You can't reason with deluded.

Why are you debating this fellow?
Let them believe what they like.
You do the same. Discuss important stuff like whiskey, cigars, women and guns.

Agnostic = without knowledge
Atheist = without god(s)

I suspect almost everyone here is most properly an agnostic atheist. I know I am. But my chosen label is simply agnostic.

My family equates my contemplative agnosticism with satan worship.

I think you hit it right on the head as that is also how I see it. What believers and others need to understand is that if I make a positive claim for something I must have the evidence. If I tell you positively that no gods exist I have placed the burden of proof upon myself.

Agnostic (i don't know) v Atheist (i don't believe). Atheists tend to spend less time worrying about it because 'god' has no relevance to their day to day living

Hope this makes it easy. Bionic Dance on YouTube hits on this all the time.

Agnostic is a knowledge statement- I do not know if there is a God.

Atheist is a Belief statement- I do not believe there is a God.

I am 100% certain with all my knowledge and experience that there is no God I am an Atheist.

If the definition of God is something that I can not perceive or comprehend then by definition I can not claim to know what I by definition can not know so I am Agnostic.

Came across this story about Thomas Huxley defining the term agnostic. I had always thought of it as simply "without knowledge," and never noticed the "gnostic" part of a-gnostic. Since reading this I have been more confidant in calling myself agnostic, because it represents a kind of epistemology grounded in materialism and skepticism and antithetical to the mysticism of the gnostics who believed they had some sort of special knowledge revealed to them by god. [infidels.org]

I've always used a definition in discussion/debate that an agnostic follows no known religion, but could still allow themselves to pray in a time of need. Essentially they follow a religion by them selves. They are often the "I'm not religious, but I am spiritual" type. Crystals aside, they hold to a belief that something greater than them could very well exist.

An atheist believes there is no thing resembling a god in the knowable universe, and as such there is no need for prayer. Turns out there are other ways to bring around the similar effects, positive mental reinforcement, some styles of meditation, stuff like that.

An anti-theist is someone who believes religions to be poisonous. Now what's interesting is that you could technically be an agnostic anti-theist. You believe there could be a god, but he definitely doesn't write books. Same with atheist anti-theist. It's more about what you want to do with religions. An atheist could themselves believe there is no god, but lack any concern at all for religion in other peoples lives. Being an anti-theist doesn't have to be aggressive or destructive. Richard Dawkins himself tried to perpetuate the idea of "be an atheist that acts like Jesus". I thought this was a pretty fun concept, as I am all about approaching people with atheism and engaging them on beliefs, getting people to think about what they believe with rationale. It's fun, and if you're laid back and let people speak their minds, they are receptive to what you yourself have to say.

I don't think it's knowable either way if there is or isn't a god. It can never be truly knowable.

If someone tells you that they are agnostic and or atheist they are trying to impart information to you. If you refuse to accept that their definitions are what they mean by those words then that's just willful ignorance.

I've never really understood the difference myself. I consider myself an athiest, but if Jesus shows up tomorrow, I'll start believing in him. So I guess that makes me agnostic too.

God/gods do not exist for me. Call it what you will and let me know what you come up with. I'm good either way.

I'm agnostic because of what I know, or don't know in this case. I can't prove there is no doG.
I'm atheist because of what I believe, or don't believe in this case. I don't believe there is a doG.

As I understand it, an atheist actively believes in the nonexistence/absence of any sentient entity operating as the control source of the Universe. It can extend all the way to 'absolutely certain no phenomenon not currently explainable by science exists' but doesn't necessarily require universal nonbelief in all phenomena, and agnosticism is basically everything on a spectrum between 'I have no evidence to support the existence of supernatural phenomena but acknoweledge that perceptive and technological limitations may one day be overcome and reveal things we cannot now prove' to 'I'm pretty sure there's no God but I'm open to the idea' to 'I believe in something but I'm not sure what specifically and I find organized religion to be unconvincing or too intertwined with social and political influence to be satisfactory'

Interesting that you debate with Christians. You must have nerves of steel, or just enjoy frustration.

I do post links to youtube videos and articles that debunk religion on my Facebook page, in case any of my Christian friends still left (I've defriended the ones who were posting hate memes, which is a lot) want to bother to read or watch them.

True athiests believe in chaos, the universe is random and life has no purpose. They are existentialists.

Agnostics believe in a higher power (life has a purpose), not sure what exactly. These people are determinists (your life, decisions and who you marry and have children with are all pre- determined and out of your control).

Most people on here are probably agnostic cause being a true athiest can be a depressing concept to accept. You either believe in free will (athiest) or something beyond you is driving you, even if you do not know whom or why (agnostic).

I'm an atheist and I don't believe in even the possibility of a deity. Period. No.

Agnostic = without knowledge of a god’s existence.

Atheist = without belief in a god’s existence.

The two monikers tackle different topics. If you had proof that no gods existed then you could be a gnostic-atheist (someone that knows and doesn’t believe in god). But most atheists when pressed would probably have to acknowledge they are agnostic-atheists, we don’t know for certain but we lack belief. At least this is how I’ve come to understand it.

The problem is one talks about what you believe atheist or theist and agnostic and nostic talk about what you claim to know. They still havent figured it out...so some can be a agnostic atheist or theist

One is confident the other is not

Tell him there's no difference between a christian and a jew.
See what he does then.
Btw, no true atheist, prominent or not, will ever contend that there is even a possibility that there are any gods.
Not without credible, verifiable proof.
Agnostics claim not to know one way or the other.

Debating a Christian is like playing chess with a pigeon - it knocks over the peices, defecates on the board, and then flies back to its flock to brag about how it won"

Why have the discussion to begin with?.... You know better than the Christian that very likely you can't change his way because it's not rational.