1. The Heart Of Atheism
It is most significant for our understanding of this whole issue that the Lord tells us about those who when they say that He does not exist, they do so in their hearts first of all. We read in Psalm 41:1: “The fool hath said in his heart, ‘there is no God’….”
We must fix this in our thoughts right from the start, namely, that it is in the Cardio-Council of the atheist where his atheism is birthed and formed. Atheism is a passionate choice, just as theism is a passionate choice. Both belief and non-belief are heart choices. It is in his sin darkened heart that the atheist makes his choice, and not only dethrones God but summarily erases Him from any possible existence. We will find the same thing repeated in Psalm 53:1, just in case we missed it the first time.
But we must quickly be assured of this, that where the heart of man is concerned, it will surely seep into and saturate the head and his entire thought process. That is why we read elsewhere in Psalm 10:4: “…All his thoughts are, ‘There is no God.’”
Not some of his thoughts, but all of his thoughts are about a non-God world. When the spirit of atheism gets hold of a man, it is pervasive. Just as the Christian embraces the Lord with all of his heart and mind, so the atheist rejects the very thought of God with all of his heart and mind. The atheistic heart quickly puts his mind to work to come up with arguments and reasons to convince and content his atheistic heart that it is completely justified in its anti-God, no-God posture. But be assured of this, as we read in Proverbs 4:23 about the heart, “…for from it flow the springs of life.”
The heart of man is control central, and it is there where atheism first springs forth. As the bent of the heart, so the bent of the thoughts! Even as the bent of the tree trunk determines the bent and the angle of the branches. Atheism begins in the man’s inclinations, not his convictions. Man’s heart is naturally inclined away from and against God. (Romans 8:7) His no-God convictions flow from his anti-God inclinations.
I know that what the prophet Jeremiah says about man’s heart is really difficult for man to accept. After all, the heart in man’s estimate throughout the ages is the center of romance, love, and everything good and gooey. The heart is viewed as not only good, but what is best about man. After all, how can that wonderful and warm symbol of Valentine’s Day ever be thought of as vile or vicious? Even Christians get swept away by these sentimental notions. But the prophet Jeremiah says quite the opposite in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick….”
And by sick, he does not mean lovesick, but rather, sin-sick. It is sin-sickened and weakened and therefore most defenseless against and vulnerable to Satan’s deceitfulness and atheistic lies. Yes, Satan! John 8:44 tells us about the Devil, “…for he is a liar and the father of lies.” Well then, atheism which says there is no God is an out and out lie which comes from Satan who is the author of all lies. The sin-sick and deceived heart is no match for Satan. The human heart spiritually speaking is not stout-hearted but weak-hearted. If Satan is to get a hold in man, he must enter at the point of greatest weakness, and that point is the human heart. For when one is desperately sick, he is also desperately weak, and cannot resist the devil. And once he has gripped the deceitful heart of a man, Satan can control everything else, including his thoughts!
It is in the human heart that Satan plants the seeds of, “There can’t be a God with all of this misery in the world,” or, “If there is a God, who would want Him anyway after all He has allowed you to go through.” Then finally he drops the big bomb, “Why don’t you just admit the obvious, there is no God. There just can’t be. It doesn’t make any sense.” That is the “Father of Lies” coup d’état in the heart of man, as the Devil then snatches the scepter of rule and nestles himself so comfy and cozy on the throne of the deceived human heart which then becomes Satan’s kingdom of darkness. At which place and point, the atheist is birthed, who but parrots Satan’s words, “There is no God.” Such lying words are music to the Devil’s ears.
