a deity, or deities, since forever. I think it has to do with the mistaken belief that our ego, our sense of self, is a real, solid, self-existent thing. I'm a Buddhist in the Tibetan vajrayana tradition. We don't believe in a creator god. Although Tibetan Buddhism has many deities, I personally see them as an anthropomorphic symbolic projection of certain qualities, like compassion, wisdom, tranqility, etc. All qualities that each of us can develop in our own minds without the intervention of a deity. Buddhism is concerned only with how to live a happy life. What are the moral behaviors that lead to suffering and problems, and what behaviors lead to happiness and contentment?
The Old Testament Bible was written after the Jews returned to Jerusalem from captivity in Babylon. Many of the stories in the Old Testament, such as the flood were borrowed from the Gilgamesh stories. And of course the New Testament was created many years after the death of the historical Jesus,assuming there was a historical Jesus. I see the Bible, old and new testaments, as literature with many parables and moral truths. Not so much as historical truths. For example, there is no such thing as a Virgin Birth, especially for a male baby. And there is no such thing as resurrection 3 days after death. And no such thing as walking on water. Wading in shallow water, well maybe. But these fictions do not invalidate the moral truths in parables such as the good Samaritan, or the story of Jesus using his belt to chase the money changers out of the temple. I am especially fond of the story of how Judith cut off the head of Halofernes. It doesn't have to be historically true for me to enjoy the story of a woman delivering justice to a rapist.
In Buddhism, we are supposed to use our minds, use reason and logic to figure out stuff.
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