The Atheist Delusion - Part I | Psalms 14:1-7
When we filmed with atheist Richard Dawkins in Oxford, England, Cristie Jo asked the professor a lovingly pointed question: “Dr. Dawkins, how do you respond to Psalm 14:1, ‘The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good.’”
Before his response, for a moment it was as if the oxygen was sucked out of the room! Candidly, I was a bit surprised by her direct approach, but she asked it sincerely, genuinely wanting his response. Dawkins paused, locked eyes with Cristie, and said he would not be affected by what “some silly scribe wrote.” Listen to the exchange by clicking here.
Interestingly, Psalm 14 is reiterated in Psalm 53. This psalm, originally a song, was part of the wisdom literature of the Bible. Jewish teachers led their students in singing about the fool who says there is no God. Peter C. Craigie notes in Psalms 1–50: “The double occurrence of the psalm in the Psalter, together with the implications of the titles to Psalm 14 and 53, indicate that over the course of time both psalms became used frequently in Israel’s worship and they were not confined in use to the wisdom schools, despite their origin.” Imagine a worship song today based on this theme!
Paul later quotes this Spirit-inspired psalm to describe humanity’s depravity in Romans 3:10–12. In Corinth—Las Vegas on steroids—where Paul wrote his letter to the church at Rome, the visible hedonism and sinfulness of people was on full display as he wrote.
In this sermon, you will learn five distinctives as we carefully review the word-for-word text of Psalm 14:
The tragic consequences of atheism. The Hebrew word for “fool” is nabal, meaning “simple, simpleton, fool, madman.” It is a provocative word. And it was God Himself who said that the atheist is corrupt—the same Hebrew term used four times in Genesis 6 to describe the world of Noah’s day.
The corruption of atheism. When belief in God is eliminated, moral absolutes vanish. Without divine guardrails, humanity spins out of control.
The confused mind of the atheist. Friedrich Nietzsche, the son of a pastor, popularized the myth, “God is dead,” yet spent the last 11 years of his life in catastrophic mental collapse and despair.
The contrast of the believer. Looking into eternity, the Hebrew text says, “They feared a fear” (14:5). John Phillips, in Exploring Psalms, writes: “Man is very bold and brazen in his unbelief as he struts across the stage of time. But he will be gripped with stark, naked horror when he stands doomed at the great white throne.”
The call of salvation. The psalm closes by reminding us that even in a corrupt, unbelieving world, God offers His people salvation and deliverance.
