OK, that isn't the definition of atheist I have come across but if you are only using it in the weak sense of "I don't positively believe in any god or gods" then that's fine. Here for comparison purposes are the definitions from Wiktionary. I generally assume that definitions 1 or 3 are the most usual ones, for example I would assume Richard Dawkins generally subscribes to definition 1. (I'm not sure I even understand definition 2.) I guess you are adding a 5th definition, "Someone who doesn't have a definite belief that deities do exist" - which can include what I would generally think of as agnostic, in fact it's half the definition of an agnostic, which is someone who doesn't have a strong belief either way.
1. (narrowly) A person who believes that no deities <http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/deity> exist (especially, one who has no other religious belief). [quotations ▼] 2. (broadly) A person who rejects belief that any deities exist (whether or not that person believes that deities do not exist). [quotations ▼] 3. (loosely <http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/loosely#Adverb>) A person who has no belief in any deities, such as a person who has no concept of deities. [quotations ▼] 4. (loosely <http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/loosely#Adverb>, uncommon) A person who does not believe in a particular deity (or any deity in a particular pantheon <http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pantheon>), notwithstanding that they may believe in another deity. I guess there is a sort of truth table involved here. Believe In God(s) existing = Theist Believe that no God(s) exist = (Strong) Atheist Don't believe or disbelieve In God(s) existing = Agnostic Don't believe in God(s) existing, and don't want to say whether or not they believe that God(s) don't exist = (Brent) Atheist I will try to bear that in mind in any future discussions. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
