Deus humanibus creatur

Ecumenism in an extremely broad sense has been on my mind lately. Not strictly the ecumenism sought after by Zinzendorf and Vatican II, but the ecumenism that Thomas Merton seemed to be pursuing toward the end of his life--the ecumenism that transcends religious boundaries, not simply denominational ones.
I've heard on multiple occasions the phrase, "God did not create man, man created God." On the surface, atheists tend to think that this witty phrase demonstrates a defendable argument. However, I think that this notion shows us something about ourselves, and our natural tendency to believe.
I think about this because for all of written time mankind has believed in supernatural forces. The oldest texts scholars have found are religious texts. The ancient Mesopotamians, Greeks, Egyptians, Romans, Germans, Persians, Indians, Native Americans, Incans, Aztecs, Mayans, Olmecs, Chinese, Arabs, Babylonians, Canaanites, Irish, Norse, etc all have texts or records that tell about their gods. Even today, out of the five biggest religions in the world, only one is not yet two thousand years old (Islam wasn't founded until the sixth century).
So why is it that all men, at all times have had beliefs in some super-powerful figure? Oft times, even those not in mainstream religions have their supernatural beliefs, such as Socrates' spiritual messenger, and today's superheroes.
Some people have noted that oft times the gods of yesteryear are related to elemental forces. Zeus, Thor, and Jupiter, for example, are all the god of thunder. Hel, Hades, Pluto, and Osiris are all gods of the underworld. Demeter is the goddess of the seasons. Frey is the god of fertility. Apollo and Ra are the god of the sun. Tyr is the god of victory. Neptune, Aegis, Poseidon are gods of the sea. Some gods even take on the role of certain occupations. Balder is the poet. Hermes is the messenger. Vulcan is the smith.
This of course tells us something about the human condition. Humans are superstitious. Even today, with all the explanations science gives us, we get spooked easily walking through a cemetary at night, become wary when we see "a bad omen" and think that some outside condition, such as a certain clothing article, is the cause of our ability to win at some sport.
But why are humans eternally superstitious? In the twentieth century, the former Soviet Union officially banned all religion because religions tell their members to pledge allegiance to God above the state. By removing religion from the people, the state effectively made themselves a religion. Propaganda about the motherland and new ethics were given to the people. All the facets of life that a faith system would normally provide, such as direction and community, were attempted to be replaced by the state.
But even for the atheist, there seems to be a greater power. Sometimes it is simply relegated as biology, instinct, chemistry, conditioning or other things. However, we seem to all feel as if there is something more at work than what we want to admit. Some call it fate, others providence. Some call it pure dumb luck and others call it chance. None of us feel as if we are in complete control. We all feel as if there is something bigger to which we must answer.
This is, in fact, one of the basic tenets of the Alcoholics Anonymous program. AA does not discrimate against atheists, but as part of the program, the alcoholics must answer to some kind of a higher power. That higher power need not necessarily be a god, or some super elemental force, but there needs to be one. It can, in fact, be something like one's children, spouse, employer, mentor, or anybody else. The fact of it is, though, they must report to somebody.
So it seems that the main thing that can be derived from this is that human beings inevitably find themselves dependent on somebody or soemthing. We rely, and put faith in something bigger than us.
To some, this demonstrates a kind of primitive, instinctual mentality that human beings have not fully grown out of. To me, this demonstrates a quirky fact about our nature that suggests to me that seems unexplainable unless it was purposefully left their by our creator.