Psalm 14: 1a (RSV)
"The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'"
Of course, the Bible would say that, but what exactly does the phrase mean? Robert Alter says, somewhat enigmatically, that it's not a theological statement. Hard to swallow that one. Clearly it is theological - if the author didn't want it to be theological, they might have left out the word "God." That would have helped.
But what type of theological statement is it? Is it about the existence of God? About the quality of fools? Both?
The rest of the psalm talks about the quality of fools: "They are corrupt..." is what follows the clip you've been given above. And God looks down at them. Then we move away from both fools and God.
I'll stick with the quality of fools and why they say these things in their hearts. Consider the following:
Perhaps these people are fools because they say these things in their hearts, but not out loud - that is, they are dishonest.
Or perhaps they are fools, because they affirm something they couldn't possibly prove. Many non-believers do this today. Mind you, plenty of believers of all faiths affirm things they haven't bothered to prove or study - how many things are declared to be biblical, for instane, when in fact, they are merely quotes from Homer, Shakespeare, Franklin or even Mark Twain? Not that there isn't wisdom there too, but you see what I mean.
Of course, the modern non-believer, will often say that "You can't prove a negative." That is, they can't prove there is no God. They'll then say the burden of proof lies with the person who says there is a God. Troubling, however, that though they can't prove a negative, they feel free to affirm it... That's a different post. Back to the verse.
How about this: the rest of the psalm is worried about the behavior of these fools. I think we no longer believe that a believer is automatically going to behave well and a non-believer is automatically going to behave badly. And the psalm doesn't seem to affirm this either. Verse 3b: "there is none that does good, no, not one." And it doesn't look like this is restricted to non-believers.
Maybe the "God" in the first verse is a reference to a governor. Not a politcal governor, but a person, a will, that rules your heart. The fool says "No one is the boss of me. I do what I please even to the detriment of others."
Of course, the Bible would say that, but what exactly does the phrase mean? Robert Alter says, somewhat enigmatically, that it's not a theological statement. Hard to swallow that one. Clearly it is theological - if the author didn't want it to be theological, they might have left out the word "God." That would have helped.
But what type of theological statement is it? Is it about the existence of God? About the quality of fools? Both?
The rest of the psalm talks about the quality of fools: "They are corrupt..." is what follows the clip you've been given above. And God looks down at them. Then we move away from both fools and God.
I'll stick with the quality of fools and why they say these things in their hearts. Consider the following:
Perhaps these people are fools because they say these things in their hearts, but not out loud - that is, they are dishonest.
Or perhaps they are fools, because they affirm something they couldn't possibly prove. Many non-believers do this today. Mind you, plenty of believers of all faiths affirm things they haven't bothered to prove or study - how many things are declared to be biblical, for instane, when in fact, they are merely quotes from Homer, Shakespeare, Franklin or even Mark Twain? Not that there isn't wisdom there too, but you see what I mean.
Of course, the modern non-believer, will often say that "You can't prove a negative." That is, they can't prove there is no God. They'll then say the burden of proof lies with the person who says there is a God. Troubling, however, that though they can't prove a negative, they feel free to affirm it... That's a different post. Back to the verse.
How about this: the rest of the psalm is worried about the behavior of these fools. I think we no longer believe that a believer is automatically going to behave well and a non-believer is automatically going to behave badly. And the psalm doesn't seem to affirm this either. Verse 3b: "there is none that does good, no, not one." And it doesn't look like this is restricted to non-believers.
Maybe the "God" in the first verse is a reference to a governor. Not a politcal governor, but a person, a will, that rules your heart. The fool says "No one is the boss of me. I do what I please even to the detriment of others."
posted by Steven at 1:02 PM
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