Atheist
In 1880, Charles Bradlaugh was elected as a member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the Northampton district. His constituents knew he was an atheist who liked to publicly challenge Christians but didn’t think it would affect his work in parliament. They were proven wrong on his first day as their MP. He objected to taking an oath of allegiance before God on the grounds that God did not exist. He asked to be allowed to make a good old-fashioned ‘cross my heart’ promise and leave God out of it. This request was denied on the grounds that if there were no God, then there would be no morality, no right and wrong, no truth or lie, and the oath would be meaningless. So, Bradlaugh forfeited his seat in Parliament, but … I kid you not … he kept sneaking in to vote. On three occasions, he voted without anyone noticing that he had snuck in. On other occasions, he was caught and escorted out of the building by police. He thus proved the ruling against him right: that a man that does not believe in God doesn’t believe in any authority.
One of Bradlaugh’s publicity stunts backfired badly when he challenged a pastor, Hugh Price Hughes, to a public debate on the validity of belief in God. Hughes immediately accepted the challenge but added one of his own.
Hughes said, “I propose that we each bring some concrete evidence of the validity of our beliefs in the form of men and women who have been redeemed from their lives of sin and shame by the influence of our teaching. I will bring 100 such men and women, and I challenge you to do the same. If you cannot bring 100, Mr Bradlaugh, to match my 100, I will be satisfied if you will bring 50 men and women who will stand and testify that they have been lifted up from lives of shame by the influence of your teachings. If you cannot bring 50, then bring 20 people who will say, as my 100 will, that they have great joy in a life of self-respect as a result of your atheistic teachings. If you cannot bring 20, I will be satisfied if you bring 10. Nay, Mr Bradlaugh, I challenge you to bring one, just one man or woman who will make such testimony regarding the uplifting of your atheistic teachings.”
Charles Bradlaugh, after a few days, withdrew his challenge for the debate.
I can’t help but wonder what God thinks of Mr. Bradlaugh’s efforts. Psalm 53 might provide the answer.
4 ADAGES OF APT ADVICE ADDRESSED TO AVID ATHEISTS
1. DESIGNATION OF THE GODLESS
Psalm 53: 1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
Sometimes by changing the name of something, we change the perception. Short people are ‘vertically challenged,’ unemployed people are ‘between jobs.’ Those who disbelieve God’s existence are no longer called the godless; they are given a respectable sounding sobriquet of ‘a-theist’— without theism.
But the Bible cuts through all that political correctness and goes for the jugular of truth, calling those who reject God… fools.
The designation fool is not exactly what you might have in mind because, in our vernacular, it has come to include the connotation that the person is simple-minded. A fool in English could be a person who behaves in a way that is—shall we say—‘educationally challenged.’
But the Hebrew word nabal refers specifically to a moral, willful ignorance and has nothing to do with intelligence. Atheists can be—and often are—very intelligent, educated, erudite people. But they are fools because they willfully deny reasonable evidence for the existence of God.
They may have multiple degrees in botany from the best universities, but if they can’t look at a flower and know God exists, they are willfully ignorant; they are people who “… by their unrighteousness suppress the truth” -Romans 1:18.
And the irony is that atheists think that we believers are fools for believing in a God we cannot see.
1 Corinthians 2:14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
2. DEEDS OF THE GODLESS
Psalm 53: 1-4 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good. God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand who seek after God. They have all fallen away; together, they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one. Have those who work evil no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread and do not call upon God?
Atheists often say that they are good people, looking out for humanity, but the Bible says no one is good at heart. This passage is quoted in Romans 3 and is repeated in Psalm 14. This is an important part of theology called the doctrine of complete inability or the older term: total depravity. People are not born innately good; they are born unable to find God and are, at their core … godless.
Verse 1b: They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good.
So their deeds are evil. Evil people cannot do good deeds.
Verse 2: God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.
Humans are evil. This is tough to deny. Just read some history, watch some news, and observe a few elementary schoolers interact with a disabled child. People are cruel; they don’t come any other way.
Am I generalizing here? Well, David makes it more clear for us:
Verse 3: They have all fallen away; together, they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.
This is not a generalization; it is an undeniable fact. Everyone is evil.
Verse 4: Have those who work evil no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon God?
Ironically, it is unbelievers who deny that people are evil. Don’t they get news channels where they live?
3. DESTINY OF THE GODLESS
Psalm 53: 5 There they are, in great terror, where there is no terror! For God scatters the bones of him who encamps against you; you put them to shame, for God has rejected them.
There is hope in this world. It is twofold. Firstly, there will be punishment for evil.
The guilt of the godless is tormenting and makes them paranoid. Because they know the evil in their hearts, they are suspicious of the evil in others. People often project their guilt onto others. Even if the dangers aren’t really there, they are anxious and suspicious.
But the punishment of the godless is not just their own perceptions; it is a judgment from God.
Verse 5 …For God scatters the bones of him who encamps against you; you put them to shame, for God has rejected them.
This is a fearful fate, but is there another way? Is there any hope for mankind?
4. DESPAIR OF THE GODLESS
Psalm 53:6 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores the fortunes of his people, Let Jacob rejoice, and let Israel be glad.
This verse has tremendous hope in it, but only for those who believe in God. For the godless, there is no such hope because, although there is one solution, there is one hope, and it does not come from the human heart; it comes from outside of us. It comes from God.
David does not say if only people would get their act together! If only we could make ourselves good, then the world would be a better place. No, it is God who restores the fortunes of his people.
To say in your heart that there is no God is to discard any hope you could have had. I possess hope, but that hope is not in myself. It is not in you. It is not in mankind or any human system or philosophy. My only hope is in a person: the Savior, Jesus Christ.
I know the sin in my heart and yours. The solution is not coming from within me any time soon. The solution, the healing, is coming from Zion, from God’s holy hill, when Jesus returns to Jerusalem in blazing glory and triumph to usher in the kingdom, make all things new, and rescue those who believed in him and called on his name!
CONCLUSION
What about you? Can you look at the world and say in your heart there is no God? Or will you give up your willful ignorance, turn from your dark ways, and will you trust in him for your salvation? Because it is only the fool who says in his heart there is no God.
