Well, technically, people have created faith as a means to explore what they can't explain with logic. Back then, we didn't have science and technology to use to discover with and explain things like eclipses, earthquakes, and whatnot. So we simply used faith as a means to not let our minds explode from trying to decipher logic from those phenomenon.

The sun is slowly disappearing in the middle of the day? Must be an act of Divine proportions to get our attention!! We must right whatever it is that we did wrong to warrant said Divine act. And so goes the path our religions have taken, and as we have grown as a race, our religions have grown and cultivated and been derived from previous religions over the millennia or so we have occupied this planet

Now, however, we DO have science and technology to help us delve ever deeper into the inner most workings of our very Universe, so the divide between it and faith is ever growing.

I honestly don't see any harm in exploring your own way of thinking, or other ways of thinking to find one you feel suits you best, "god" or no "god" withstanding. It's all part of growing spiritually. To call one's faith a "Cult" because it's radically different from your own is, IMHO, a tad harsh. However, OP, you are you and I can't change your beliefs. Just as your friend is who he is and you can't change his.