The fool has said in his heart,
“There is no God.”
Psalm 14:1 (NKJV)
I’m currently going through the BBC ‘Planet Earth’ series on dvd. It’s an outstanding programme that shows, through stunning photography, the diversity of the earth – mountains, deserts, oceans, caves, forests, ice worlds etc – and the plants and animals that inhabit it . The series took four years to make and had an enormous budget at its disposal. It uses high definition photography, revolutionary ultra-high speed cameras and detailed images from the air. If you haven’t seen it, then I highly recommend it – it must rank as one of the best natural history programmes ever made.
But as I’ve been watching it and listening to David Attenborough’s fascinating commentary, I’ve often thought that there’s something missing – that something is that there’s never even the tiniest mention of God. Indeed, Attenborough is a strong evolutionary so he explains everything in evolutionary terms which, in itself, doesn’t give me a problem. However, what does seem wrong to me is that a message of chance is repeatedly communicated; i.e. the awesome beauty and complexity of the earth has no designer behind it and therefore has no real meaning and purpose – it’s just here by pure chance. In this respect, real atheists whom I’ve met personally in the past have struck me as having (and needing) more faith than most Christians!
The psalmist here is so down to earth and doesn’t mince his words. He simply describes the person who says that “there is no God” as a fool. That suggests more than just a misguided belief system; it’s like saying “open your eyes – it’s staring you in the face, what you see is God’s creation!” In complete contrast to Attenborough’s view, the psalmists proclaim it loud and clear, for example:
He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills. He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call. Psalm 147:8-9 (NIV)
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful. Psalm 139:13-149 (NIV)
In contrast to the ‘foolish’ way, it’s good when we really acknowledge God – who He is and what He’s done. That will, hopefully, give us a sense of meaning and purpose about the world we live in and put our own lives in right perspective.
DetailsLarry
June 6th, 2007
4 Responses to “Down2Earth: 3. Only a Fool…”
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June 7th, 2007 at 5:09 pm
I’ve just seen the scan of Gaz’s baby, amazing. You would think that when people have babies they must think about the creation of live, is it all a fluke etc???
June 7th, 2007 at 10:56 pm
I sometimes wonder what it would be like to not believe in God, I don’t remember a time when I didn’t believe in God. I became a christian aged 11 but have always known about God.
The only conclussion I ever come to when considering this, is that without God there is nothing.
To say from your heart there is no God, you must be terribly lost.
Just open your eyes and look around.God is there!!!!
In nature, in new babies, in stars, in the moon, in plants, in other people….he is there!!!
June 8th, 2007 at 11:32 am
I totally agree with your view Julia. Josh McDowell in his book ‘Evidence that demands a verdict’ reccounts when a brilliant psychiatrist came to him and frankly confessed that he had never been willing to consider honestly the claims of Christ in his own life for fear that he would be convinced and, as a result, would have to change his way of life!
I personally think that the driving force behind the ‘faith’ of true atheists is that to accept even the remote possiblilty that God exists has far-reaching consequences for their own personal lives. The whole business of ‘accountability’ would come in to play and that can be frightening to some people.
While the whole of creation makes it obvious that there must be a designer behind it, atheism provides a solid defence mechanism against having to account for one’s life. But is this in fact just burying one’s head in the sand?
October 5th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
[…] The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. Psalm 14:1 (NKJV) Im currently going through the BBC Planet Earth series on dvd … . If you havent seen it, then I highly recommend it it must rank as one of the best natural history programmes ever made. But as Ive been watching it and listening to David Attenborough source: Down2Earth: 3. Only a Fool, threedays.co.uk […]