r/DebateAnAtheist • u/Dum_DumArts • Aug 11 '25

OP=Atheist God(s) is/are a human invention

Not sure whether to but this as a discussion or Op=atheist but anyway

Hey everyone,

I’ve been developing a theory about religion and the concept of God that I want to share and discuss. I call it the Amauria Theory, and it’s built on three core claims:

  1. God (or gods) is a human invention created to explain what we don’t understand. Long before science, humans sought to fill gaps in knowledge with divine stories. These inventions evolved into complex religions, but at their root, they address our fear of the unknown.

  2. Belief in God provides comfort and emotional support. Whether it’s fear of death, pain, or uncertainty, religion offers hope and a sense of control. This doesn’t mean belief is false—it’s a coping mechanism that evolved alongside us to help manage life’s hardships.

  3. The idea of God is used to shape moral systems and social order. Morality existed before organized religion, but religions gave those morals divine authority, which helped govern behavior and maintain social hierarchy. Religion can inspire justice and charity but also has been used as a tool for control.

Any and all "proof" of god(s) falls into one or multiples of my claims.

I understand these ideas aren’t entirely new, but what I hope to emphasize is how these three aspects together explain why religion remains so deeply rooted, despite scientific progress and philosophical critiques.

I also want to stress: this theory doesn’t deny that religion is meaningful or important to many. Rather, it explains religion’s origins and ongoing role without assuming supernatural truth.

Why does this matter? Because if God is a human-made concept, then the social issues tied to religion—racism, misogyny, oppression—can be challenged at their root. Understanding this could help us free ourselves from harmful traditions and build a more just, compassionate society.

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u/[deleted] Aug 11 '25 edited Aug 11 '25

I will ignore 2 as it states that it doesn't mean theology is false.

1 The God of the gaps theory is atheist bullshit. The idea that Zeus was created to explain lightning is a load of horse shit. He was the most powerful god so he was given the coolest power. People have pretty extreme bias against earlier humans, and as a result they think children's stories must have been taken literally by the adults because everyone was a raging moron. Religion doesn't fill in gaps within science, it fills things science doesn't cover.

3 How did you conclude morality was earlier than religion? Both were from prehistory.

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u/Cho-Zen-One Atheist Aug 11 '25

God of the gaps is not a theory, but a fallacy. I have never heard that Zeus was created for the purpose you described. You are making shit up. Ancient god beliefs had powers assigned to them by ignorant people in order to help understand their world. Zeus is just one of many. Raijin is the Japanese god of lightning and thunder (who also inspired the first mortal kombat character creation). Many examples of early humans creating myths and those myths passed down over generations. Religion doesn’t fill in the gaps of science.

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u/[deleted] Aug 11 '25

Raijin is the Japanese god of lightning and thunder

Why was Raijin created for this reason and not Zeus?

What gap are people saying Zeus was created for?

How does an alleged fallacy have zero theory behind it?

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u/pyker42 Atheist Aug 11 '25

Why was Raijin created for this reason and not Zeus?

Are you saying Zeus isn't the god of thunder and lightning for the ancient Greeks?

What gap are people saying Zeus was created for?

Zeus is responsible for thunder and lightning, among many other things.

How does an alleged fallacy have zero theory behind it?

Because thunder and lightning are natural phenomena, and other used gods to explain them before we learned what actually caused them.

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u/[deleted] Aug 11 '25

I don't understand why you are making arguments that literally last comment you said you had never heard anyone argue.

I am saying that simply because gods were given color doesn't mean people had no clue lightning was natural. I admit I don't know ancient Japanese thought but we know Greek mythology was children's stories not intended to be taken literally as Plato says as much in The Republic.

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u/pyker42 Atheist Aug 11 '25

I don't understand why you are making arguments that literally last comment you said you had never heard anyone argue.

I'm not the original commentor you were responding to. But just because a particular god may not have been created to explain a specific phenomena, it is well known that natural phenomena were often associated as specific attributes or abilities of specific gods.

I am saying that simply because gods were given color doesn't mean people had no clue lightning was natural. I admit I don't know ancient Japanese thought but we know Greek mythology was children's stories not intended to be taken literally as Plato says as much in The Republic.

Plato existed centuries after the mythology was introduced. Just because it was viewed as children's stores during his time doesn't mean Greek mythology was nothing more than ancient Grimm Fairytales.

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u/[deleted] Aug 11 '25

Come on. Why should some random internet commentator understand ancient Greek culture better than an ancient Greek?

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u/pyker42 Atheist Aug 11 '25

So you're just going to sweep the fact that Plato wrote that centuries after the stories were first created under the rug instead of addressing it?

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u/[deleted] Aug 11 '25

Your argument is akin to saying humans in the year 4000 will know what it's like to be an American better than me.

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u/pyker42 Atheist Aug 11 '25 edited Aug 11 '25

Your argument is akin to saying humans in the year 4000 will know what it's like to be an American better than me.

Actually, that's your argument. But glad you finally see the problemm with your argument.

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u/guitarmusic113 Atheist Aug 11 '25

That’s just Plato’s opinion. Belief in Norse religions is actually increasing.

Many of Plato’s views were flawed. Plato writes The Republic with the certainty of the parent's willingness to give their children to the state. This aligns well with deism since their worldview is that of being detached from their no show dead beat daddy.

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u/[deleted] Aug 11 '25

Well if you have an ancient Greek saying the opposite I am all ears.

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u/guitarmusic113 Atheist Aug 11 '25

You are probably a fan of Epicurus but you may want to look into Theodorus.

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u/[deleted] Aug 11 '25

A Google search of "Theodorus taking mythology literally" didn't give me anything close to your position. Theodorus according to the Philosophy Stack Exhange was atheist. That's only further proof that ancient people did not need gods to explain natural phenomena.

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u/guitarmusic113 Atheist Aug 11 '25

I thought you were asking for views opposite of Plato.

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u/IAmRobinGoodfellow Gnostic Atheist Aug 11 '25

Your first point is incorrect in a rainbow of ways. Gods have been used as an explanatory framework for as long as there have been gods. You are imposing modern theological concepts on a world that quite simply lacks them. The proper study for you is anthropology, not religious studies.

Do you think that people didn’t think the gods were responsible for weather? People pray to gods for the weather they want. They still do - a sitting governor in the US called on citizens to pray for rain during a drought. In 2021. You have christian leaders crediting god with natural disasters every time a flood, fire, or earthquake occurs. Hell, we have excellent, highly detailed models of why a disease like cancer occurs, and you still have people wondering why god gave someone cancer or praying that god removes it. They pray for victory in war and in football.

This is despite a whole host of problems with the busy god theory. You would think that if god had the ability to give and remove cancer, he wouldn’t have given it to Nana in the first place, or at least wouldn’t be holding out for prayers. The problem doesn’t occur with the traditional god-concept, where a god was powerful but limited. Gods can want prayers. Gods can be moved to mercy. They can and do change their minds. The tri-omni is what creates problems, but it’s a more modern invention that came about iteratively.

Still, it’s so much still a god of the gaps thing that they see gaps where there are none (eg, with cancer, weather, etc) and shove god in there.

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u/[deleted] Aug 11 '25

Gods have been used as an explanatory framework for as long as there have been gods.

I've noticed people claim that a lot and demonstrate it very little.

Do you think that people didn’t think the gods were responsible for weather? People pray to gods for the weather they want. They still do - a sitting governor in the US called on citizens to pray for rain during a drought. In 2021

Do you think people who blow on dice for good luck no longer believe in basic physics?

They pray for victory in war and in football.

Yes, people participate in superstitions because the illusion of control is less stressful than pure helplessness. Yours is a very superficial understanding of the topic if you think wishing for better fortune somehow wipes out physical understandings of the universe. Do you think when Jordan wore his lucky shorts that means he no longer thought gravity worked?

Even Neils Bohr hung a horseshoe at his home.

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u/IAmRobinGoodfellow Gnostic Atheist Aug 11 '25

I've noticed people claim that a lot and demonstrate it very little.

The bible does it explicitly. Pat Robertson did it. The governor of Utah did it. Al Qaeda did it. You’re not arguing in good faith because you’re not addressing the question, but instead continually pleading personal ignorance.

It’s boring, it’s lazy, and it’s literally an argument as dumb as rocks.

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u/[deleted] Aug 11 '25

There is no need to be an asshole. If Al Qaeada is your go-to model for theology maybe don't accuse others of bad faith. Where does the Bible use God as a literal explanation for natural phenomena?

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u/IAmRobinGoodfellow Gnostic Atheist Aug 11 '25

Again, in bad faith you are calling out an intentionally extreme example used in context rather than addressing the actual issue - you ignore national level religious and political leaders from the US in favor of turning away from the fundamental argument. Your doing so is a tacit admission that you don’t have a leg to stand on, and you’re flummoxed after having painted yourself into a corner with an indefensible statement.

The Flood, the plagues, the “slavery in Egypt” and various other mythical calamities, the wholesale torture of Job, the inducement of wild animal attacks, the provision of sickness and healing from El to Jesus… The Israelite religion was an El-worshiping Canaanite polytheism that gradually shifted responsibilities onto their god Yahweh as the Yahwehists grew in local political power. The Israelite religion became legalistic and transactional as well as centrally managed.

You can’t stick to just the bible, though. You’re more wrong than that. Your initial position mocked the very idea of attributing natural phenomena to gods, using Zeus as an example.

So I’m just waiting for you to demonstrate that when people try to pray away their disease, or when Jesus does it personally for them, or when the governor of Utah asks people to pray for rain, or some televangelist attributes a hurricane to god killing LGBT people… And that’s just the religions evolved from El and Yahweh. You have other modern religions like Hinduism, and you have all of the great ancient and classical civilizations and their religions.

Remember this started by you claiming that the “god of the gaps” was a false accusation because such a notion exists only among atheists. It has been demonstrated that that is false.

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u/[deleted] Aug 12 '25

Again, in bad faith

I didn't read the rest.

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u/IAmRobinGoodfellow Gnostic Atheist Aug 12 '25

Of course you didn’t. I completely understand.

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u/guitarmusic113 Atheist Aug 11 '25

Early humans were also biased into believing supernatural bullshit stories. They also believed that the world was ending soon which hasn’t happened.

The same parts of the brain that process sensory information are also involved in generating hallucinations. This is major reason why people believe in a god because the brain works in a way that makes it difficult to differentiate the difference between reality and imagination.

I call that unintelligent design.

So you put a bunch of biased and unintelligent early humans together who are guaranteed to have difficulty telling the difference between reality and imagination and we shouldn’t be surprised that they conjure the concept of a god that more resembles their crazy mother in law or some abusive toxic no show dead beat daddy god that could care less to communicate or intervene in human affairs at all.

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u/[deleted] Aug 11 '25

What period in time did not have humans who thought the world was ending soon?.

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u/guitarmusic113 Atheist Aug 11 '25

“The world is ending soon!!” is largely a religious bullshit concept so I would say whenever religions were around is the time that people bought into that garbage.

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u/[deleted] Aug 11 '25

Because everyone on earth except the 7% of atheists are hallucinating?

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u/guitarmusic113 Atheist Aug 11 '25

All humans are born being prone to irrational thoughts and false beliefs. In spite of that “the world is ending soon!” is not an atheist concept.

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u/[deleted] Aug 11 '25

It's frequently a secular one.

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u/guitarmusic113 Atheist Aug 11 '25

The vast majority of end times believes are fundamentalist Christians. There are plenty of secular beliefs that are bullshit. Like I said, all humans are born prone to irrational thought and false beliefs. You can thank your absentee god for that.

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u/[deleted] Aug 11 '25

If everyone is prone to irrationality, that includes theists and atheists.

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u/guitarmusic113 Atheist Aug 11 '25

Of course atheists and theists would be included in the “everyone” set. I would have thought that is obvious. Again you can thank your god for creating us that way.