To say that there is no God, the Bible says, makes one a fool.
Only a fool would come to such a foolish conclusion.
Now the word “fool,” “nābāl,” does not mean a person of mental incompetence,
it means one of moral perversity.
And they don't have head problems, they have heart problems.
Now, such fools are often very bright people with high intellect and with impeccable academic
credentials.
They are not a fool in the sense that they are moronic, or they do not have the capacity
to connect thoughts together.
No, they very often are some of the brightest minds in all of the world.
The problem lies far deeper than their heads.
Their problem is their heart.
“The fool has said in his heart…”
The “fool” is one who spurns the clear evidence that is set before him concerning
the reality of God and makes a fundamental decision of unbelief based upon the evidence
that is presented to him.
There is, by this fool, a deliberate and intentional rejection and refusal of God Himself.
The “heart” here refers to the entire inner person.
It's not “heart” as the Greek thinks of “heart,” which is simply more the affections.
To the Hebrew mind, the “heart” represented the entire inner life: the mind, the emotion,
the conscience, the will—the entire inner being of a person.
The atheist, the fool, has said in his heart—he says there is no God.
You should know, in the original Hebrew language, the words “there is” are not found in
the original manuscript.
The translators have supplied “there is” to make this read more smoothly.
And in the original language, it simply says, “The fool has said in his heart ‘No, God.’”
In other words, the evidence for God has been presented and there has been a deliberate,
intentional refusal of God.
It would be as if I had come to your house and I sat down at your table, and in the distributing
of the portions of the food for the meal, and you pass, let's say, the potatoes to me,
and I clearly see the potatoes, and I put up my hands and I just say, “No potatoes
for me!”
I see it, there it is, and there is an adamant rejection.
It's not that I do not believe that the potatoes are there.
I see them, and there is a decision on my part to turn away from what is presented to
me.
That is what David is saying here.
The fool has said in the depths of his soul, “No God.
There is no God for me.”
“I will have nothing to do with God.”
“But on the inside, there is the recognition that there is a God in heaven, but I do not
want God to run my life or tell me how to live.”
“I will go my own way.”
“I will be the captain of my own ship.”
“I will be the master of my own destiny.”
“When God is presented to me and the evidence of God in creation and God consciousness and
the truth about God has made known to me, I will adamantly set my jaw and say, ‘No,
God.’”