It isn't hard to see that people believe in GOD because they are afraid and desperate to imagine into existence a caring Father figure to help them deal with the harsh realities of existence (like there is NO GOD). So could it be that the realisation that there is NO GOD leads people to imagine one into existence to deal with the fact GOD DOESN'T EXIST?
when I was 5 years old I thought the same thing. I was a young child and I would think how stupid religion was and how obvious it was that people only believed because they were scared to die. At the time I was extremely scared to die too, but I didnt see any point in believing in lies. And I knew God was a lie.
I was always considered intelligent by my teachers and peers, and I remained an atheist till I was in college.
The truth is, it was only after I started to become OK with death that I started to believe in life after death.
And it was logic, pure intellect, that brought me to the idea of God. Causality. The logical truth that things are caused by other things. And God is the logical consequence of that line of logic.
And after having come to God, since before I believed in God I believed that death could only be a good thing like reincarnation or a peaceful quiet sleep, but now believing in God and also that hell is a possibility, I am now much less comforted about death than I was before.
As the bible tells us, those who hate God love death. And times when I am feeling temptation I do find myself yearning for an existence where Icould be self serving and jist die in peace with no worry of heavem or hell.
So, as you can tell, faith is not always a refuge for the cowardly.
But in fact it takes a brave man to face up to his helplessness and dependence on his savior.
l