I would point out, that the kind of rhetoric you just provided, MSH, demands that any and all gods be treated as real, because real people have died, in real wars and altercations, over them.
The truth is that people believe they exist, and that people have died due to those beliefs. Neither is qualitative proof of the actual existence of such an entity.
Such entities, like governments, (or borders), exist only in as much as people believe they exist, and act to enforce a condition that demands that agreement through some form of compulsion. (Violent, or otherwise.)
Remove the ancient greeks and their faith-- does Zeus exist? What about olympus?
A state is not a real thing, any more than Little Red Riding Hood, or the Tooth Fairy are. People write about them, and perform actions to invoke them, but they are not actual things outside of mass acceptance. Like Zeus.
"Dude, lol, it sure looks like it's you."
No, I dislike the coy games people play to try and pretend that their position is correct, without actually challenging their preconceptions to consider a position they find objectionable in a fair shake. Your tone has been nothing but dismissive and belittling from the start; Mine was quite clinical, which is ultimately why you responded in the manner you did, (quips about aristotilian debate class, et al.). This is another fine example of your acting in poor faith.
Yes, I agree that I get angered when people make blatantly bad arguments, then refuse to see how they are blatantly bad.
You however, cannot even bring yourself to admit that you were hot and bothered by the subject matter itself. QED, just now.