ATHEISTIC BELEIVERS

The fool says in his heart,
“There is no God.”

Psalm 14:1a (read 14:1-7) NIV

The 14^th Psalm does not deal with professed atheists, but with those who profess to have faith in God. It is all about upright and respectful people just like us. There are few people who have the courage and honesty to openly declare themselves to be atheists, and this psalm does not criticize such people. It condemns those who give "lip service" to being "people of faith" but who live atheism. They are atheists at heart! The people who are described could have strong religious beliefs and profess faith in an almighty God, could live an intensive religiosity and could follow a high moral code. They could be the elite of spirituality and the "cream of society". But this psalm passes the judgment that such a profession is the only "lip service".

An old problem of humanity is the failure to put into practice the essence of religious faiths. We live in a society where the overwhelming majority professes to believe in a Supreme Being. Sanctuaries are filled with people celebrating worship services and masses, but outside on the street, in the homes, in the commerce, businesses, factories, stadiums and schools they cannot deal with the materialistic and competitive values that promote selfishness, greed and disrespect for fellow beings and for nature.

With the mouth, we profess faith in the creator of all things and of all human beings, but at heart it is difficult to accept all others as sisters and brothers and to revere nature as God's work. It is easy to reject those who differ from us socially and religiously. It's easy to abuse the earth by polluting the air, soil and water that sustain us all.

It is alarming to realize that our social and economic structures that promote social injustice and that generate violence are developed and sustained by people who profess faith in God. The largest global terrorists are men who profess a strong religious faith. ISIS militants and radical Christian and Jewish leaders are just a few examples. The planet Earth is being ravaged. Men, women and children are massacred by those who claim to be defenders of faith, morality, democracy, etc.

I found the following newsletter on the Internet:

"…half the world's population live in poverty with an income of less than $ 2 a day… Almost all of them live in developing countries. (International Labor Organization ‘ILO’)"

It is not the professed atheists who retain and control most of the planet's resources and trample others down in order to have access to a better life for themselves. The trillions of dollars spent on armaments would be more than enough to solve the entire economic imbalance.

This Psalm should frighten us! It should make us examine the way we are living our faith. Often professed atheists produce more fruits of the Spirit than those who claim to love God but fail to love your neighbor. True faith in God manifests itself through love, independent of religious profession.

PSALM 14:1-7 - NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV)

The fool says in his heart,

    “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;

    there is no one who does good.

The Lord looks down from heaven

    on all mankind

to see if there are any who understand,

    any who seek God.

All have turned away, all have become corrupt;

    there is no one who does good,

    not even one.

Do all these evildoers know nothing?

They devour my people as though eating bread;

    they never call on the Lord.

But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,

    for God is present in the company of the righteous.

You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,

    but the Lord is their refuge.

Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!

    When the Lord restores his people,

    let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!