God created man in His image... or did man created God in his image?

Question

This is more than an Christian v Atheist question.

I believe that man wrote all religious texts in an effort to explain the inexplicable. No man really knows the answer.

What do you believe?

Wow. So many answers. So many diverse opinions. Thanks for answering.

Answer 1

I love it that you've posted this. I've seen many a question like this before and I love answering them.

Man by nature is lost and misguided if he is not lead and taught and guided by another superior being. Without leadership, mankind is destined to fall apart and collapse, his death inevitable. But with someone to look up to, someone to follow, someone to listen to and be taught and instructed by, man can rise to power and live. That is why we have idols; that is why we have God. Man created God in his image as the ideal leader for us all. It is true that man wrote all religious texts, but perhaps they are interpretations of actual occurences that took place in ancient times (Jesus times). There could also be ANOTHER separate, omniscient, omnipotent and indescribable being that had created Man; it all depends on what you believe in, because if you get enough people to believe in one thing, no matter how untruthful or wrong it may be, it BECOMES truth, it becomes known fact, it becomes law. That is the origin of man...and God.

Answer 2

I agree with the statement that man created God in his image. But I don't agree that all religious texts were written by man. I believe that there has been a lot of adding and deleting done by men throughout history in the books so that they get what they wanted from the people using this powerful tool.....religion.
And by the way, God says in the Quran, that nothing is like HIM as well as man can never even imagine what God looks like.

Answer 3

I would say yes to both of those questions. Yes, I do believe God created man in his image. Everywhere you look in the universe there is design. Where there's design there must be a designer. I call that designer God. Only God could create a universe like ours. Both the universe and man(as well as animals and plants for that matter) have great design. Therefore, God created them. What is the image of God.......will, intellect and emotion. Both God and man have it. So, yes, God created man in his image.
Yes, man created God in his image. Everybody worships a God. It may not be the God of the bible but everyone worships a God. Either you accept one of the Gods of the religions or you created your own God. If you've accepted one of the Gods of the religions, hopefully, you've read the Holy books of that religion and examined it to see if it has merit and deserves to be called a revelation from God. You are accepting that God as the God who created the universe whether it's true or not.
If you don't accept any of the Gods of the religions but you say you believe in God and these are the qualities that you've come to believe this God has, I'll bet that God of yours sounds a lot like you. I'll bet all of the things you think are right, he also thinks are right and all of the things you think are wrong he also thinks are wrong. You see, you've just created your own God. You don't have to worry whether there's a heaven or hell because if there is an afterlife, you'll be in heaven because you're God agrees with you. You've created him.
If you don't believe in any God then your God is just you. You worship yourself. I'm sorry if that is kind of harsh and I may be wrong. I've just never seen a whole lot of charity organizations started by athiests. I'm still waiting to see the 1st hospitals or alcohol rescue missions or drug organizations or whatever started by athiests.
So, yes God did create man in his own image and man did creat God in his own image.
As for me, My God is Jesus Christ. That doesn't make me very popular in this day and age but that's OK.

Answer 4

I believe that God created man in His image. Read Genesis 1:26-31; Genesis 3:7 and Genesis 3: 20-25

Answer 5

The Bible. That is what I believe. And if man wrote all religious texts to explain the inexplicable, we did a mighty poor job of it. I think we could have come up with something that everyone agreed upon, that everyone could understand. But, since the Bible came from God, we cannot understand all of it. This means that some of what is in the Bible must be accepted through faith, without proof. Many are not willing to do that. Because God is above us in all ways, we really do not have the capability of understanding His ways. We can try, but we just can't do it. That is why we refer to a religious "faith."

Answer 6

The answers can be found if we ask, and listen with an open mind. I also think that man has had too much of a hand in writing the holy texts. Who knows what they said when they were first written or how much has been changed to suit a particular religous belief. We are created in his image, though other gods are certainly human creations.

Answer 7

Correct me if I am wrong, but the satanic bible actually explains this question.



A man creates a god in his own image, making this god a proxy of himself. And when other people worship this god, this proxy, they in turn worship the man who created it.


Religion has no facts, only truth. Belief is all that is required. If you believe that god created man, then to you it is so. If you believe the opposite, it is so.


Only you know what you believe, and only you can decide.





I think man creates the gods and lets them die. But each god has a small portion of those old gods in it. The image of god and adam nearly touching fingers, the god in that image is influenced by the image of zeus. michael slaying the dragon is similar to apollo slaying the serpent.

all my thoughts, take it or leave it

Answer 8

Perhaps both are true. There may very well be a God (I believe that there is, but that is only my opinion) in this universe that created man in his image, but I believe that man with his religions has reinvented him/her/it into their own personal property who loves and protects them above all others. Having a "chosen people" doesn't sound to me like something that the God of all mankind and the universe would do, but it sounds very much like something that a primitive tribe would invent to justify their wretched existence and unify their people in mysterious and difficult world.

Answer 9

That really makes a lot of sense to me. I've always thought and said that god and the devil are symbols of what humanity as a whole perceive as good and as bad. They don't really exist as such, but they are what people wish to be and what people wish not to be. So, of course it would be obvious that we (I mean humanity) put in the "God" figure every feature we wish for ourselves. And one of those things we would want to see in our god is that he loves us, and made us "in his image", to compensate for so little love we all have for one another. Great thinking, really. Hard to admit, though. So I wouldn't keep my expectations high on this question...

But I don't think this is "more than a Christian v. Atheist question". It's in the basis of what unbelievers think and feel. But I think you know that, because of your little grammar mistake. Have you noticed it? You said "an Christian v. Atheist" (instead of "'A' Christian..."). I guess you were thinking "an Atheist question", because that's where you're seeing this question from. Am I too wrong?

Answer 10

God created man in His image. But you have bigger questions than that. Your right ..no man really knows all the answers. Jesus Christ said that himself. He said you are not meant to know all the answers. Think of it this way: If you are trying to learn all the answers to everything, you will never graduate. Besides I believe the Bible is a guide for life. Sorry but i have to say this: The Bible says that anyone who doesn't believe in and fear God is a fool.