God is a social construct created by man. In a sense, man created his own personal god. In the early human civilization, man, to explain the things that to them are unexplainable created the concept of God.
It started during the early days of human civilization, were people organized themselves as groups and lived their daily lives with activities that will enable them to survive this world like hunting, gathering, etc.
Then they realized their own limitations as human being so in turn they created this concept of super natural powers to explain calamities, phenomena and things that are happening around them that are not in power. However, as years, decades, centuries and millenniums pass not only the way of human life evolved but ideas as well.
More and more of this supernatural phenomenon were explained through Science. Ideas truly changed as well and the existence of God was truly put in question. Religion and Science was two opposing fields right from the start. Science opposed religion’s story of creation with theories of evolution and big bang and many others. St. Thomas Aquinas, the one who was considered the greatest theologian of all times tried to prove the existence of God long ago through his work of Summa Theologica.
He mentioned the unmoved mover. In the beginning of the universe, whether it was the big bang theory, or another theory, we say there is a substance containing all matter that is the starting point of all material substance in the universe.
This material substance, as we see it everywhere, cannot be a cause or a mover, if it is not moved or altered and it cannot be account for its own existence. The action for it to move needs to be caused from outside it. The force that caused it all was believed to be the unmoved mover, which many believe as God.
However, God as a first cause was not stated that he exist the same way humans exist. Because if it were the case, then if octagons can think, they will conceive an octagon God. Also, it need not be hypothesized that God loves us personally. Indeed, mathematician Newton believed in God, but his God is a mathematical God who made sure that the universe is ruled by numbers.
This is so different from the God of love of Christians. How can one be then sure that there must be a first cause uncaused, a first mover unmoved, a necessary being where all necessity comes from?
How can one be certain that this metaphysical entity is endowed with intellect and will, and that he loves you and me, and became flesh, died on the cross, and resurrected? In this sense, it man created his own God.
Ancients believed that the sun, the moon, or trees and other natural beings were God/s. Some regarded mighty soldiers who have shown courage and greatness in battles as local gods, as “lord of hosts”. Some regarded God as that one who will relieve them from the pains of poverty, sickness, and despair.
For the Muslims, God is Allah, who sent Muhammad to preach of the Gospel about the One True God. For the Christian, God is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. And we can go on with so many examples of religions, and how they view their God to be.
But what remains to be seen is that, What is the similarity among all religions? If you will look at it, there are resemblances among religions despite how many there is.
They all represent man’s inner yearning for something beyond his essence. For the theistic heart, this is the “heart that is restless until it rests in God”. For the sociologist, this may be the construct being assailed to us since we were born. That we are dust, and we will return to dust. And somehow, this idea of God makes us hope that we will live on forever.
