There are thousands of religions around the world. Most of these religions purport that they are the one true religion and worship the one true God. Looking at these facts alone, does it make more sense that God created man, or that men created gods?
If there is no god, then all theist religions lie.
If there is a god, then all theist religions are guilty of setting up an impostor in its name.
( It is just possible that one sect of just one religion knows about the one true god, but that is a ten thousand to one shot, and you would be better off, if you want to please god, trusting that god likes atheists the best of all, for not putting up impostors in its name, or pretending to speak on its behalf. )
The men are the gods that has a creator too, their parents. The nomenclature is then created in the minds of the men to call other things gods for various reasons. Hierarchy nomenclature, that is labeling the thing(s) in top position(s) of a hierarchy to be called a God(s) is the most reasonable way to use and understand the word usage for calling something a God. Religion is simply helping widows and orphans in need and avoiding worldly corruption. James 1:27
Humans did not make the universe. The universe made us.
People of all cultures recognize this obvious fact, and give that system which created us various names according to their respective language, tradition, and time period.
Early civilizations personified the system as a god or gods. After the scientific revolution, educated people preferred to call the system by impersonal names like universe or cosmos.
Regardless of what we call it, there really is only one true creator/universe/cosmos.
There are many names for it, but we did not create it.
We created names for it, in whatever language and in whatever way we could understand it.
As long as our species survives, those names and understandings will continue to change.
After we are extinct, the system will go on, unnamed, just as it did before it created us.
We used to have a common bat here in the UK. called the Pipistrelle. Then it was discovered that it was in fact two species the common type and a smaller one. Until 1999, the soprano pipistrelle was considered as conspecific with the common pipistrelle, but then they made the discovery and so they gave the new species a new name, Pipistrellus pygmaeus keeping the old name Pipistrellus pipistrellus for the larger of the two.
Usually, changes of names represent real improvements in knowledge and understanding.
@Garban Very true. And since ever religion assigns a different purpose to creation, then we have at least five possibles.
Did I am miss one ? I am sure I did, please input.
@Garban And when we realize that there are no big purposes, then we know that belief in big purpose, is vanity and narcissism, and that those failings are the main trade of religion. Build up the vanities and people will obey you and pay, to have those vanities confirmed, over and over again.
So, as they say. Being none religious, we are free to choose our own purposes. Which must by definition be small, so that humanism is by definition a philosophy of humility.
Yet here for fun is an irony. Suppose for one second, hypothetically, that there is a creator, though one who has probably not revealed any purpose to us. Then what can we discern is most likely to be pleasing to it, if pleasing it matters at all ? After the possible givens, such as be kind, the only thing I think that seems likely, is that we should appreciate its creation as much as possible, down to the smallest detail. And what are we doing when we create our own small purposes, if not appreciating its creation down to the smallest detail ? Therefore being an atheist could be the most pleasing thing to the creator. Nice joke ?
Honestly, I want to be nice. I don't see this question as an either or, just poor logic. Nowhere is there evidence for any gods. Humans have proven to be very creative and have been creating tales and stories to explain what they didn't know or understand since, most likely, the earliest tribes of humanoids. Even during the 1800's, when science was doing pretty well and being accepted, there were people creating little Martians in order to explain what looked like canals on Mars.
Man made all the gods.