To the Atheist members of vgchartz

[DanneSandin]

Jay520 said:

 

Some people need to understand what atheism is 

Atheism/theism is completely different spectrum from agnostic/gnostic. Atheism and theism deals with what a person believes. Agnosticism deals with what a person knows (or at least what s/he think he knows). If you believe in God, then you are a theist. If you don't, then you are an atheist (which doesn't necessarily mean you believe God doesn't exist). If you believe you know whether God exist or doesn't exist, then you are gnostic. If you believe it's impossible to know, then you are agnostic.

Agnosticism isn't some middle ground be atheism and theism. Agnosticism is compatible with both atheism and theism. With that said, there are four categories that a person can fall into:

• Gnostic Theist - A person who thinks there is enough information to know that at least one deity exists.
• Agnostic Theist - A person who believes that at least one deity exists, but accepts that thre isn't enough information to know.
• Agnostic Atheist - A person who does not believe in a deity, but accepts that there isn't enough information to know.
• Explicit Atheist - A person who believes in the inexistance of a deity, but accepts that there isn't enough information to know.
• Gnostic Atheist - A person who thinks there is enough information to know that no deity exists (This group is composed solely of explicit atheists). 

There's two types of atheists. One, those who explicitly assert that no deity exist. And then there's everyone else, those who simply do not believe in a God. 

To describe all atheists, the only definition acceptable is "those who lack a belief in a deity". Once you start referring to people who explicitly believe in the lack of a deity, then you're talking about a specific group of atheists who DO NOT represent all atheists. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnosticism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implicit_and_explicit_atheism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnostic_atheism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnostic_theism

 

A truly great post that really explains it all very well!