Did god create man or did man create god?

Answer 1

God challenged all of mankind to create even the most insignificant creature, i.e. a fly, but no one could do that and no one ever will. God says:

"O mankind! A similitude has been coined, so listen to it (carefully): verily! Those on whom you call besides God cannot create (even) a fly, even though they combine together for the purpose. And if the fly snatched away a thing from them, they would have no power to release it from the fly. So weak are (both) the seeker and the sought."

[al-Hajj 22:73]

Christian (but not 'Creationist!) perspective This question also assumes that man created the idea of 'God', which is a very bold sweeping statement and disbelieved by the vast majority of people on this planet. Whilst it is virtually certain that evolution is the main thrust of life's development on this planet, there are major concerns about those who lift up Darwin as some sort of deity, as the Darwinian approach to evolution is far more simplistic than the evidence suggests. Nevertheless, evolution of some sort over aeons of time is a very sensible idea, and is backed up by the evidence available to us. However, also backed up by evidence is the undeniable fact that this universe is geared up for life. The Atomic Physicist and Big Bang expert Professor Russell Stannard once said "it's like the universe bent over backwards to allow life to exist..... the universe knew we were coming." The Anthropic Principle states that at the moment of Creation (or Big Bang if you prefer to call it that) various parameters, fundamental constants and characteristics of the universe were put in place in order that life is a possibility. As one simple example, the gravitational constant G is of such a value that stars were able to form, and exist for sufficient periods of time, to produce the chemical elements needed for life. If the Gravitational constant was slightly larger - by less than 0.01 of a percent, or smaller by the same amount, then stars' formation would not be appropriate for life to evolve - either they would be too hot and burn out too quickly before life could evolve, or not be hot enough for suitable nuclear fusion. This might be regarded as coincidental by sceptics, but taking into account the many, many constants that, if tweaked one way or another by infinitessimal amounts would render the universe unbalanced and useless for life, coincidence inevitably has to give way to design as an explanation. Even those who postulate the 'multiple universe' theory cannot really have any explanation, as this theory will remain a rather wacky theory - simply because, unlike the Anthropic Principle, it cannot be tested. Therefore, to the Christian, the universe seems designed by a Creator, who, by his continual intervention within that universe by physical laws, the Holy Sprit and prayer, continues to take an active part in his creation. Therefore, rather than God being a creation of man, Christians believe that man is the ultimate creation of God - and, in evolutionary terms, certainly worth the wait.
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Answer 2

If the "god'' in question is the god of The Bible, I would say yes, god is a man made construct. Here is an explanation. During the time of early humans the world was a frightening place to survive in. Early humans needed a way to help them understand the natural world, when natural phenomenon could not be understood - God was the answer. They also needed a way to deal with their own imperfections. A God with attributes like perfection, wisdom and strength may have helped them on a psychological level.

Humans have created God to not only give meaning to life, but they make God perfect, because it gives them something to strive towards. The *Greeks believed in honor and war and a God who is fierce, because that was their idea of the perfect human. Of course the idea of a perfect human has changed. The perfect human is forgiving, loving, and will bring happiness and peace. Jesus Christ, as the bible said, the perfect human. What would Jesus do? The bible pushes us to act like Christ.

God displays humanistic characteristics that suggests he is neither all powerful or all knowing, therefore, suggesting human origins.

Physical, psychological and emotional similarities

Why does God need us to worship him/her/it? If God was a superior being, he would not express anger to problems caused by Humanism. Therefore, we can postulate that he is a man made construct because God is a *victim of humanism. The need for us to worship him and God's need for: recognition, acceptance, love. Further more, why does God get angry? [1] If God truly exists, he would be all powerful and knowing. This in of its self would prevent God from acting or thinking like a human being, with emotions. But because God displays characteristics of man, we can most likely categorize God as a man made construct.

(*What I mean by "victim": To be affected in a negative way.)

What does God look like, and what is his position on humanistic issues? Look to *religion, and you will see man made constructs that are victims to the criteria of man's racism, *sexism and culture.

(*religion: based on the Judeo-Christian model)

"God" displays characteristics that are comparable to that of the male ego [B]. In *Greek mythology or *Norse mythology, why are the all powerful deities men? Why is God often described as a man, or why are all of the most important and powerful Gods placed in the bodies of men? In almost every culture, women play a secondary role in society, and even in western culture and religion this remains true. God, if he existed, would have told his first followers that he was an 'IT' not man, not women. Yet,looking at all the hymns, paintings and writings, what do they refer to God as? He. Not she, because Judeo-Christian based religions is suggestive of *sexism.

*sexism in the Bible:

"And to the woman [God] said, 'I will make most severe your pains in childbearing; in pain shall you bear children. Yet your urge shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you."-- Genesis 3:16

"Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church." -- 1 Corinthians 14:34-35

"A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man, she must be quiet.' -- 1 Timothy 2:11-12

One may be inclined to say it was misinterpreted. But, would it be logical to think that an omnipotent God would allow his message to be misinterpreted? Did God create man to his own image or is it just the reverse?

Let's have a look at the characteristics of God, it's very strangely to what we would want him to be. Man's greatest fears are: Loneliness, sickness, death and all that is taken care of by God.

*God Characteristics:

• We don't like being alone: *God is omnipresent (even when no one is with us) and is with us at all times; he never let's us down.
• We want some comfort especially through difficult times: *God is always with us and will help us when we are in trouble
• We want to be forgiven for what wrong we have done and be able to start again with a clean slate: *God forgives.
• We don't want things to end when we die - humans fear Death: *God never gives up on us even when we die; instead we are brought closer to God, in paradise.
• We don't like unfairness: *God sees all and punishes unfairness.

If God truly existed, he would not express anger to any type of humanism. Being all powerful and knowing would prevent this. But because he displays Human characteristics like angry, pride, need for acceptance, and appearance. This proves that he is not all powerful and knowing. He is more like a glorified man. Which then leaves the final conculsion, that he probably was created as an idea, and based on the facts I presented, it is highly probable that God is a man made construct.

[1] Angry God:

The LORD is a jealous God, filled with vengeance and wrath. He takes revenge on all who oppose him and furiously destroys his enemies! The LORD is slow to get angry, but his power is great, and he never lets the guilty go unpunished. He displays his power in the whirlwind and the storm. The billowing clouds are the dust beneath his feet. At his command the oceans and rivers dry up, the lush pastures of Bashan and Carmel fade, and the green forests of Lebanon wilt. In his presence the mountains quake, and the hills melt away; the earth trembles, and its people are destroyed. Who can stand before his fierce anger? Who can survive his burning fury? His rage blazes forth like fire, and the mountains crumble to dust in his presence. The LORD is good. When trouble comes, he is a strong refuge. And he knows everyone who trusts in him. But he sweeps away his enemies in an overwhelming flood. He pursues his foes into the darkness of night. -- Nahum 1:2-8 NLT

'The theory of cognitive dissonance states that contradicting information serves as a driving force that compels the mind to acquire or invent new thoughts or beliefs, or to modify existing beliefs, so as to reduce the amount of dissonance (conflict) between cognitions. An alternative, increasingly applied in today's society is to avoid, selectively list, or reinterpret information we receive that is at odds with our currently held views.'

Answer 3

Whatever you prefer. There is really no true answer in my eyes. If you are religious you will say God created man.

Another answer:

1). All books, documents and sacred texts are merely written by a human author (man), and therefore by quoting anything from a book to argue that a god or God exists is simply quoting the author's point of view, not a god's or God's point of view since both god's and God remain silent!

2). Some people hear voices in their own head - some act on those voices. This is not proof that the voice or voices are a god's or God's - all this is proof of is a psychotic personality disorder (either psychopathic in nature or schizophrenic in nature - both now treated by medication or incarceration).

3). The 'thought form' or 'idea' of a god or God is simply an evolving one. The most ancient belief systems had numerous 'deities' perceived as 'nature spirits' embodied in a rock, a tree, thunder, etc. Through the process of trade, war, travel, the various 'deities' persona slowly merged together to create the 'idea' of a bigger and greater father god (Zeus is a good example), until we get to the 'idea' of God that most people have when they use the term today. That this human 'thought' process that created 'God' is still evolving is verified by todays employment of the human 'idea' of 'The Universe', 'A Higher Power' or even 'A Mathematical Constant' instead of 'God' as such.

4). Many people claim a 'feeling' is proof of the existence of 'God'. But all it is is proof that a unique individual has a 'feeling', and that that 'feeling' can change depending upon circumstances, and these 'feelings' are not necessarily shared by others (with everyone being a unique individual).

5). To claim that if just one person 'believes' in God therefore God exists, is the same as saying that if one person 'believes' the earth is flat therefore the earth is flat. That this is a nonsense argument full of desperation should be obvious to all.

Another answer:

All that truly exists must possess in itself an object of belief. In that, possession of the object (itself) makes it true that it exists. If it is indeed true that the object exists, then the only way in which to experience the object is then to believe that it exists. If one does not believe in something that truly exists, then one as no way in which to truly experience that object, IOW it does not give up any truth about itself.

If the mind has grasped the object, then one possesses real knowledge of the identity of that thing in question. But the only way in which anything becomes apparent to humans is if the thing in question possesses an object that the mind can grasp. "Anything" that does not have an object of belief, then is not an anything or a something but a nothing. Then if God exists, then he in himself possesses an object of belief that man's mind can grasp (believe in). The only true way in which humanity can possess any true knowledge is through experience, and to experience something, it must first be believed that it exists. So, has God shown us an object of belief in which he is made evident to us?

Another answer:

Psalm 100:2-3:

Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Answer 4

This question assumes that man needed to be "created", so that in the absence of a creator god, there could be no man. But we know from science that man evolved over a period of several million years. An excellent book called The Origin of Humankind by Richard Leakey (Wedienfeld and Nicolson, 1994) explains the process of human evolution.
Mainstream religions have come to accept the evolution of man, even as creationists seek ever more innovative ways to convince the general public otherwise. For more information, please visit: http://christianity.answers.com/theology/the-story-of-creation

Answer 5

Your Question says "If God was really a creation of man," but the majority of mankind do not believe that. 90% of the world's population are not atheists. Rather, it was God who created us. See also:

Is there evidence for Creation?

Can you show that God exists?

Seeing God's wisdom