[Dimensio]

We should obey God because we are convinced that that is the purpose of our existence.

I was trying to answer your question through example, though I should have been more clear.

Why pretend that God exists? A number of reasons. One is to assert authority. Another is because people want there to be a God. They want the comfort of an omnipotent parental figure who watches over them with the absolute best of intentions, someone who can justify their personal moral beliefs and the promise of continued existence beyond death (one in which people who don't act they way they like aren't invited).

Wow. A Puritan atheist??? Fine by me. :-)

I'm not sure that I'm a puritan. Then again, I don't even consume alcohol apart from NyQuil (and some wine coolers when I needed a sleep aid but couln't take antihistamines).

[Tribune7]

Why pretend that God exists? A number of reasons.

If I weren't absolutely certain that God existed I wouldn't pretend He did.

I'm not sure that I'm a puritan. Then again, I don't even consume alcohol apart from NyQuil (and some wine coolers when I needed a sleep aid but couln't take antihistamines).

Well, maybe you're not a Puritan then. They hit the jug pretty hard. :-)