I don't believe in god...so I am atheist....I really don't know if there is or is not a god...so I am also agnostic....makes sense to me...

Agnostic and Atheist refer to different things.

Agnostic means it is NOT possible to be 100% certain. It is the opposite of Gnostic, which means it IS possible to be 100% certain.

Atheist means you do not believe in a God, or Gods. It is the opposite of Theist, which means you do believe in a God, or Gods.

It is possible to be an Agnostic Atheist - you don’t believe in god(s), but don’t claim to know with 100% certainty.

It is also possible to be an Agnostic Theist - you believe in god(s), but don’t claim to know with 100% certainty.

Just like it’s possible to be a Gnostic Atheist (believe 100% there is no god or gods) or a Gnostic Theist (believe 100% there IS a god or gods).

That made me think of this quote: "I don't know if God exists, but it would be better for His reputation if He didn't." - Jules Renard

I am an atheist who doesn’t know if there is a god (agnostic). If I am presented with valid evidence (note; holy books do not count) for a god I will now know (hint, not believe) that this god exists. Of course evidence makes faith unnecessary.

Atheism and agnosticism are answers different questions. One of them has do with what you believe and the other has do with what you know. The prefix "a-" means without. Theism is a belief in a god or gods so atheism is without a belief in a god or gods. Gnostic comes from the Greek word meaning knowledge so agnostic means without knowledge. There are basically 4 positions at the very top level regarding a god or gods: agnostic atheist, agnostic theist, gnostic atheist, and gnostic theist. I am an agnostic atheist so I am without a belief in god and without knowledge whether a god exists or not. Or to put it another way: I am not convinced that a god exists but I also do not assert as fact that no gods exist or that the existence of a god is impossible. Most Christians would probably be gnostic theists because they have a belief in god and claim to have personal knowledge that he exists.

I am sceptical about thousands of concepts that are unproven either way, such as the Multiverse. I am anti-theist about gods that are described by organized religions. I am agnostic about alleged gods that may have started this "simulation".

I don't assume to know the color of a building - on the far side.

[bing.com]PO7qlttW97WZji-XBcwFpXow8E56zaTjaZNfL0xbIoD9xr%2fgnosticism_graph.png&exph=341&expw=500&q=agnostic%2c+atheist%2c+theist%2c+agnostic+graph&simid=608012620061608029&selectedIndex=6&ajaxhist=0

i will belatedly add a thought: atheist has two definitions. one is someone who does not believe there are any gods. the other is someone who believes there are no gods. either way, the atheist doesn't claim knowledge, just belief of lack thereof. an agnostic is also someone who does not claim knowledge. there is no definitional aspect of agnosticism with regard to belief. an agnostic can be either kind of atheist, or undecided or indifferent, neither of those last being compatible with atheism, so an agnostic might or might not be an atheist. asking how you can be both agnostic and atheist is like asking how someone who likes potatoes can like rice. you can like either, neither or both, or one better than the other....

g

I think the only honest answer to the question "is there a god?" is "I don't know". If the the question is "do you believe there's a god?", my answer is no. That makes me an agnostic atheist.

Just thought of another example. I have no evidence for and lots of evidence against faster than light travel (so I am basically atheistic on FTL). But I do not know that it really is impossible (agnostic). And, like any rational being, I am open to such evidence should it appear. The concept of god is in the same situation. Descriptions of god and ftl are, at least at the moment, the province of fiction.

They can't and being an agnostic to me is playing the middle of the fence and trying to have it both ways.

i don't think most people who are one also are the other, so it's kind of an insignificant question. i suppose it is possible for the reasons cited by others below. i am not both. i'm an atheist.

g

The way I see it, Gnisticism was a beliefsystem during the earliestdays ofChristianity. It was branded as atheist as the Church realized its beliefsmade it difficult to organize a patriarchal institution. Gnosticism is not atheistic, just hereticalfrom the perspectives of institutionalized religion.

Religion, perhaps the only mental illness or even illness for which society has to use a special term other than sane and/or healthy.

They mean the exact same thing

If you are not 100 percent convinced there is a god, you are an atheist period. There is no in between, no sitting on the fence.The word agnostic should not exist.

As previously stated, agnosticism is pertaining knowledge while atheist is pertaining belief. I'm an agnostic atheist. I don't know there are no God's but I am not convinced there are any.

We are all agnostic in that no one KNOWS a god exists or not. There are many who claim they do but that's all part of the delusion. However when it comes believing a god exists or not we are either atheists or theists. That means, just like TheKranium stated below, we are either agnostic theists or agnostic atheists.

Actually you have said question which I could not somhow uttered yet.

Of course you can ! For those who have social OCD will find such duel labeling confusing. Just as I call my self a christian atheist or that this spell check thinks I should capitalize christian. Labels are an aid and not a definition. Our personal definitions lead to this constant debate and chatter.

Agnostic} Probably not a god.. Atheists} not a god. Simplistic but nutshell version.

Hmmm...