[NutCrackerBoy]

I am an atheist, and that describes exactly my views regarding deities and other supernatural entities. The prefix a- means "without." A theist is someone who believes in the existence of one or more deities.

I am without deities, so I am an atheist. It's very simple.

The missing distinction is in the "-ist" which denotes advocacy or commitment. In a discourse about beliefs, atheist could mean what you say. But in a general context, I think one would no more define himself as an "atheist" than as an a-child-ist - a person without children.

[OWK]

The missing distinction is in the "-ist" which denotes advocacy or commitment.

Which the prefix "a-" negates.

[MineralMan]

"The missing distinction is in the "-ist" which denotes advocacy or commitment. In a discourse about beliefs, atheist could mean what you say. But in a general context, I think one would no more define himself as an "atheist" than as an a-child-ist - a person without children."

Not at all. All of the atheists I know refer to themselves simply as atheists. This "bright" nonsense is just that.