“Bob, My daughter claims to be a humanist. Is there a difference between an atheist and a humanist?”

They are technically different, although often a humanist will call himself an atheist as well. Humanists believe that God is unreachable and irrelevant to human affairs even if He does exist, and that people are in charge of their own destiny.

On the other hand,  an atheist is convinced that all arguments put forth so far for the existence of God are bad ones. If he ever encounters a better case, he will consider it, but in the meantime, he has reached the tentative conclusion that God does not live. He also feels that the suffering of the world is evidence for the nonexistence of God.

Many professing atheists do not define themselves so specifically. The above description would be used by those who actually organize themselves into atheist clubs. Often, without thinking of all the implications, and without being involved with any kind of association, some person will simply say, “God does not exist,” or “I do not believe in God.”  Although such people also call themselves atheists, they should not be confused with those who would define their atheism more carefully.

Of course, both humanists and atheists are making one major blunder: They are far too quick to assume that God is not making Himself known. Neither have they thought about the implications of a universe apart from a creator.  There can be no purpose to life if we exist by randomness and chance and no body lives his/her life as if they were a mere accident. This means that even an atheist lives as if there is a God.

An agnostic is one who has not made up his mind about God and remains open. Next to theism, I find that position to be the most intellectually honest.

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