Happy Monday in this new week, a week where we're reading Psalms 13 to 18 together.

And on the podcast, we're looking specifically questions related to two of the most notable verses in that range, specifically verses found in Psalm 14 and Psalm 16.

We read Psalm 14 together tomorrow, and it opens up with a very famous line in Psalm 14, one famous line that has only one passing mention in our whole podcast archive. It's worth focusing on here for a whole episode. The question comes from a listener named Angie. Pastor John, I have a question for you about the most commonly cited Bible text about atheists in the Bible. Psalm 141, about the fool who says in his

heart, there is no God. As I understand it, this is not even close to the postmodern atheism of our

day, which didn't exist in David's day. Everyone was religious and everyone had a God.

Nor is this text about lacking intelligence. Monotheism isn't the result of a high

IQ. Instead, I've been told that the fool here, that Nabal, is one who lacks morals, as in it's only

possible to nurture a life of sin if the living God gets pushed out of someone's life as irrelevant to

actual life decisions.

Practical atheism, I think, is what it has been called over the centuries.

Is that what Psalm 141 means to you, or how do you take it?

I guess another way to ask the question is this.

Does God believe in atheists?

Let's quote the two most obvious places in the Psalms where so-called atheism seems to be referred to, and then I'll quote what I think is the best New Testament illumination

of those Psalms. And then we'll try to relate this to our present situation.

Psalm 14, so this is the one she refers to. The fool says in his heart, there is no God. They are

corrupt. They do abominable deeds. There is none who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on the

children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. That's Psalm 14.

Here's Psalm 10, verses 3 and 4. For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces

the Lord in the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him all his thoughts or all his plans

you could translate it are there is no God.

Okay, those are the two clearest statements from the Psalms about this atheism.

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