Proper defintions of "Atheist," "Gnostic," and "Agnostic"

Saying that an Atheist is someone who "lacks a belief in God" is to strip the word of any meaning at all.  If that's the definition, then rocks are atheists.  So are trees, rivers, clouds, and cell phones.  "Someone who lacks a belief in God" is not a statement about eternal truth, it's a statement about an internal position.  It's not about God, it's about you. 

But this definition of "Atheist" is fairly new.  it's not the definition of classical atheists like philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.  His definition was more direct: Atheist, coming from the Greek prefix for "no" and the Greek word for "God."  That is, classically, the word "Atheist" meant someone who denies the existence of God.

But when Theists rightly began pointing out that an assertion of this type is a truth claim, and therefore the burden of proof was on the one making the claim, the definition shifted to the amorphous mess used by people like Dawkins and Harris today.  For more discussion on "Atheist," search YouTube for "William Lane Craig The Definition that will not die." 

"Gnostic," from the Greek "Gnosis," meaning "Knowledge, refers to a specific sect of theists which arose in the second century and survives today in the form of the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons, as well as a few other cult groups.  They believed that Jesus entrusted His apostles with special, secret knowledge and that the only way to truly be saved was to go through the initiation rites where this secret knowledge would be imparted to you.  This, for example, is the reason for the secret ceremonies inside the Mormon temples. 

An Agnostic is one who simply does not know.  From the Greek "Ag" meaning "without" and "gnosis," knowledge.  An Agnostic is one who allows for the possibility that there may be a God, or there may not be, but claims to have no knowledge of the objective truth of God themselves. 

These are the correct definitions.  Niel deGrasse Tyson uses these definitions and agrees with me that the Atheistic position is indefensible.  Tyson calls himself an Agnostic, which is a position I respect. 

I hope that is helpful.



Click HERE to see Dr. Craig's video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5W4GDXBNwbs&t=4s