Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 21
May 1, 1969
NUMBER 1, PAGE 11b-12a

The Fool Hath Said

Floyd D. Chappelear

In our modern, egotistical and Hell-bent society, the foolish go about prating against God as if they were immune to the torments of the eternal fire. The Lord said long ago, "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God" (Psa. 14:1), and today we find the modern disciple of that kind of thinking puppeting the phrase, coined many years ago, "God is dead," which with no less force states simply, there is no God. Yet, one is made to wonder, what kind of man is it that denies the existence of an omniscient and omnipotent Creator? To find out one must examine the meaning of the term "fool" as used in Psalms 14:1.

C. H. Sprugeon says, "Ainsworth, in his `Annotations,' tells us that the word here used in Nabal, which as the signification of fading, dying, or falling away, as a withered leaf or flower; it is a title given to the foolish man as having lost the juice and sap of wisdom, reason, honesty and godliness. Trapp hits the mark when he calls him `that sapless fellow, that c;arcasse of a man., that walking sepulchre of himself, in whom all relgion and right reason is withered and wasted, dried up and decayed,'." (The Treasury of David, Vol. 1, pages 179-80) Or, to state it more simply so that all can understand, a fool is a man who has lost the ability to reason. Indeed it can be stated, "The fool (the man who possesses no ability to reason) hath said in his heart, there is no God."

When one understands what the term "fool" thus used means and then compares it with those noted atheists of times past as well as those of this present age it is easily seen that such is without controversy an apt description.

It is not here being, suggested that the atheist is an unintelligent man, or one with an abnormally low I.Q., but rather it is being stated that such are unreasonable men who speak against those things about which they know nothing (Jude 10), and hence, men devoid of the power to rationalize. Men whose senseless hearts are darkened (Rom. 1:21) so that they change the "glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things." (Rom. 1:23) Men who elevate themselves as gods and deny the Master that made them and who has so richly provided for them. Men who can certainly learn well the facts of science or any other thing that can be taught them. Yes, bright men, who learn well and retain the abundance of the knowledge of the ages, but men who for the most part are unable to search out the riches of the universe for themselves. Men who are capable students, educators, philosophers, masters of diverse subjects but who are handicapped with the inability to innovate, create, or discover.

Of all the creative acts of genius given for the worthwhile use of man, what one was ever given by an atheist? Not a single meaningful invention comes to mind that an atheist gave birth to. Our space program, for instance, is headed up by men like Werner Von Braun who acknowledge the existence of God. The great inventions which have helped. mankind so immeasureably come from the minds of believers such as Benjamin Franklin, and others. True, the atheist is able to quickly learn to use the techniques and tools of those whose creative genius coined them, but what do they do of themselves?

The incidents of individual initiative on the part of the atheist eventually lead to disaster. As an example: After Hitler had killed the God-fearing Jews and had alienated those who believed in the Lord, what course did his Third Reich follow? The answer is simple enough; a course of folly a path of eventual total degradation and despicableness.

Yet, in what amounts to absolute failure on his part, the atheist tries to show some credibility in his theory that there is no God by saying, "You can't prove there is a God." That's right, one can't prove there is a God, if one places a stilted and unnatural use of the word "Prove." Using the word "prove" in that sense places us in the unenviable position of saying that one can't prove that there is gravity, the power of inertia, protons and neutrons. None of these things (God included) can be measured as to length, breadth, or height. None can be weighed, or felt, of seen. None can be shown to exist through the use of any of our natural senses. Yet, we know they all exist because of the effect they exert on those things round about us. In the same way one can show the existence of God. "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmaments showeth His handiwork." (Psa. 19:1) The very creations of God show the existence of God.

To deny the personality of Jehovah in this enlightened age is to demonstrate to all one's inability to reason and rationalize. Remember, it is the fool who denies there is a God, not the reasonable, creative human being who is able to discern matters for himself.

— 1925 Gerard Park, Hazelwood, Missouri 63042