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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Charlaquin" data-source="post: 8254020" data-attributes="member: 6779196">That’s not a difference, that’s something both the character who believes the gods exist but aren’t gods and the character who believes they’re gods and aren’t worthy of worship agree on.They wouldn’t, that’s my point. That’s the core belief of the nay-theist worldview. “Sure, these powerful entities exist, but their power does not entitle them to worship.” If a character believes that, they’re a nay-theist, whether they use the word god to describe those powerful entities or not. A flat-earth atheist is someone who believes those entities (again, whether they call them “gods” or not)  do not exist, despite their falsifiable existence in the setting.That’s different than the worship of a god. That’s cowtowing to its demands for fear of retribution, not worship. The closest analogy would be paying lip-service to a self-proclaimed god-emperor to avoid being executed. It has really nothing to do with belief (or lack thereof) in the divine supremacy of the beings others call gods and worship willingly.Now you’re stretching the definition of worship.They both grant magic power in exchange for service. That’s not a difference at all, let alone a practical difference.If you believe the gods aren’t real, you’re an atheist, even if you think participation in the rituals performed in their service are still worthwhile. If you’re an atheist in spite of incontrovertible evidence the gods exist, you’re a flat-earth atheist. If you do believe the gods exist, you’re a theist. If you don’t believe they should be worshipped despite their existence, you’re a nay-theist. It’s not  complicated.Great, then how are you defining it?</blockquote>

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