Psalm 14

Well, David isn’t so sympathetic to the atheist position, here: “Only fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!” (vs 1) This is a little counter-cultural in our day and age. We believe that people don’t have to believe in God to be good (just be good for goodness sake). We believe in the more refined notion of tolerance for different opinions on this and many other topics.

Today, we probably wouldn’t be quick to call an atheist a “fool,” but David does. He’s not the only one. The Apostle Paul also wrote on this subject and explained how those who deny the existence of God are left without an excuse:

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darknened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.” (Rom 1:18-24)

Paul seems to be saying that there is really no such thing as an atheist. Now, this doesn’t mean that there aren’t well-meaning and honest atheists in the world right now who have yet to have an encounter with God. It just means that at some point and in some way, God will undeniably make Himself known to them. And when that time comes, they will have to decide what they’re going to do with Him.

Once they know there is a God, if they then decide to continue living as though there isn’t a God, they are undoubtedly fools. And more than that, Paul says this leads to degradation of the worst kind, just as David continued on to say, “They are corrupt, and their actions are evil.” That’s the result of such foolishness.

Could there be any other outcome? If we are willing to go against what we know to be true, how can we hope to end up anything but a fool? If we’re not even willing to be honest with ourselves, what will become of our ability to reason? We will embark on a downward spiral from which there is no return.

But nobody enters that downward spiral unwillingly or unwittingly. This much I can honestly say to any atheist: If there is a God, you will know it for sure. You will not have to wonder. At some point, there will be no doubt in your mind. What may be known about God will be plain to you, for God Himself will make it plain to you. At that point, you may decide to continue living as an atheist, but deep inside, you will know the truth. Until that time, you have every excuse (and, may I say, every right) to live as if He doesn’t exist.

But He does exist. And if you don’t know it yet, don’t worry, you will.