In"fi*del, n. One who does not believe in the prevailing religious
faith; especially, one who does not believe in the divine origin and
authority of Christianity; a Mohammedan; a heathen; a freethinker.
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. 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.
In`fi*del"i*ty (?), n.; pl. Infidelities (&?;). [L. infidelitas: cf. F.
infidélité.]
1. Want of faith or belief in some religious system; especially, a want
of faith in, or disbelief of, the inspiration of the Scriptures, of the
divine origin of Christianity.
There is, indeed, no doubt but that vanity is one of the principal
causes of infidelity.