“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’.” (Psalm 14:1a)
What does the Bible teach about God’s existence? Joe Boot writes, in his article Broader Cultural and Philosophical Challenges, that “We must begin any pursuit of knowledge with confident submission to God in his Word.”
Nowhere does Scripture argue for the validity of God’s reality. On the contrary, the very first verse in the Bible sets forth the existence of God as truth. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1 ESV).
There are two basic philosophies in the world. Call them worldviews. These worldviews form the basis of how people live and think about life. However, these two worldviews are diametrically opposed to each other. They always have been and always will be. They are mutually exclusive. They represent the ongoing conflict between truth and deception, between what is real and what is unreal.
The first basic worldview is known as Biblical Theism. It is the religious belief that humanity, life, the earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being. As we will see, the proposition of creationism begins at the very outset of God’s revealed truth, the Bible. The consequence of Biblical Theism is that the God of the Bible is the One, True Creator (Is. 42:1-5; Acts 17:22-28). Therefore, creation is accountable to Him. The purpose of life therefore is to glorify the One, True Creator by loving Him and loving others by being obedient to His revealed truth contained in the Holy Scriptures (I Cor. 10:31; Eph. 1:15).
The second basic worldview is known as Atheistic Naturalism. Naturalism commonly refers to the philosophical belief that only natural laws and forces (as opposed to supernatural ones) operate in the world and that nothing exists beyond the natural world. Natural laws are the rules that govern the structure and behavior of the natural world. The goal of science is to discover and publish these laws.
Philosopher Paul Kurtz argues that nature is best accounted for by reference to material principles. These principles include mass, energy, and other physical and chemical properties accepted by the scientific community. Further, this sense of naturalism holds that spirits, deities, and ghosts are not real and that there is no ultimate “purpose” in nature. The conclusion of Atheistic Naturalism is that there is no God to whom the natural world is accountable. There is no ultimate and singular purpose to life and living. Therefore, the natural world does whatever it desires in order to establish some reason or purpose for life and living.
Psalm 14 is a Psalm of David. He began the psalm by acknowledging the reality of the fool. The fool, no matter when or who, is a senseless, godless, and worthless individual. The fool is not unintelligent but lacks understanding or even the capacity for understanding. This implies a willful moral insolence, impudence and disobedience to the law of God (Dt. 32:6, 21; Ps. 74:18; Ezek. 13:3).
The fool continues to say in his mind, emotions and will, or his soul, that God does not exist. For him, God is non-existent. The fool endeavors to live his life from this perspective. Some may even try to convince others of the value of this worldview.
Have you encountered such an individual? I have. I’m sure you have also. What specific purpose does the fool embrace in order to acquire a purpose for life within the natural realm void of a personal God? This is what we will examine when next we meet.
Have a blessed day in the knowledge that the One, True God of the Bible exists. He not only exists, but He has made Himself known (Ps. 19).
Soli deo Gloria!
His Word Today 