I've said this before, but the problem with consulting popular online dictionaries is that it will give you the multiple definitions in the context of popular vernacular instead of their true root meanings. Because, as you conveniently left out, nearly every dictionary also says atheism merely can be defined as "a lack of belief in God"; which is it's root meaning.

I believe there is a difference between anti-God (as a negative assertion God does not exist) and A-theist that you are not discerning. A-theist just means you are without the theory of god existing (or, 'theism').

Buddhists are atheists, secular humanists are atheists, agnostics are atheists. Etc. But they're not necessarily anti-god or positing there is no god.

Again, to reiterate my point above about popular online dictionaries.

As sear most accurately points out, agnosticism merely addresses what we know or do not know (hence a-gnosticism; "without knowledge"); and without definitive knowledge, we are all agnostics in theory.

I can be both agnostic and atheist. Or, I don't know so I am agnostic, but I also don't believe so I am atheist. To believe is to wish for something to be true. I could believe in God and hence be a theist, while at the same time not know God exists and hence be an agnostic.

Same here. But I don't actively believe or assert the theory of theism; therefore I am a-theist.

You told me calling you atheist (because you don't believe in theism) was offensive. This implies shame of being an atheist.

Like I said, it would be the equivalent of a Christian expressing shame for calling themselves "Christian" simply because they don't personally associate with the fundamentalist evangelist Christian movement.

I know I don't know for sure. Anyone honest enough will say that. I am agnostic in that sense also. But I also don't believe, so I am also atheist. (These terms are dealing with two completely different themes [believe- theism/atheism and knowledge [gnosticism/agnosticism]); and I think that's a difference that many people need to understand.

Not necessarily, but from what I've experienced, and from what I've seen and read about; atheists generally get the most heat from the religious community in terms of discrimination. But when you're discerning discrimination of atheists vs. agnostics, it gets really fuzzy because most censuses rightfully recognize and include 'agnostics' in the category of "atheists".

But from my experience, interestingly enough, I've gotten a lot more heat from people proclaiming themselves as "agnostics" than religious people. There tends to be the real religious zealot, but usually religious people around here tend to be a lot more tolerant than the group of people calling themselves 'agnostics'. I think I'm seeing this playing out once more even on this board. Considering agnostics and atheists have a lot more in common as opposed to atheists and theists (considering atheists are agnostics and very often vice versa), I have no idea why this phenomena happens.

Not really. Usually the only time I find people confused about the true definition of the word atheist (or simply 'without theism') is with the people calling themselves 'agnostics'. Usually when I say I'm atheist to a Christian or someone, they say something to the effect of "Oh, so that means you just don't believe in God, right?". Which is correct.

If they really want to know if I'm "strong atheist" or not, I could explain it to them. In other words, every time someone says they're Christian, I don't assume that they're fundamentalists. So I don't see why you should assume automatically that atheists are "strong atheists".

Like I said, think of theism as a hair color. It posits hair, and a color of hair. Atheism is just without the hair; so in this case, an atheist would be bald. Saying atheism is a positive is like saying bald is a hair color.

Not really, I explained myself above.

Hmmm, well like I said; I generally get a lot more hostility from agnostics than theists. Perhaps it stems from the mindset that both "theism" and "atheism" equates lying dishonest fundamentalist wacko. When such a black-and-white broad stroke couldn't be further from the truth.

No, your disassociating from atheism would be equivalent to a Christian denying that he/she is a Christian but instead a "protestant"; as if protestantism wasn't Christian? Well, agnosticism is (or, can be) a form of atheism; being that, an agnostic (in your context) does not believe in god.