3 Fools, Part 1: Fools Rush in Where Atheists Love to Tread

The fool has said in his heart,
“There is no God.”

Psalm 14:1

 

I was meditating on this today. Meditation sounds rather grand. What happened is that my thoughts came onto this verse (for no particular reason) as I was going about my duties and I lingered on it a while. It was unplanned but I indulged it a while.

 

This verse comes to my mind most forcefully when I think about atheism. This is what the bible says. Its not my personal opinion, born of my own reason. There are some extremely intelligent atheists, many among my peers, who have far better powers of reasoning and scientific understanding than my own. But the bible seems to say that regardless of this they are fools.

 

A recent post on a friends facebook page prompted a brief online discussion which I think informs what I would like to say here. There was a picture of a child in a font, clearly very upset about the process of baptism that they were undergoing. The caption read something very close to "There is no such thing as religious children, only children of religious parents". I actually believe in adult baptism so I had some sympathy with the sentiment but this is besides the point. My response to the post was to say that there is no such thing as atheist children. The default position is not atheism, in my opinion, as this is a considered belief system as complex in its out workings as theism.

 

This discussion came back to my mind as I thought about atheism. Firstly I wondered if belief in God (or any deities, for that matter) were truly, as my friend had suggested, "purely a human construct".  I can only speak with any authority (and very limited at that) on my own experience of childhood. Before I was fully taught the ways of my parents religion, and during too, if I am honest, I did not have a definite knowledge or understanding of God, or the concept of God. It was taught to me. That's why we have scriptures; to preserve the knowledge in order that we may pass it on. I cannot conclude that I was born 'religious'. So far the photo's caption holds true.

On the other hand I was not born with an innate disposition towards disbelief. Quite the opposite, in fact. I was born hungry for knowledge, hungry for beliefs that would sustain me, as all humans are (whatever conclusions they may arrive at). I think we are supposed to work it out.

 

But to suggest that atheism is a default position of humanity is, in my opinion, still a folly. Before atheism was "discovered" kaleidoscopes of belief systems have been rife across history and humanity. Humans, it seems, will believe almost anything. It has been mainly the "enlightenment" that has fuelled the brand of atheism we see today, backed up today with The scriptures of Dawkins and Darwin. Atheism in this form is a relatively new phenomenon. I cant claim to know my history inside out, and I am sure there have been all manner of skeptics and unbelievers since the very beginings of history, but it strikes me that this is not the kind of Atheism that the Psalmist is addressing. Atheism as a human construct, as most of us understand it did not yet exist.

 

So what does he mean? What is this foolishness he seems to speak of? I want to suggest here that the foolishness does not refer to Atheism. Atheism is almost unheard of. The fool has not said in his heart." I conclude through a rational analysis of the facts to hand that I see no evidence for the existence of a higher power". It is not an intellectual denial of God that is being spoken of here (though naturally I am not going to say there is any wisdom in doing that!).

 

The fool has said it "In his heart". Not his head. In his heart. It's an emotional response, primarily. This is not about reason, its about evasion. Before I develop this I need to point out another observation. It is not clear here, which came first. The density or the denial. The foolishness or the faithlessness. He says the fool HAS said, past tense. Has he said there is no God because he is a fool?(the implication being there is no understanding) or is he a fool because this is the conclusion he arrives at? I believe it to be the latter.

Why has he said this in his heart? It is often the case that Christians are accused of interpreting the facts in light of the beliefs they already hold. The scientific method is to form beliefs in the light of the facts that are uncovered. In this case we see clearly the deepest motivation for concluding there is no God. Its about a freedom from responsibility and, more significantly, from accountability.

The fool of this psalm is not saying there is no God. He is saying he will not be ruled and he is saying he will not be found out. Essentially, 'there is no God, therefore I can do what I like. HE (God) will not see and I will not have to pay for my actions'.

This is foolishness on many levels. Let me briefly highlight a couple.

Firstly it is foolishness because there is a God. They have not truly sought to discover the reality of God but rather arrived at a conclusion which suits their ends. The emotional equivalent of an anti-science approach they have interpreted the "facts" in a way which confirms their pre-disposition. It is foolishness in the same sense that it would be to walk into a lion enclosure because you simply can't see any lions at the entrance.
Next, it is foolish because they, the bible says, are in denial. They have effectively duped themselves.

It is a foolishness because there will be consequences to face. The bible says clearly that God will not be mocked. There will be a reckoning and all must give an account for every foolish word uttered.

It is foolishness because in their fear of being ruled they have turned their back on the one person who truly loves and accepts them for who they really are, the one who can save them. They have denied themselves the joy of living a life with divine purpose, they do not know the pleasure of Gods love seeking them out, forgiving, renewing and cleaning them constantly. They do not share in the knowledge of the one who is for them in whatever they go through. They deny themselves the comfort of knowing they are never alone.

And they are foolish because in spite of all of this, they think they are better off.

They fear the very idea of God. They miss the love and mercy that accompanies his justice and righteousness. Fear can stop you loving. If only they realised, love can stop their fears.