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Originally Posted by sworkhard
Since when? I've always understood an atheist is someone who believes there is no god or doesn't believe there is a god. If you are certain there is no god, regardless of evidence/lack thereof, then you are by definition a Gnostic Atheist. Atheism is not by definition based on proof.
Of course, many Athiests base their beliefs on what science has found and due to lack of proof that there is a god, and by definition these are Agnostic Athiests.
It comes down to the difference in the following:.
'I believe there is no god' vs 'I don't believe there is a god'.
A Gnostic Athiest will be a person who thinks a long the lines of the first statement, as to belief is to be certain in your own mind, regardless of the evidence.
An Agnostic Athiest will think along the lines of the second statement. Their don't believe there is a god due to to lack of evidence. They are uncertain and profess an unbelief as opposed to a belief.
Edit:
Agnostic Thiests/Athists think there is/isn't a god, while Gnostic Thiests/Athiests believe there is/isn't a god.
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Professing a belief due to faith despite a lack of evidance is different philosophically from not believing in something due to lack of evidence.
An atheist by their own standard of proof cannot be certain where as a christian can, ask an atheist, even Dawkins, if they can be certain there is no god and they will tell you no they can't, it is inherent in the reason they are an athiest.
Ask a christian if they can be certain there is a god and they will tell you they can be, certainty in spite of lack of proof is absoloutly inherent in a religeous belief.