what makes man different from his fellow organisms on earth?

curiosity.

the search for knowledge,technology,and answers.

from the beginning of man`s, we were searching for answers about life`s greatest mysteries.

when we looked up in the sky, when we tried to find order in the world that was all we knew,it was answers that we were looking for.

in those times, we didn't have what is now called "science".

the smartest were those who spoke well and were very charismatic.

and we called these men prophets.

some of them did things that science could explain partly.

but, back then it was magic.take a car back to the bible and it is magic. but we were not satisfied. we wanted to know the source of this magic and use it.

and so along history,some if not a small part of those we called prophets, used our curiosity.

they told us stories,and myth,that made us shake.

they told us how to reach for the source of what we used to call magic.and each had a different story.some of them manipulated us, trying to make us work for them,worship their philosophy.and surprisingly,we still do.in the middle ages you would pay the priest for redemption.

most and worst of all, they promised us one more thing:

the thing we wanted most of all, hope.we were eager to find what is in the after-life, and they supplied the answers.they would show us the path for heaven, and surprisingly it would depend on us following their ways.we were manipulated.

and who ever not doing so, will go to the opposite place,to infinite suffer. check the sources, the idea of "hell" is not so ancient.hell was the answer. who wasn't affected by the hope for heaven, would be used with the fear to go to hell.

it was those religions that spread out the most. propaganda in the old times would go hand in hand with a sword and a religious book, all over history.

some say religion helped to make the world moral. we don't need heaven to be moral.we need to be moral for other,not because otherwise we will go to hell.you can be a full,moral person without religion.

we wanted god.we needed him for hope,and answers.they gave it to us.brutally. the answers that we looked for now partly exist. we call it science.we no longer need the idea of god.

Veronica, your argument is illogical, and you are distracted with a sort of scripture quoting tourette’s. Scripture quoting is not an argument unless you can prove that the God of that scripture exists and you cannot prove that the God of that scripture exists by quoting that scripture. That is the fallacy of begging the question - assuming the initial premise.

God exists because the Bible says he exists, and the Bible is must be believed because it is the word of God.

Or A is true because B is true; and B is true because A is true.

Write some of your own and you will no doubt see how that sort of reasoning makes no sense.

I’ll go first: I am good looking because my mother says that I am good looking; my mother says that I'm good looking because I am good looking.

If this is the case then for all of the faith you have in your god and for what you believe it to be why do you call it a him? Bcause nothing to see, but LIFE itself, is enough for me to see that man created god.and if you believe jesus will come again then expect to find him in a mental ward.just imagine some long haired dude wrapped in a sheet popping up out of no where proclaiming to be the lord in this day n age.As for how omnipresent and omnipotent you claim this god/creator of all things, to be,begs the questions?why create and ignore such a hostile enviroment.why not omit the evil,why punish a world of misguided uninformed peoples that have been divided into such varied degrees of existence.why allow for sin only to allow for forgiveness ,why allow for hate only to allow for love why announce one god but allow for all gods? I can keep going but why allow myself to be condemned as blasphermous.

this debate is not about who created the earth u git. as far as your defence bout god writing the bible thru moses, how do u know that moses didnt unknowingly eat a magic mushy and wasnt tripping out. so do u believe in alice in wounderland too.man created gods. bugger knows how the earth got here,how does a ball of dust accumulate.

just as they have created umm everything else through thier imagination!

It is very likely that man created the concept of gods and other spiritual forces. Under no circumstance has the existence of a god or gods been backed by strong evidence or well-tested theory. The more specific the conception of a god, the more detailed the stories about what that god did or does, the less evidence there is to support the claims.

Even more so, scientific inquiry, experiments, and research have demonstrated that many claims are flat-out false.

Most people of a religious persuasion rely on the flimsiest of "evidence" or philosophical arguments to defend their beliefs. Almost in every case, the religious individual would never accept the same level or sort of evidence/arguments from another person defending their beliefs.

For instance, speaking with many on the question of their faith I have heard the same argument for why they believe what they believe: faith itself. They have "faith", they believe deep-down that it is true...therefore it is.

Now, who would ever accept such an argument when it doesn't pertain to their own beliefs? Also, they don't have much of an answer for when I ask the obvious follow-up: "What about the faith of opposing religions?"

All evidence points to "god" as a psychological construct. It's likely that the construct has helped many types of humans survive; an adaptation perhaps. People who believed in a god were more likely to survive, for whatever reason. That's why the concept is still around, the people who have a tendency to believe in it still exist.

At some point, though, people will probably grow out of the idea of god. The individuals who stubbornly cling to outdated beliefs that are no longer useful may find it difficult to adapt to an increasingly scientific and knowledge-based world. Whosoever does not buck religion may end up extinct.

Here is an interesting question... for those who believe God was once a man (I know you're out there!)

If God was once a man, and the God of that man was once a man, who was the first man to become a God?

"I dno about being right for doing that.."

DOES THAT MEAN YOU DO KNOW ABOUT BEING WRONG FOR DOING THAT?

YES YOU ARE WRONG FOR WHAT YOU SAID BUT RIGHT OR WRONG, I THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION.

DO NOT TAKE OFFENCE AT THE CAPS LOCK BEING ON, I AM NOT SHOUTING "24/7" AS YOU SAY.

WASN'T GENESIS CREATED BY MAN?

YOU ARE ASSUMING THAT GOD CREATED EARTH THEN MAN. WHAT IF EARTH WAS NOT CREATED BY GOD AND THAT GOD WAS JUST THE CREATION FROM THE IMAGINATION OF MEN?

Humans are animals on Earth just as fish and birds and mammals are. I don't understand why people think that there is something special about them that gives them the privilege to have a god to look after them. What separates humans from other animals is the ability to be creative, and therefore the ability to create god. Modern god/gods are completely imaginary just as the ancient Greek, Celtic, Egyptian, etc. gods where. Religion is simply a series of fairy tales made to explain what people didn't understand. The result: making up an invisible man to blame for everything you can't explain.

I submit that, the question: did man create God? more probably means: did man create the concept of God?

Scripture cannot be true because scripture says it's true: a premise cannot support itself.

Do you not believe this as it applies to the Qur’an.

How about when you were a child?

Did a parent ever ask you to do something, to which you replied "why?" and they said "because I said so."

It is the same fallacious reasoning.

A simple story. No need for the meandrine moonshine of 'erudite intelligentsia'. Just take yourself back in time & examine unvarnished facts.

Please acknowledge that the primitive mind was bound to generate quite naturally, mythological imagery of an Elysian nature. Also, one must accept that the relative ignorance of early humans, coupled with understandable fears of the unknown, provided those individuals seeking power over their fellows (a natural human trait) with the conditions to set up as Medicine -Men - Witch-Doctors - Sorcerers & Soothsayers etc, all claiming to have insights & contact with a 'Power' - of sorts. So began the blight of Shamanism.

As time unveiled the past, these facts have not been fully appreciated, hence the ensuing rash of Religiosity has not been branded for what it really is - an early conceive, of ignorance & apprehension, perpetuated through millennia by impostors - preying on credulous naivety.

The natural process of evolution, via many devious pious paths, has now landed us with the present crop of Archbishops - Ayatollahs - Rabbis - Popes - Imams - JWs plus a host of other hypocritical sect leaders, incessantly brainwashing the largely unthinking masses with their ridiculous & childish 'Holy Beliefs'.

The Billy Grahams of the World, gifted with gab & showmanship, use their 'bewitching powers' to prey on the gullibility of the artless.

Yes indeed, in modern form, the Witch Doctors are STILL at it. - Mountebanks all!

taking into consideration that each religion believes in its own god, how come the christian god is known as god but all other religions gods have names;considering the word god, according to the dictionary,quote, GOD,n[ME.god,godd;AS.god,god;akin to L.G.god;M.H.G.got;Ice.godh;Sw.gud;Dan.gud;Goth.guth,god. The word is common to teut. toungues,but not identified outside off them.It was generally in plural, and neuter.It was applied to heathen deities and later,when the teutonic peoples were converted to christianity,the word was elevated to the christian sense.There is no conection between god and good in form, nor was the conception of goodness prominent in the heathen conception of a deity]

no. jesus was born to mary and joseph. jesus was then used as a tool in a cruel game of chinese whispers.

wow what a fantastic contribution.spot on in every degree.

man created god. not only as a way to gain rulership and power but also as a scapegoat for the benefit of their own conscience.As far as the bible goes, it is just another book . this applies to all religions

PERHAPS BUT IS IT RIGHT THAT YOU SHOULD GIVE AN ANSWER ON BEHALF OF ALL MEMBERS? PLEASE ALLOW OTHERS TO ELABORATE ON THEIR IDEAS ABOUT THE CHARACTER GOD AND WHETHER IT IS FICTIONAL OR NOT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR VIEW.