Note: Infidel is used by English writers to translate the
equivalent word used Mohammedans in speaking of
Christians and other disbelievers in Mohammedanism.
Syn: {Infidel}, {Unbeliever}, {Freethinker}, {Deist},
{Atheist}, {Sceptic}, {Agnostic}.
Usage: An infidel, in common usage, is one who denies
Christianity and the truth of the Scriptures. Some
have endeavored to widen the sense of infidel so as to
embrace atheism and every form of unbelief; but this
use does not generally prevail. A freethinker is now
only another name for an infidel. An unbeliever is not
necessarily a disbeliever or infidel, because he may
still be inquiring after evidence to satisfy his mind;
the word, however, is more commonly used in the
extreme sense. A deist believes in one God and a
divine providence, but rejects revelation. An atheist
denies the being of God. A sceptic is one whose faith
in the credibility of evidence is weakened or
destroyed, so that religion, to the same extent, has
no practical hold on his mind. An agnostic remains in
a state of suspended judgment, neither affirming nor
denying the existence of a personal Deity.
The infidel writer is a great enemy to society. --V.
Knox.