Atheist/Agnostic?

Question

What's the difference between these two?

So if you think there might be a god/God but you don't actually believe in them then that would make you a atheist right? So atheist is just not believing thinking there is absolutely no god/God and Agnostic is just saying you don't believe but their ''may'' be one out there? Sorry!! I'm just really confused by this!

Answer 1

'Agnostic' has to do with 'knowledge' (Greek 'gnosis'). 'Atheist' has to do with 'belief'.

Consider the following sentences:

(1) "I do not (can not) KNOW whether god does or does not exist.

(2) "I DO NOT BELIEVE that god exists."

(3) "I BELIEVE that god DOES NOT exist."

(1) is generally taken to be the 'agnostic' position...

(2) DEFINES 'atheist'... a LACK of belief in the existence of gods. But even though this DEFINES 'atheist', it is sometimes referred to as the 'weak' atheist position... also known as the 'atheist-agnostic' position...

(3) is sometimes referred to as the 'strong' atheist position.

Notice that (2) (weak atheist position) is also TRUE for both (1) and (3). Also, pay particular attention to the qualitative difference between (2) and (3)... if you can perceive that difference, then you should be able to appreciate that there is NOTHING about (2) which is 'faith-based'.

If you don't 'know' whether or not god exists (1), then you do not 'believe' in god (2).

If you 'believe' that god DOES NOT exist (3), then you do not 'believe' that god exists (2).

So, the common denominator between 'agnostic' and 'atheist' is that neither position harbors a 'belief' in god... and thus, both are 'non-believers'. So... all agnostics are atheists... but not all atheists are agnostics.

This also seems to be the only position that makes sense, since for someone to say that they 'believe' that there is no god implies a logical proposition that 'god DOES NOT exist = true'. THAT implies that there must be some kind of logical 'proof' for that assertion... and, of course, since it is impossible to prove such a thing in the absence of infinite knowledge, it is no more than a red herring. Further... if you possessed the infinite knowledge necessary to 'prove' such a logical proposition, then you would fulfill the definition of a god yourself, and end up in a 'Divine Paradox'. Thus, position (3) is logically untenable... just the same as religious 'belief' is untenable.

The weak atheist position (2) is characterized by an ABSENSE of belief, brought about by the lack of evidence that should be necessary to initiate or sustain such a 'belief'. In this sense, the absence of belief in god is equivalent to an absence of belief in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, Thor, Garden Gnomes, Bridge Trolls and a china teapot in orbit around the sun (Bertrand Russell). The weak atheist (agnostic) position bears no burden of proof, since it is not asserting anything to be 'true'. This position merely finds that there is no compelling evidence to support the idea that supernatural sky-fairies (gods) exist.

As always, it should be understood that when I say 'belief', I am referring to an internalized (part of one's self-description) certainty that one knows the 'TRUTH' pertaining to matters regarding fundamental aspects of existence and/or reality. Such convictions do not represent knowledge... they represent self-delusion.

-- Faith (wishful, magical thinking) is a lame and pathetic SUBSTITUTE for evidence.

-- Belief (the internalized certainty that one knows the
truth' pertaining to some fundamental aspect of existence and/or reality) is a lame and pathetic substitute for knowledge (the ILLUSION of knowledge).

-- Faith + Belief = willful ignorance and self-delusion.

Personally, I think that dogmatic, faith-based 'belief' itself is the culprit and the enemy. Belief is an insidious mind-killer... it effectively cuts one off from the intellectually honest and open-minded consideration of alternative possibilities. I am not so much anti-religion as I am anti-belief... which is the same thing as being anti-delusion. I harbor no respect for the beliefs of people who base their world view in the myths, superstitions, fairy tales and fantastical delusions of an ignorant bunch of Bronze Age fishernmen and peripatetic (parapathetic?) militant goat herders... i.e., members of the Abrahamic death-cults of desert monotheism.

However, I DO respect their innate human right to delude themselves in any form or fashion that they deem fit... up until the point where they start to annoy me. (And my threshold on that is pretty low.)

"An agnostic is basically an atheist without any balls." ~ Stephen Colbert

Answer 2

Agnosticism is an unnecessary term as a means of self-description. As atheism is literally defined as "without the belief in god or gods", all agnostics are thus atheists as well. Its atheism with an added principle added onto it that is in no way important enough to warrant an entirely different word as a means for self-description.

Either way, it means youre not a blind, sheepish dogmatist, you dont go to church, and you dont think the bible or any other book is the word of any god.

Answer 3

Atheists have no belief in any God.

Agnostics believe there is no way to know whether there is a God or not. Some also characterize themselves as religionless.

Answer 4

Atheist - Deities? Well that's a silly idea...fake.
Agnostic - I'm not sure, it might exist, might not.

Edit: Atheists do not believe at all. Agnostics generally think it *might* be real (or not). Atheist = No. Agnostic = Not sure.

Answer 5

an atheist feels that ther is no god. period end of story, no wiggle room for discussion. an agnostic doesnt feel like there is any proof and no real way of knowing but leaves the door open to the possibility of there being something out there.

Answer 6

apples and oranges. agnostics don't know about god. atheists don't believe in god. they are not directly comparable, it is possible for one person to be both although for simplicity they will usually choose one term or the other to describe themselves.

Answer 7

atheism = lack of belief in god(s)
agnosticism : says that it's impossible to know whether god(s) exist or not.

it's possible to be an agnostic atheist, somebody who doesn't believe in a god but doesn't think we can know for sure.

Answer 8

Here's a definition that will help you:

Theist: Smart person on the right path
Atheist: Arrogant fool who only believes in what he reads in science books published by liberal universities
Agnostic: Slightly less foolish person with at least some courage to admit he doesn't know everything.

Answer 9

Atheist means that there is no god. Everything is purely rational, purely scientific and factual. Nothing to guess about, nothing to have faith in.
Agnostic, on the other hand, is belief that there is probably something out there. However, the person does not wish to guess about it because there is no proof.

Answer 10

There's some overlap, but atheism refers to nonbeief in god(s), and atheism pertains to the inability to know about the existence of god(s).