A review of And Man Created God by Robert Banks.

Robert Banks is an Australian treasure. Since he challenged us about the Tyranny of Time in the 80s, and Paul’s Idea of Community in the 90s, he has moved to musing on everyday theology, and theological education, and leadership studies. Most recently he has been captivated by CS Lewis, who does appear briefly in his most recent book: And Man Created God.

Banks explains that this book was actually started many years ago, as he reflected on the issues that almost made him lose his faith in his early 20s. However, he did not think there was significant interest in the subject. However, with the rise of the New Atheism and their claims that religion is the invention of humanity, Banks felt it was time to dust off the early manuscript and re-examine the material.

Richard Dawkins says all religion is a result of human “wish fulfilment”, Christopher Hitchens says that “God did not create man in his own image. Evidently it was the other way around…” They treat the subject briefly, but Michael Onfray is more articulate:

Man creates God in their own inverted image. Mortal, finite, limited, suffering from all these constraints, haunted by the desire for completeness, human beings invent a power endowed with precisely the opposite characteristics… at whose knees they kneel and finally prostrate themselves.

Having stated the claims of the atheists, Banks then goes on to research the idea of man creating God, to see how new the idea really is. Ironically, the earliest recording of the idea is in the Bible! The prophets, especially Jeremiah and Ezekiel, mock the cultures around them for making their own idols and worshipping them. Isaiah’s judgment is that “they are all a delusion” and “their deeds amount to nothing”. (Isaiah 41:29 and 44:20)

There is also a record of the idea among the Greek philosophers, beginning with Xenophanes, Democritus and Critias, a playwright who claim humans invented the fear of God to frighten the wicked. Paul denounced the Greek gods in Athens, and the early Christian thinkers warned about projecting our desires and feelings onto God.

The idea that all religion was invented became popular during the Enlightenment. Ironically, the idea of idols being human creations was turned onto its head when the God of the original critique was rejected as humanly invented.

Banks goes on to deal with four philosophers or psychologists who have done most to propagate these ideas. Lack of room prevents me from going beyond a cursory summary, but what I like about Banks’ treatment is that he turns the criticism into a challenge for Christians:

To help us answer those questions and respond to the challenge, Banks suggests a number of responses:

• Beware our mental images for God, such as Guardian Angel or Justice Warrior or Ecclesiastical CEO
• Beware our substitutes for God such as money, sex or power
• Focus on Jesus, God’s true image
• Use psychological and cultural analyses to understand ourselves and the world better
• Be open to God shattering our wrong image of Him.

This is a useful and helpful book, written quite clearly. My only criticism is that Banks did not emphasise more using the word of God, the Bible, as a corrective to our wrong images of Him; however, his potential audience is broad. There is some detailed rebuttal of the New Atheist claims, all done with grace. One example is the way many converts are dragged to the foot of the cross. Banks gives the example of CS Lewis who famously described himself as “the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.” This is hardly the confession of one who is brainwashed, or fulfilling a wish for God!