Percy is a Deist - Now what's the difference between a deist and an atheist?

I grew up a Baha'i. In college, I started formally exploring philosophy and logic, and moved away from religion in general. I became more aware of the very retarded things people were doing and saying in the name of religion, and tried to distance myself from them.But I never quite became an atheist.I harbor a suspicion that some intelligence had a hand in our creation. I'm not sure enough of this suspicion to advocate the idea, but it remains something I mull over as I get older.It took me until I was ~35 to discover that I was a deist. Speaking only for myself, I reject almost every theological interpretation of God I've ever heard, and believe that whatever caused this whole thing to start existing, it generally evolves according to natural laws.So, there's no special pleading coming from me. I simply refuse to talk about God as if I really know what he/she/it is like or wants. I have ideas, but they're no better than anyone else's. I would prefer to live a naturalistic life in the meantime...IRT Minnemooseus' OP, I agree that the distinction between deist and atheist is fine. I occasionally wonder if I'm simply too "scared" to admit to myself that I'm an atheist Edited by Whateverman, : No reason given.

I was being cautious; I don't accept any of them, as defined by theists. Polling all of the theologies I've encountered, I like bits and pieces - such as God really not caring where I put my naughty bits, or that all religions are essentially trying to get to the same place. But these "likes" of mine don't necessarily equate to characteristics of a real God if he/she/it/they exist(s).EDIT: Onifre, I tend to like aspects of the Baha'i conception. I also think some of general ideas of compassion found in Christianity and Judaism make sense. Beyond that, the God I believe in (cautiously) doesn't resemble any theology I'm familiar with. I find the cosmological argument to be compelling I don't want to quibble about definitions, as there's a lot of overlap between strong/weak atheism/agnosticism. I think I agree that atheism/agnosticism is the most logical default position. For me, though, I do actually think something exists - I can't make the leap to "a lack of belief or knowledge".But that's just me. Maybe it'll change over the next few decades...Edited by Whateverman, : I don't think I answered the question the first time around. Added an "edit" explanation.

This is exactly what I went through.Thanks for the Welcome, Razd. I'm going to read through the essays in your signature over the next few days. So far, this forum looks interesting pretty interesting in general...