I've been thinking about this issue.

Suppose Socrates was a fictionally made character by Plato. We can still respect and honor that character.

Now Suppose he was real, and we thought he was fictional or rather didn't know whether he was fictional or real. If we respect the character describe, and it accurately describes the real person, then our respect for that person would be real.

In the same way, if Atheists don't believe Maximullly great being exists, but that maximally great being is worthy of highest honor, love, and veneration, which is synonymous with being worthy of Worship...

Then whether they believe he exists or not, or even are strong atheists whom deny such a being exists to do philosophical arguments such as the problem of evil or suffering or bad design...but they acknowledge that the hypothetical being is WORTHY of Worship....

Then they are worshiping that being, whether they know he exists or not.

What?!?

(February 15, 2012 at 6:33 pm)MysticKnight Wrote: I've been thinking about this issue.

You're doing it wrong.

(February 15, 2012 at 6:33 pm)MysticKnight Wrote: if Atheists don't believe Maximullly great being exists, but that maximally great being is worthy of highest honor, love, and veneration, which is synonymous with being worthy of Worship...

How can atheists believe a "great being" is worthy of highest honor, love and veneration, when we don't believe in a "great being" at all.

I don't believe in a magical sky daddy, but he is worship worthy.. << WTF..

(February 15, 2012 at 7:28 pm)Loading Please Wait Wrote:

(February 15, 2012 at 6:33 pm)MysticKnight Wrote: if Atheists don't believe Maximullly great being exists, but that maximally great being is worthy of highest honor, love, and veneration, which is synonymous with being worthy of Worship...

How can atheists believe a "great being" is worthy of highest honor, love and veneration, when we don't believe in a "great being" at all.

I don't believe in a magical sky daddy, but he is worship worthy.. << WTF..

Well as I explained, we can believe Socrates is a honorable person worthy of high veneration, whether we know he actually existed or not.

In the same way, you can believe the maximally great being is worthy of worship, whether you believe he exists or not.

The difference between honoring and worshiping is just in level, in principle they are the same, it's just worship is a much higher level of honoring.

So if you can honor Socrates whether you know he exists or not, then you can honor God whether you know he exists or not.

(February 15, 2012 at 7:35 pm)MysticKnight Wrote: Well as I explained, we can believe Socrates is a honorable person worthy of high veneration, whether we know he actually existed or not.

You can, if you're the sort of person who doesn't make much of a distinction between what you believe and what you know.

Some of us are a bit more particular in that regard.

(February 15, 2012 at 7:40 pm)Cthulhu Dreaming Wrote:

(February 15, 2012 at 7:35 pm)MysticKnight Wrote: Well as I explained, we can believe Socrates is a honorable person worthy of high veneration, whether we know he actually existed or not.

You can, if you're the sort of person who doesn't make much of a distinction between what you believe and what you know.

Some of us are a bit more particular in that regard.

That doesn't have to do with anything.

Suppose I didn't believe Socrates exists. I don't believe he didn't exist either. I don't believe either way. Yet when it comes to his description, I honor "Socrates" - not knowing or believing he exists or doesn't exist.

In fact, even if I believed he was a fictional character, and turns out he exists, and the descriptions were accurate, then I would be honoring that person, if I found his description to be honorable and worthy of veneration.

It doesn't have anything to do with whether you value what you know as opposed to what you believe.

We can honor fictional characters, and if turns out their real, then we have honored real characters.

Supposed we watched a movie that was based on a real story and we didn't know it was based on a true story, and we thought it was fictional. If we honor the main character, we are honoring the real person in the true story as well.

(February 15, 2012 at 7:35 pm)MysticKnight Wrote: Well as I explained, we can believe Socrates is a honorable person worthy of high veneration, whether we know he actually existed or not.

You're absolutely correct. We can believe in anything.
That doesn't make it real though.

(February 15, 2012 at 7:54 pm)Loading Please Wait Wrote:

(February 15, 2012 at 7:35 pm)MysticKnight Wrote: Well as I explained, we can believe Socrates is a honorable person worthy of high veneration, whether we know he actually existed or not.

You're absolutely correct. We can believe in anything.
That doesn't make it real though.

True, but if he were real, we would have honored him. Even if we believed he didn't exist, if we believed he was worthy of honor..then we have honored the real person.

So the conclusion is Atheists can not believe in God but still Worship Him.