And Man Created God

3:29pm Thursday, 22nd September 2011

Dr David Wilson of Sophia Think Tank reflects on a new book on how man tries to remake God.

A school chaplain recently told me that Atheism is considered to be the  ¢â‚¬Ëœnew cool ¢â‚¬â„¢ amongst students she works with.    At the Book Launch of Robert Banks ¢â‚¬â„¢ latest book  ¢â‚¬ËœAnd Man Created God ¢â‚¬â„¢ we learned that Atheism is not new and it ¢â‚¬â„¢s not cool.

There were around 50 people gathered in the beauty of Collins St Baptist Church in Melbourne to help Ethos (the Evangelical Alliance Centre for Ethics and Society) launch this excellent piece of scholarly writing that looks seriously at how ideas about God have emerged and the conclusion that in fact many of our  ¢â‚¬ËœGod concepts ¢â‚¬â„¢ are man-made.    As the blurb on the back cover notes  ¢â‚¬Ëœ(his) conclusions are surprising for believers and non-believers alike: for whether or not you believe in God, your concept of God may need to be revised. ¢â‚¬â„¢

Banks was motivated to ask questions about God in his younger years and he felt that his questions were never well answered.    How did the idea of God come up in the first place?    Did I fashion god out of my own need or has God fashioned me in His own image?    He writes to help address these questions (and others) for people who feel there is  ¢â‚¬Ëœsomething more out there ¢â‚¬â„¢ and are not sure what it is but are on a serious quest to find out more.    He also writes for Christians who are serious about being Christian in every aspect of their lives (a common theme for Banks) to help them battle against the temptation to continue to fashion God in their own image so he is more comfortable to live with.    Ouch!

This book is a must read for any who want to sort this out for themselves and for those who desire to help others along the journey.

In an interview with Scott Stephens (ABC Religion and Ethics) Banks also talked about the awesome power of the imagination and lamented the disregard for it in a technologically obsessed world and church.    Asked about the future of Public debate he agreed that it was getting verbally violent but that this should not deter us from getting our apologetics out of the church and into everyday life.    He feels we have evacuated God from the public space and that this needs to be corrected.

The evening was also a chance to re-launch Banks’ earlier book on everyday Christian faith  ¢â‚¬ËœThe Complete Book of Everyday Christianity ¢â‚¬â„¢.    This revised and updated version of Banks ¢â‚¬â„¢ and R.Paul Stevens ¢â‚¬â„¢ foundational work is welcomed by any of us who are serious about taking the values of our faith and applying them in the everyday world.

 ¢â‚¬ËœAnd Man Created God ¢â‚¬â„¢ is published by Lion Hudson (2011) and  ¢â‚¬ËœThe Complete Book of Everyday Christianity ¢â‚¬â„¢ by Graceworks of Singapore (2011).