Did Man Invent God?
I often encounter skeptics who raise the question about whether God is not merely a product of man's imagination. There are many responses to this question (CS Lewis's discussion of the numinous in his introduction to The Problem of Pain, for example). But one that I have found particularly compelling and helpful can be found in John Oswalt's excellent book The Bible Among The Myths.
In his book, Oswalt outlines various things that are true about the false gods found in the myths of various cultures, but which are not true of the God of the Bible. Below, I have attempted to distill the information he shares in a list that can quickly be shared during a conversation. I highly recommend reading the book, but hopefully this list will also help.
In my view, Oswalt does an excellent job of showing how the characteristics below represent the mythical gods (the ones that are invented by man). These characteristics are those that people would assign to invented gods. And none of them are true about the actual God of the Judaeo-Christian worldview.
Polytheism - Christianity is monotheistic...in fact, the OT is the only ancient text that says God is one. Even the Islamic faith gets this from the OT, thus there is no competition from any other culture in this regard.
Images - mythical cultures represent their gods in the forms of nature, animals, etc. Judaeo-Christianity specifically forbids casting God in any images.
Eternity of Chaotic Matter - in the myths, all things were created out of the pre-existing chaos (often as the result of a battle between the chaos monsters and the gods). In Judaeo-Christian thought, God created all things out of nothing.
Personality not Essential to Reality - in the myths, the divine realm is not distinctively personal. Personality is something specific to humanity, but there are no full-orbed personalities among the mythical gods (they are typically flat and stereotyped). In contrast, the God of the OT is one who is deeply personal and with a full, complex personality.
Low View of the gods - In myths, the gods are manipulative, untrustworthy, lazy, etc. In contrast, God is the highest moral ideal. In the Judaeo-Christian worldview, there is a high view of God
Conflict is the Source of Life - in the myths, conflict between the gods, and between the gods and chaos, is the source of life. In the Judaeo-Christian worldview, conflict is not seen. God doesn't have to compete with anyone or anything. He is the creator and sustainer and there is no conflict with coequal forces opposed to him.
Low View of Humanity - humans are an afterthought in the myths, often created without the gods intending to. By contrast, humanity is the ultimate pinnacle of creation in the Judaeo-Christian worldview
No Single Standard of Ethics - in the myths, each of the gods had their own agendas and views of what was right. In the Judaeo-Christian worldview, God is the sole source of ethics and these ethics are universal for all people at all times.
Cyclical Concept of Existence - in the myths, there was merely a sense of the cyclical nature of things (24-hour day, 4 seasons, etc). In the Judaeo-Christian worldview, mankind is set on the stage of history moving forward toward a definite purpose and end.
In addition to these, Oswalt outlines other concepts that are different between the Judaeo-Christian worldview and those of myths. These include:
Sexuality - sex was the way to ritually force the gods to do such things as fertilize crops, etc. In the Judaeo-Christian world, sex is not considered sacred.
Transcendence - in the Judaeo-Christian worldview, the key concept is radical dependence upon God for all things. There is no sense of being able to force God's hand by performing certain rituals in order to maintain the status quo (to force him to fertilize the crops through sacred sex acts, for example).
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