Psalm 14:1 – “No God”
I think many of us know Psalm 14:1 by heart: “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” But apparently I did not know the meaning of this verse by heart. Actually the two words, “there is” are not in the Hebrew text. The verse should more accurately be translated: “The fool says in his heart, ‘No God.’” It’s not that the fool does not believe in God’s existence but that for him/her God is unnecessary. As Lawson writes,
“The term is a synonym for sinner, and it describes everyone who has no place for God in his or her life. The fool’s problem is that his heart refuses the knowledge of God. To be sure, he is not an intellectual atheist, denying the existence of God, but a practical atheist, living as if there were no God (Pss. 53:1; 74:18,22; Isa. 32:6).” [Holman Old Testament Commentary: Psalms 1-75, p. 75]
Posted on August 2, 2006, in Atheism, Biblical Quotes, Doctrine, Exegesis, Great Quotes, Sinfulness, Unbelief, Wickedness of the heart. Bookmark the permalink. 12 Comments.
Hi tony Are you sure your in the right place?This is for atheist not religious people.Shame on you.You are wasting your time.i do not need your god.I am a very happy and healthy 70 year old with a good mind.My power comes from me not outside myself.I am sorry you are such a sinner.I fine most religious people to be weak.i love atheist people,they are strong and responsible.Not a begging bone in thier body.Your going to teach your children to be weak like you.What a waste.Good luck in life you will need it. shirley
Shirley,
I am saddened to hear this. No doubt in the coming few years your health will begin to fail. This is a good reminder that in ourselves we will ultimately fail (myself included). Living daily by faith in the sovereign God is the source of all my strength to succeed as I do in this world. I am confident, bold, aspiring and intellectually successful. And there are many more Christians that are superior in intellect and success. Shirley, please reconsider your conclusions and keep an open mind to those that differ and especially those who are pleading with you to consider differently. True and enduring strength is found in weakness.
Please consider downloading and reading the free book, Come Unto Me from the right column of this blog for more information on the bible’s message.
Praying for you,
Tony
Hi! I stumbled across this page, by what I thought was an accident. Tony, your words are extremely inspiring. And Shirley, your heart seems to be very strong. God loves you, and is waiting for you. I will be praying for you.
Your friend, in Christ,
Cat
There is a grammatical matter that is generally overlooked in comments on this (and its parallel in Psalm 53): “The fool” is singular. The next part is plural, with “they” supposedly refers to the fool as its precedent. Whether in English or in Hebrew, there must be agreement in number between a term and and it precedent. This is not the case in these verses.
There is only one term that qualifies as a plural, and that is the Hebrew translated as “God,” and that word is “elohim.” It is the plural of “elohe.” But why would “elohim” be considered corrupt and not doers of good?
Could the solution of the singular and plural usage be something like the following? A person who says “no” to God is a fool. These kinds of people are corrupt morally and their works are abhorrent. Not a one of such kind does good in the sense of pleasing God.
Kenneth, could it be that the fool has said in his heart that Elohiym are corrupt and do evil?
I know this passage, it is one of my favorites. But not many have the courage to say the whole thing. Psalm 14:1 goes further and states that people who say “no god” are corrupt, their deeds are abominations, and that none of them can do good. I have yet to meet the person who can quote the full passage.
Wouldn’t Christians be angry if there was such a thing as a collective book for Atheists and in one of its verses, it said:
“The fool hath said in his heart, There is a God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.”
Maybe now you understand why such passages in your Bible are offensive to all those who do not believe in the Bible’s deity.
It would be illogical for an atheist to be offended by a law or judgement given from something or someone that doesn’t exist. If there is no God, as an atheist would believe, then there is no reason to be so angered by a book that claims to be written by this God who does not exist. Is it wrong then for someone who believes to consider this truth? If so, by whose law do YOU judge? Your own? It should hold no power over you; you don’t believe it. The fact that it angers you is evidence that there is more than a shadow of a doubt lurking behind your infallible human logic. The fact that you are judging reveals a system of morality that you have tried to impose on the world. The only difference between you who refuse to believe in God, and us who do believe, is where we derive our compass regarding truth. We are not so arrogant as to regard ourselves as the center of the entire universe.
To believe or not…. mmm, good question! But… does it really matter if there is a God or not?? If we are inteligent enough to enjoy the time we have in this life… that is what matters! Feel good with yourself and do good to others will assure happiness most of the time…
So, why to fight for a question that will never be responded? Perhaps when we die we will know… but that is not of our business today, cause we are alive! If do no harm to others or yourself you have nothing to fear, does it sound logic??
Live everyday as it is your last one! That is my religion!!!
The Bible says, God is love. The Originator of love. We all want to be loved. Without God, or shall I correcty say, if this earth is a place where there is love and God is here (love is here because God is here) would it make sense that if God were not here love would not be here either. And of coarse, all the good things that come with love: compassion, good will, forgiveness, etc.
It’s a shame to not want God but want what is God: love (which includes everything that is love)
As a human, when someone wants things that I can give (I’m a weathly man) and does not want me, actually despises me, hates me, loathes me, curses me, enjoys my houses, food, pools, hot tubs, cars, mini bikes, my camping grounds, my hiking grounds, my gifts of money, etc., and I, despite the hate, give them of what I have: You can see God
Tom
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