what is the difference between an atheist and an agnostic?
444018
Aethiest does not believe in God. At all. Period.\n\nAgnostic litterally means doubt, so they think maybe there is a god but is not sure.
856640
I'm an atheist.  That means I don't believe in any god.
395887
an atheist does not beleive in the concept of a God.\n\nan agnostic thinks there may be a God, and is intelligent enough to admit that no man-made religion knows what God is, nor is he, the agnostic, wise enough to define or understand God.\n\nif only people were intelligent enough to acknowledge that, and not need a crutch like religion to get through life.
908673
Atheist philosophy is philosophical, not scientific or deity centered.  Philosophy is distinct from religiosity AND science.
776091
atheist means that you don't believe in G-d. thats all.
1174781
No, once you start believing in a god, you stop being an atheist. Knowing that god doesn't exist is the definition of atheism. An atheist could still have a religion, though. Buddhists, for example. An atheist might believe in other supernatural things, besides god. Usually not, though. Atheists don't think that religion doesn't exist, if that's what you mean. That would be stupid. I'm perfectly aware of the existance of religion, I just find it pointless.
1163226
I would agree that I'm not sure you can be both.\n\nMy understanding of Agnostic is one who is unconvinced on the existance of a higher being...which would leave it open to their possibly encountering something that convinces them. Basically they don't know one way or the other, so they choose to err on the side of caution and not put their faith in something intangible.\n\nWhile an Athiest is someone who is adamantly convinced there is no higher power.\n\nOne of my favorite lines from the tv show "Northern Exposure" is "I respect Athiests, I think it takes a lot of faith to not believe in God."\n\nI personally beleive in God, while not subscribing to any particular organized religion, and so far this is working out pretty well for me! :)\n\nTake care and God Bless you too! :)
433623
I became an atheist when I was 16.  At 20, I became agnostic, because I think you can't prove or disprove anything epistemically.  But I know where you're coming from.
132811
The ones who fight to disprove God are anti-thiests.  In my liftime, I have only met a handful of actual athiests, but an enormous amount of anti-thiests who call themselves athiests.\n\nThe operating word in the definition is belief.  If you truly believe something, you act on it accordingly.  If you truly believe the roof you are sitting under is about to fall down, then you'll move.  Genuine athiests truly don't believe that there is a God, and won't waste much time talking for or againt Him.\n\nOn the other hand, anti-thiests don't want anybody to believe in any kind of higher being, and work fervently to achieve that goal.  In my experience, most anti-thiests once believed in God, but something happened in their lives which they blame God for, and thus the fervor.\n\nto zilker: Technically, anyone who does not have a belief in God is an AGNOSTIC. An atheist believes that there is no God.\nEveryone is actually AGNOSTIC by default until they develope or reject a belief in a God. \n\nto My Big Bear Ron: Maybe there are no athiests 'knocking on doors', but I guarantee there are no Christians in court rooms trying to suppress the athiests' (or more accurately, anti-thiests') right to believe what he wants to believe.
246197
You are indeed agnostic.
413424
The terms come from Greek.\nGnosticism is a historical term for various mystical initiatory religions, sects and knowledge schools which were most active in the first few centuries. These systems typically recommend the pursuit of mysticism or "special knowledge" (gnosis) as the central goal of life. \n\nthe "a-" prefix in Greek means the negative/un-/not \n\nA-gnostics were opposed to this...as such that includes Christianity.\n\nTheists, believers in a god (not necessarily the Christian God), have only this in common.  \n\nA-theists, only reject the one proposition, ie that God exists.  Atheists aren't all necessarily rational, ethical, logical, or anything else. \n\nGeneralizations and assumptions about all theists are just as invalid and unwarranted as generalizations and assumptions about all atheists.
734566
No, they are different.\n\nSatanism is worshiping Satan, and doing his well.  Atheism is like the rebel person who doesn't want to have rules, and regulation that will direct their life,  they want to be a free agent, to answer to no one and limited in their believes only to their beginning and their end, and there is nothing more to it.  As if, if they believe their is nothing to lose, there is nothing to worry about.  Their beginning, starts with their birth, and their end! ends with their passing, and after that! nothing more.\n\nIf a person thinks of here and now, there is not much to lose or worry about the after life, if a person doesn't believe in the after life.\n\nRespectfully, I could be wrong, they have been wrong about us many times, I too could be wrong about them as well.
43803
Atheists are usually people who center themselves completely in reality and to the laws of science. They don't believe in the devil (technically there isn't really a religion of "satan/satanism") but they just don't have a belief system. They might believe there are powers around them or powers higher than them, but most likely, these are people who are mainly focused only in the world of logic they see in front of their eyes. \nThey might give a harsh response if you were to ask them if they believe in god and why they don't believe in a god; but then, how would you feel if someone asked you something and tried to convert you into something you really didn't believe? You can't just think that Christianity/Catholic is the only religion out there and that everyone should experience it.
361055
The term derives from two Greek words  "a" and "gnosis" which translate as "the opposite/against/un-/non-" and "to know" respectively.\n\nGnostics in the bible were ones who sought, not to know science) but to know as much as they could about God.\n\nLiterally then, an a-gnostic is one who, unlike an a-theist (who is against God), is one who wishes not to know anything about God.  However, in popular definition an agnostic who does not know what to believe about God.
356388
Agnostic is a person who believes in God, but does not in religions.
1007652
Here is the definition of agnostic.\nag·nos·tic  (g-nstk)\nn.\n1. \na. One who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God.\nb. One who is skeptical about the existence of God but does not profess true atheism.\n2. One who is doubtful or noncommittal about something.\nadj.\n1. Relating to or being an agnostic.\n2. Doubtful or noncommittal: "Though I am agnostic on what terms to use, I have no doubt that human infants come with an enormous 'acquisitiveness' for discovering patterns" William H. Calvin.\n\n--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n[a-1 + Gnostic.]\n\n--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nag·nosti·cal·ly adv.\nWord History: An agnostic does not deny the existence of God and heaven but holds that one cannot know for certain whether or not they exist. The term agnostic was fittingly coined by the 19th-century British scientist Thomas H. Huxley, who believed that only material phenomena were objects of exact knowledge. He made up the word from the prefix a-, meaning "without, not," as in amoral, and the noun Gnostic. Gnostic is related to the Greek word gnsis, "knowledge," which was used by early Christian writers to mean "higher, esoteric knowledge of spiritual things"; hence, Gnostic referred to those with such knowledge. In coining the term agnostic, Huxley was considering as "Gnostics" a group of his fellow intellectuals"ists," as he called themwho had eagerly embraced various doctrines or theories that explained the world to their satisfaction. Because he was a "man without a rag of a label to cover himself with," Huxley coined the term agnostic for himself, its first published use being in 1870.\n\nhttp://www.thefreedictionary.com/agnostic\n\nI consider myself agnostic..the short definition is "I don't know"\nagnostic=I don't know\nI am not comfortable laying claim to atheism nor do I plan to join a church.\n\nSo your definition is incorrect.\nnice try at backdoor proselytizing though.
420950
Faith - no matter the religion or lack there of faith is a common element.  Once faith is lost and there are no more believers it moves to the realm of myth.  Even the atheist and the agnostic have faith - the athiest has faith no diety exists and the agnostic has faith that someone will prove conclusively that the diety does or does not exist.