[Gabriel Reproba]

This seems to be coming up more and more these days. Unsaved trash are waltzing in here and saying things like, "I'm not an atheist...I'm an agnostic," as if there were a difference. I have had to reply to so many of these deluded souls that I felt compelled to lay out the definitions so that they would see that they are, indeed, atheists and, hopefully, realize that they are going to burn in a lake of fire for all eternity unless they change their ways.

First, let's look at the dictionary definitions of some key terms:

(Taken from dictionary.com)

atheist — n
1. a person who does not believe in God or gods

agnostic — n
1. a person who holds that knowledge of a Supreme Being, ultimate cause, etc, is impossible

be·lieve – v
1. to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so: Only if one believes in something can one act purposefully.

If you question these, go look them up. Go ahead. I'll wait.

Now, if you do not agree with these definitions, I humbly submit that your visits here are done since you are trying to alter the American language for the feeble purpose of making yourself feel better. You are in denial.

Once people start altering reality to fit with their own emotional desires and irrational fears, you end up in crazy town with a bunch of people talking nonsense to make each other feel better.

OK. All of the crazy dictionary denialists gone? Good. So, assuming you DO agree with these definitions, (and maybe even took the 60 seconds to look them up yourself), let's examine a simple syllogism that addresses the core of your confusion.

1) An atheist is one who does not believe in any gods.
2) An agnostic does not believe in any gods.
3) ERGO: An agnostic is an atheist.

The key to most people's confusion here is statement two. They think that by saying "I just don't know if there are any gods or not" they are somehow excluded from the group of people who don't believe in God. It is a very simple thing to illustrate the fallacy here. Ask them, "Do you believe in a god or gods?" Did they answer "yes?" If they did not answer "yes," then -- no matter what else they may have said -- they do not "believe." Ergo, they are an atheist.

Looking at it a different way, you can use the definitions we found and some simple phrase substitutions and you get the same result. For example, go back to the dictionary and read the definition of "believe" again. Now...let me ask you one simple question, "Do you currently believe any gods exist?"

Or, substituting the dictionary definition of believe: "Do you to 'have confidence in the existence' of any gods?"

Since the agnostic position is that they can never know if there are any gods or not, these means that you do NOT have "confidence" in the existence of any gods. So, since you do not believe in any gods, we go back to the definition of an atheist and find that you satisfy it. You are currently "a-" (without) "theistic" (a belief in gods); or "without a belief in gods." End of sentence. Full stop. It doesn't mean that you are not open to the possibility that some evidence might be presented to you sometime in the future that would convince you of the existence of a god, it just means that AT THIS TIME, you don't believe in any gods.

Let's be clear. This is a life or death issue. That said, PLEASE point out where I have gotten ANY of this wrong. I am open to any valid criticism of this you may have. Just don't whine that you don't LIKE being called an atheist. Like I said: as soon as you start trying to change reality to fit your emotional needs, you step into crazy town.

I hope this helps you see the error of your ways and prepare yourself for eternal torment in Hell's lake of fire. Take care!


PS: I just had a thought. Perhaps you are confusing "agnostic" with "weak atheist?" There are strong and weak atheists. Strong atheists assert that not only do they not believe in any gods, but that there is enough evidence to actively believe that there are no gods. (A subtle but important difference.) Weak atheists merely say that they do not believe in any gods, but that you can't ever say that "there are no gods" because, no matter how unlikely they think it to be, there just might be something out there that qualifies as a "god."

Both types of atheists are going to burn in Hell equally because the Bible makes it very clear that God accepts nothing but full, complete, unquestioning belief, but it is nice to come to a full understanding of yourself before meeting the Devil, wouldn't you say?