Atheism

“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ ”

Psalm 53:1a

From a conversation with Preacher Clark in the late 1970’s.

Only God can judge a heart.  After He gave the Spirit to a group of Gentiles, Peter told the Jews, “God, who knows the heart, bore them witness, giving them the holy Spirit just as He gave it to us” (Acts 15:8).

But what if God does not give someone the holy Spirit?  How has He judged that person’s heart?  Preacher Clark pointed out to me that David said, “The fool has said in his heart,” not “The fool has said.”  Many a soul, including some who bear the title of “minister”, are not given the holy Spirit because God has judged them on the basis of what is in their heart, not by what comes out of their mouth.

Recently, a young man told a friend of mine that he was an atheist.  When I heard that, the thought came to me, “Everyone on earth is an atheist who does not have the holy Spirit.”  That is the truth that my father was pointing out to me.  Many fools say that they believe in God.  But if God has not given them His Spirit, He is saying that in their heart, they do not.   Whom, then, are we to believe?