In rec.crafts.metalworking Strabo wrote:

[JD]
Atheism is characterized by an absence of belief in the existence
of gods. I don't have to claim that no god exists to be an atheist.

No, you certainly don't have to but that's what you're doing
when you associate with 'atheist'.

You then freely admit that I can be an atheist without claiming the
non-existence of god.

Read my post to 'shu'.

I did. I'm not convinced.

An atheist means more than an *absence of belief* in a god;
the atheist states that he *knows* there is no god.

A-theist = Without theism. My life exists in a state without
any gods or religion. These are human constructs much like the
tooth fairy. I do not need to claim the non-existence of god to
be an atheist--I simply need to be without god.

Sounds like you are an agnostic. An honest postion.

No. To me agnostics are confused fence-sitters--as some one else
put it: perhaps not quite ready to be known as godless infidels.

That's true though libertarians must have a strong sense
of principle and morality otherwise minimal self-government
won't work. Hence the relevance of religion or spirituality.

Religion and/or spirituality are irrelevant. You are begining
to sound like my parents when they forced me to attend church
as a youth because they could not imagine where I would get a
set or "morals" if not from the spiritual guidance that religion
offers. I am a moral man without religion.

I do believe in intrisic "rights" but disagree that this must
require me to be religious.

Libertarianism is not simply a political party, it's a way of
life.

This I agree with. We'll just have to agree to disagree
on the rest.

Jeff