RE: You're not so Godless.
March 22, 2016 at 9:03 am
(March 20, 2016 at 9:40 pm)MysticKnight Wrote: Islamically, Worship is defined by what you value most, what you hold most important. As nothing is to be valued on par with God or with a near level as God, and nothing is to be taken as important as God, he is to be worshiped alone.
Quran for example states some people take their desire as a god...
It also states some people take their leaders as gods by following them with regards to evil things.
To worship God, you have to break all idols including the biggest idol which is yourself.
Atheists obviously don't believe in supernatural beings, but per Islam, they may have other type of gods.
I have been a casual patron of the fetish nightclub scene for many years.
In the world of fetish and BDSM, "worship" is the term that is applied
for a submissive kissing or licking their Dominant's feet or boots.
And certainly when teens have idols like rock stars,
they put up graven images of those stars on their walls
and spend considerable time gazing worshipfully at them,
as well as spending their money on that idol, as well.
So yes, certainly worship can be applied to things other than God.
The difference between worshiping these things,
vs. worshiping God,
is that these things have actual substance in this world.
The teenager idolizes the rock star either because they fantasize about that star as their ideal mate,
or because they aspire to become such a star, themselves.
The slave worshiping his Mistress' boots
is indulging a sexual fantasy, as well.
And to answer your comment about being your own idol,
a woman who is addicted to fashion might worship a pair of Louboutins,
but what she is really more likely to be actually worshiping,
is the beauty she sees herself assuming when she puts the Louboutins on, herself.
But again, it is REAL-WORLD, measurable gain that is being valued, or worshiped.
When people worship God,
they may very well be praying to thin air,
to a fantasy that has no basis in reality whatsoever.
And to me, there is actually even less difference between worshiping God,
who allows all kinds of evil to occur,
...and, as you cited, following an evil worldly leader.
To me, it is better to worship something which gives you trivial, shallow, but measurable earthly value,
that hurts no-one,
than to worship a leader or a God whose effects might be evil.