Originally Posted by Zolan
Technically the majority of people are simply Agnostic. That is my point.
You cannot call yourself an Atheist if you do not believe with 100% certainty that a God does not exist. It is at this point that you cease to be an Atheist, as you must accept that you cannot be certain. Because you accept that you cannot be certain, you are by definition Agnostic.
If Atheist and Theist do not entail 100% certainty of belief, then the terms have no purpose, as everyone is simply described by the term Agnostic. If this is the case, then no term exists that describes 100% certainty in belief that a God does or does not exist.
The only alternative is that the terms Atheist and Theist entail certainty of belief.
Gnostic comes from Greek, meaning "learned" or "knowledge."
The term refers only to knowledge and proof, not belief. This is why the terms Gnostic Atheist and Gnostic Theist are possible.
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The 'I am 100% certain that gods don't exist' position is called Strong Atheism. The 'I do not believe in gods because there is no evidence for them' is called Weak Atheism. This has been brought up before in this thread. I know it's long and a hefty read, but we are covering already-trodden ground.