>>10197
Most people do get defensive when people declare them to be wrong about their own self-label. "Agnostic" in common usage can mean "someone who doesn't know whether God exists or not." "Atheist" in common usage can mean "someone who denies God's existence."
These are not the only definitions of these terms. But they are legitimate ones, purely by virtue of being in common usage and due to NOT standing in disagreement with the usage of atheist philosophers or etymology.
I just don't understand why so many people insist that "atheist" and "agnostic" have to be defined only one way–especially when that way is contrary to common usage.