Not only did Man create God, but more accurately, *every* person with a belief in God creates a (unique) God. Sure, many beliefs surrounding deities are passed down through books and oral tradition, but I still maintain that what God is varies with what the individual thinks "good" is. For example, somebody morally opposed to homosexuality thinks God is, too.
My own God has had a rough birth. He was dead through most of my life, and only recently have I decided to let him live. For me, "God" language forms an idealized abstraction of the world. It is the language I use to express my best intentions, to admit my failures, to grab onto when I need something to hold onto. When I talk to God, I am talking to the idealized version of me and the idealized version of my universe.
I'm not sure how common my thinking is. Some people think of God as a real part of the universe, not as an abstraction. Some people probably share much of my thinking but haven't (yet) codified it as such. For some people, God is dead.
I wish there were better language for these thoughts, as I think the word "God" has to fill many rolls for many people. To discuss a topic, it is generally a good idea to have clear, agreed-upon language as a start. I propose the addition of new words to help this along. We need a words for a physical god: a god that has an existence in our physical universe and can manipulate the world at will. We need a word for self-god, the god which is our own best self. And we need a word for universe-god, the god that represents the good in the universe. And we probably need other words that I haven't yet connected to... perhaps because I lack the language.
