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Did God Create Man or Did Man Create God???


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I think we all want to believe that there is a divine purpose for us being here. We want to feel important... needed ...worthy... the apple of God's Eye. We want to believe that we are...well, part of God's master plan and his most masterful creation. We want to believe the Universe was created for us. We don't like the idea that we are here by sheer randomness- that there is no higher purpose. That is such an uncomfortable thought, not ego-stroking, not the warm and fuzzy feeling we crave. Is it uncomfortable enough, perhaps, that maybe we create our own Creator, someone who will love us unconditionally and will provide a place for us, even after we're gone from this earthly realm.

 

Is God infinite and Divine or is God a product of just a finite mind. Of course, we want to see our departed friends and loved ones again. If I want something so badly, is it possible that I will believe it, despite the lack of any evidence to support its existence? That's the question I'd like to invite the bravest of souls to take up in this thread. Talk to me. I want to learn from you. Why do think God created you ? Could you be wrong? Do you think it's possible we created God out of our own need to feel important and to be loved?

 

From the beginning of time Man has looked to the heavens and pondered his existence... and his fate. I don't think it is outlandish to think that God came from the mind of Man. Our thoughts become manifestations. Did we think God into existence or was He already there before we existed? Did we already have a connection to God before our physical existence or did we invent our connection to God to rationalize our existence?

 

Sagan once said, " We are the custodians of life’s meaning. We long for a parent to care for us, to forgive us our errors, to save us from our childish mistakes. But knowledge is preferable to ignorance. Better by far to embrace the hard truth than a reassuring fable. If we crave some cosmic purpose, then let us find ourselves a worthy goal.

 

Are we guilty of embracing a reassuring fable rather than embracing a harsher truth? Did we create a loving God or did a loving God create us???

 

I would love to hear discussion on several of the questions I posed in this thread. Thank you in advance for your thoughtful responses.

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As you might have probably noticed by now, my perception can be a mixed bag of Absurdism, Spiritualism, Agnosticism, Realism, and Existentialism.

 

It's not so much that I filp-flop, and while some of these things don't seem to always comfortably reside along side of each other, and while I can't deny that I have tons of questions and doubts, I also have from personal unexplainable experiences a sense of faith and hope.

 

I'm fine with admitting that I just don't know, and if someone were to say that there is no god, I cannot offer them anything to disprove this, and if someone were to say that there is, I cannot offer them anything to disprove that either.

 

Either way I do not fear the future. I'd like to live as long as I possibly can, but if there is nothing afterwards I won't exist to know or care.

 

If there is a god, I can't allow myself to believe that this god would drop us off on this earth without any concrete understanding, but still expect us to follow what other humans, seemingly no more knowledgeable or qualified than you or I, have passed along as the ultimate truth that must be believed or else.

 

Nope, all is well either way, and until then I just hope to live as long, peaceful, and healthful as I can, and then hold on for ride of my life, or watch it all just fade to black.

 

Just like you had mentioned, this pondering of humans for generations is really just to be expected since we really know nothing, but can't but help to want to. As is evident, and especially with the numerous religions, what conclusions people come up with can be an assortment of a whole lot of this and that.

 

While I know nothing for sure, to avoid going completely nuts, I have to respect and accept my limitations and conclusions, or lack there of as being just as valid as anyone else's, and if I can live as comfortably as possible within my own assessment then I feel that at least I've hit the proper zone for which is proper for me.

 

I don't think that just following someone else's philosophy or beliefs for lack of my own feels anything but uncomfortable when my firsthand life feels real to me, while living someone else's feels secondhand, forced, and contrived.

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As you might have probably noticed by now, my perception can be a mixed bag of Absurdism, Spiritualism, Agnosticism, Realism, and Existentialism.

 

It's not so much that I filp-flop, and while some of these things don't seem to always comfortably reside along side of each other, and while I can't deny that I have tons of questions and doubts, I also have from personal unexplainable experiences a sense of faith and hope.

 

I'm fine with admitting that I just don't know, and if someone were to say that there is no god, I cannot offer them anything to disprove this, and if someone were to say that there is, I cannot offer them anything to disprove that either.

 

Either way I do not fear the future. I'd like to live as long as I possibly can, but if there is nothing afterwards I won't exist to know or care.

 

If there is a god, I can't allow myself to believe that this god would drop us off on this earth without any concrete understanding, but still expect us to follow what other humans, seemingly no more knowledgeable or qualified than you or I, have passed along as the ultimate truth that must be believed or else.

 

Nope, all is well either way, and until then I just hope to live as long, peaceful, and healthful as I can, and then hold on for ride of my life, or watch it all just fade to black.

 

Just like you had mentioned, this pondering of humans for generations is really just to be expected since we really know nothing, but can't but help to want to. As is evident, and especially with the numerous religions, what conclusions people come up with can be an assortment of a whole lot of this and that.

 

While I know nothing for sure, to avoid going completely nuts, I have to respect and accept my limitations and conclusions, or lack there of as being just as valid as anyone else's, and if I can live as comfortably as possible within my own assessment then I feel that at least I've hit the proper zone for which is proper for me.

 

I don't think that just following someone else's philosophy or beliefs for lack of my own feels anything but uncomfortable when my firsthand life feels real to me, while living someone else's feels secondhand, forced, and contrived.

 

Appreciate your thoughts as always.

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I believe God created man because the Bible tells me so therefore no doubt for me about it.

 

The final, bottom-line answer to the question regarding the reason for creation can get downright perplexing. The Bible does speak directly to this issue though (all NLT).

 

Isaiah 43:7 “Bring all who claim me as their God, for I have made them for my glory. It was I who created them.’”

 

Psalms 19:1 “The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship.”

 

Luke 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!”

 

According to these passages (and others), God created the world for His glory. This seems to fit within the framework of the rest of the Bible and within the character of God. He created the universe for His glory, not in any way to “fulfill” His glory but to “display,” if you will, His splendor, His majesty, His magnificence. Scripture after Scripture throughout the Bible refers again and again to the purpose or “end” of all creation, including humankind, which is to bring glory to God.

 

Romans 1:20 – “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”

 

Now this brings me to make the point that for me the Bible is not just a book but the Word of God.

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I lean in the direction that all religions are man created. I believe in particular that early man and those of the ancient world created religions and gods to answer questions about the world, life, and other problems that they didn’t have the means at the time to answer scientifically. So religions, gods, and magic gave them their answers, even if the answers were actually generated by themselves, usually through dreams or hallucinations that they called revelations.

In many cases some where outright inventions created for power and political purposes.

Another example would be the ancient pharaohs. How much more powerful does one have to be than when they have convinced the population that they are the conduit through which god(s) speak to the people. That basically made the pharaoh god and powerful enough to have gigantic pyramids built as a burial tomb. Now that’s some kind of lasting power. Also, the Kings of the Old World ruled by “Divine Rights”. What he said was the only way and must be followed by the masses because God was speaking through him.

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I lean in the direction that all religions are man created. I believe in particular that early man and those of the ancient world created religions and gods to answer questions about the world, life, and other problems that they didn’t have the means at the time to answer scientifically. So religions, gods, and magic gave them their answers, even if the answers were actually generated by themselves, usually through dreams or hallucinations that they called revelations.

In many cases some where outright inventions created for power and political purposes.

Another example would be the ancient pharaohs. How much more powerful does one have to be than when they have convinced the population that they are the conduit through which god(s) speak to the people. That basically made the pharaoh god and powerful enough to have gigantic pyramids built as a burial tomb. Now that’s some kind of lasting power. Also, the Kings of the Old World ruled by “Divine Rights”. What he said was the only way and must be followed by the masses because God was speaking through him.

 

You and I think a lot alike. Btw, love hearing your thoughts, as always.

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