If I were a Christian I'd like to think that I believe in a God not as an actual object, but rather as a social construct. Thing is, just like with the energy balls in Tai Chi, even though you know that it's not quite real (at least not in the sense of you and I) it's a fabulously useful thing, because if you do what it is said to like, and try to appease it, it will actually make you healthier.
The difference between a follower and a leader, is not walking the path known, but blazing your own.