Not sure what you mean by "this" being man-made, but I will absolutely agree that ALL religions ARE man-made. The very word means to bind back, man's attempt to bind himself back. However, there is a creator, a first cause, and being that we are "intelligent" ourselves, we can conclude that this "creator" also is intelligent, none of the complexity we see around us came out of chaos, but was designed. I won't go into all the stuff I know you have probably already heard, but suffice it to say, greater minds than ours have delved into the great beyond and come back with a surety. This surety is that this intelligent creator did not just create and then vanish to other universes but created with purpose and created us with purpose and an intellect to seek out answers to why and who and what.
There is objective truth in the midst of subjective, but wisdom allows one to see it clearly. There is a God-way and it's NOT man-made. I sure hope you haven't decided you have reached the epitome of intellect and stop looking for the truth, because it IS there, waiting for you. Real honesty also includes the ability to recognize a wrong path may have been taken and that the road to true honesty was where you were already traveling. Don't rule it out. I wish you Godspeed.
The first cause argument is self-defeating, at least logically speaking.
and being that we are "intelligent" ourselves, we can conclude that this "creator" also is intelligent
That is a pure conjecture.
none of the complexity we see around us came out of chaos, but was designed.
The Big Bang would have been pretty chaotic.
greater minds than ours have delved into the great beyond and come back with a surety
No mind is perfect and no man can claim to know everything. Appeal to (select) authority does not prove a conjecture. Surety can go both ways, pro and con. Either way, one's own surety is still not a proof.
This surety is that this intelligent creator did not just create and then vanish to other universes but created with purpose and created us with purpose and an intellect to seek out answers to why and who and what.
Man-made religions have created many "sureties" including those that claim there is no purpose at all.
There is objective truth in the midst of subjective
Depends how you define them.
but wisdom allows one to see it clearly
Every sect or cult uses the same stupid argument.
There is a God-way and it's NOT man-made
As a matter of one's belief.
I sure hope you haven't decided you have reached the epitome of intellect
I can say the same about you.
and stop looking for the truth, because it IS there, waiting for you
In order for man to know the whole truth man would have to know everything there is to know.
Real honesty also includes the ability to recognize a wrong path may have been taken
Equally applicable to me and you. I do recognize that I can be wrong, but I am not sure you do. That's why I am an agnostic and you are a believer.
Don't rule it out
Ditto.