Question

It is customary to regard a person who says he believes in God as a theist, and one who does not believe as an atheist. I wonder how meaningful these definitions are in themselves, both from a Jewish and a non-Jewish perspective.
A person who declares that he believes in God but does not think this obligates good behavior (a deist, or someone who denies reward and/or punishment) seemingly gives a declaration with no real meaning, since we are talking about a God who has no practical relevance. On the other hand, an atheist who declares a deontological commitment to values is, in practical terms, committed to what we call the will of God, except that he simply calls it by another name.
It is similar to a person who declares that he does not believe in an entity called “the state” but is nevertheless committed to its laws, and conversely a person who believes in the state but does not think its existence has any practical relevance because he denies the existence of any laws at all. Seemingly, in practice the first does believe in the state and the second does not, despite their declarations to the contrary.
 
Am I right?