care of us, as long as we're faithful". Yep, we control the world with our faith, because we can't do it with anything else. "oh look, that guy didn't make it... he must have been bad/evil (he didn't sacrifice or pray last winter...) and displeased the big guy (let this be a lesson to ye of little faith)... or it was his time to go, it was part of the plan all along, he's better off now..." yessir, it's wonderful to know stuff will all turn out good in the end. Bah. BUT... order and balance =/= purpose...

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Words and categories are nothing in reality, but are defined by that which IS reality. There is no deep and simple knowledge except existence, which exists only because we exist and can perceive it. Everything else is learned through being, through experiencing.

Pain. We don't know what that is, initially. And why do we avoid it? Why can we not bear it? Because our genes tells our mind that we cannot. It's just an experience in our mind, that exists in it's own way only in the mind. The mechanism is there to make us avoid it, because in that way lies survival. The difference between pain and, say, tasting something sweet is that mechanism. As well as the mechanism evolved into our genes that lets us know that something sweet is something that will help sustain our existence.

Your 'know without knowing.' You say it and don't even know what it really is to let go of knowledge, if you are using that to justify/prove god. Because if you did, you'd know that there is no immediate leap to the idea that there is a god. Without a religious upbringing, there'd be no reason to even think of some supernatural caretaker with special rules for you to follow unless someone told you about it. You'd exist, and then the mechanism of the evolution of life would tell you that you need food. You breathe, you don't know why, or even consider the question, but you know that if you don't, you can't stand the sensation. And so many other little things like that shape and guide your existence.

So where does god come in? he doesn't. It's a fanciful security blanket people cling to so that they believe they're in complete control of their existence. Life drives us to control our surroundings so that we can continue to exist, so that we consume instead of being consumed by the rest of life. To that end has man's mind evolved. To think, to find ways of controlling. To learn how things work. But when people think and find that they can't control everything reliably... well, those things they do that seems to sometimes control it and sometimes not. Those things turn into superstition. "Better safe than sorry." Life sometimes demands that we be safe so we can continue to exist. Other times, it requires risk, to fight for survival. Because staying the course won't work anymore. Those superstitions later develop into religion. That gap of knowledge of what really causes things to happen, well, that gap isn't easily abided by our seeking minds. So, some people fill it with something that explains things, but doesn't need explaining. god and god's will. Who knows what god's will is, but we usually carry on and survive, so this will of god's must be for the best. I mean, it must be for the best and god must be benevolent because if something that could do all that (control luck... existence really) hated us and wanted us dead, well, there'd be nothing to stop it. We're all here, alive, ain't we? Seems somewhat reasonable, but it's really all out of the air. But it's an answer that pleases people's minds, as long as they don't look to closely at it.