1The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
2007-06-19 14:21:26 · 14 answers · asked by Theophilus 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
“It never occurred to any writer of the OT [Hebrew Scriptures] to prove or argue the existence of God,” says Dr. James Hastings in A Dictionary of the Bible. “It is not according to the spirit of the ancient world in general to deny the existence of God, or to use arguments to prove it. The belief was one natural to the human mind and common to all men.” This does not mean, of course, that all men at that time were God-fearing. Far from it. Psalm 14:1 and 53:1 both mention “the senseless one,” or as the King James Version says, “the fool,” who has said in his heart, “There is no Jehovah.”
What kind of person is this fool, the man who denies the existence of God? He is not intellectually ignorant. Rather, the Hebrew word na·val′ points to a moral deficiency. Professor S. R. Driver, in his notes to The Parallel Psalter, says that the fault is “not weakness of reason, but moral and religious insensibility, an invincible lack of sense, or perception.”
The psalmist goes on to describe the moral breakdown that is a result of such an attitude: “They have acted ruinously, they have acted detestably in their dealing. There is no one doing good.” (Psalm 14:1) Dr. Hastings sums up: “Counting on this absence of God from the world and on impunity, men become corrupt and do abominable deeds.” They openly embrace ungodly principles and discount a personal God to whom they have no wish to be accountable. But such thinking is as foolish and senseless today as it was when the psalmist wrote his words over 3,000 years ago.
http://www.watchtower.org/
2007-06-19 14:44:11 · answer #1 · answered by papavero 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The fool refers not to mental inability but to moral and spiritual insensitivity. The phrase " no God" suggests practical atheism, the view that if there is God, it really does not matter to a person's life. This is viewpoint stated in 10:4, 11, 12:4. Hebrew word for corrupt has the idea of soured milk. Those who cease to believe in God will eventually "sour"; they will degenerate into doing evil.
2007-06-19 14:29:45 · answer #2 · answered by SeeTheLight 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The soul has only 2 choices.
One is to follow the path and guidance of the holy spirit or to follow the path of the Devil. The devil does his best to convince the soul there is no God and all of his works and guidance is corrupt and as such can be called abominable works. Such people who follow the path of Satan are, in the eyes of Saints fools. Satan is a liar and all his works are lies. ( from the Bible). People who follow and listen to the Satan are considered corrupted because the soul itself is divine and pure.
So, can we say is a fool and a follower of the path of the devil? Anyone who is not able to reach the depth of their souls and commune with the holy spirit.
2007-06-19 14:42:53 · answer #3 · answered by Bhavin D 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The fool is a person who lives their lives as if there is no God. They reject God by scorning the teachings of His Word and rely on their own ideas to determine right from wrong. "There is none that doeth good" reveals that we all by nature are separated from God until salvation.
2007-06-19 15:12:08 · answer #4 · answered by HeVn Bd 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Its a song for Christs sake, like Zabba Dabba Dabba Dabba Dabba said the Monkey to the Chimp, that dont have any great meaning either, although it has a bit more rhythm than psalm 14
2007-06-19 14:31:37 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Many think this verse speaks of the atheist. This is true but does not completely convey what is meant here. This verse speaks of all men essentially. We are all wicked and fail to do good.
So, this verse describes man in his unregenerate state.
~Neeva
2007-06-19 14:33:31 · answer #6 · answered by Neeva C 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That anyone who says there is no God is a fool. Not one of them does anything good that believes that way.
2007-06-19 14:24:56 · answer #7 · answered by ohioguy4jc 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I would say that the Bible doesn't like Atheists, because they don't buy into the Bible's nonsense. So the authors decide to call us corrupt and say that no Atheist does any good.
You'd better tell that to Ernest Hemingway and Carl Sagan then. Because you know, they might think otherwise
2007-06-19 14:24:46 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
as a christian i would say its too bad sometimes that things like a piece of poetry got divied up into little verses like that instead of reading the whole thing as a full piece. you can loose so much meaning.
2007-06-19 14:27:34 · answer #9 · answered by anonimous 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I interpret Psalms 14:1 that YOU Don't think this SCRIPTURE APPLYS TO YOU ! ! !
2007-06-19 14:53:55 · answer #10 · answered by . 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋