Haha, no there was no panick about things I didn't understand. Once I realized that: not knowing something =/= "I know God did it", I simply looked for answers. If there are good explanations for things, I accept them as the most likely explanation. If I have no likely explanation, I don't freak out because I don't know. I just don't know, and maybe I'll find out later, maybe I never will. For example, at the time I realized I was an atheist, I did not accept evolution as the most likely explanation for diversity of life, simply because I didn't understand evolution well enough to either accept or reject it as true. But then I looked into it, saw overwhelming evidence, so now I do.
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Why do you suppose that "they" can't refer to pagans. Paul's followers were almost exclusively drawn from paganism. Luke wrote in Greek and is generally assumed to be a follower of Paul. The New Oxford Annotated Bible explains that the language used by Luke for this parable was directed specifically at a Greek audience. Your statement provides no support for your claim.
It must feel that way to someone who deeply believes in God, but I will name you two of those exceptions: Dan Barker and Jerry DeWitt. Both are now atheists but were once evangelical preachers. Another such person is Bart Ehrman, once a committed evangelical but now an agnostic. Then there's William Dever, a renown biblical archeologist, once deeply religious, but now an atheist. There are many more I could name.
I would not count myself in that group. I once believed in God and feared Hell, but I never had the level of commitment of those I named above. With me would be individuals like Richard Dawkins or the late Christopher Hitchens. Both those men believed in God as children and like me lost that belief as children. Barker, DeWitt, Ehrman, and Dever all carried their deep belief into adulthood and lost their faith only after enormous struggle. There are many more like them.
I would not count myself in that group. I once believed in God and feared Hell, but I never had the level of commitment of those I named above. With me would be individuals like Richard Dawkins or the late Christopher Hitchens. Both those men believed in God as children and like me lost that belief as children. Barker, DeWitt, Ehrman, and Dever all carried their deep belief into adulthood and lost their faith only after enormous struggle. There are many more like them.
I have two sons. Ages about 30 and 25, but don't quote me on that. 
I was there for the first birth. The second was an emergency procedure. My son dearly died and spent two months in intensive care. However, I became an atheist at age sixteen. I was in my thirties when my children were born. But no, the experience never made me think of God.
You probably missed an earlier post of mine. When I was twenty-five I suffered a ruptured appendix and nearly died before I got treatment. I was in hospital a week and then spent a week at home before it occurred to me that during the whole experience I never once thought of God. Maybe that says something about the depths of my atheism. I just never see God in anything.
I was there for the first birth. The second was an emergency procedure. My son dearly died and spent two months in intensive care. However, I became an atheist at age sixteen. I was in my thirties when my children were born. But no, the experience never made me think of God.
You probably missed an earlier post of mine. When I was twenty-five I suffered a ruptured appendix and nearly died before I got treatment. I was in hospital a week and then spent a week at home before it occurred to me that during the whole experience I never once thought of God. Maybe that says something about the depths of my atheism. I just never see God in anything.
No, the passage is talking about those who don't hold the views of the author of that passage in Psalm. Read what comes after. It says everyone in the world is an evil doorer. None are good, it says. But then it makes an exception for the righteous whom God still stands with (which would include the author of that passage, I am guessing). The Psalm in question was written after the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians. Its author blames the unrighteous Jews for the fall. The unbelievers in this passage are the unrighteous Jews upon who the author blames for Israel's woes. There were no atheists back then.
The entire Psalm 14 reads:
"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the Lord. There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous. Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the Lord is his refuge. Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when the Lord bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad."
So the possible interpretations are, this is explaining that people who say there is no god are fools, and none of them do good...or that these specific people, none of which do good, and who say there is no God, are fools. If you say that the first is correct, and use it as justification that atheists are fools, then you have the problem of the falsity of the statement that no atheists do good. "There is none that doeth good, not one." All the secular humanists helping the hungry and sick and caring for humanity as a whole pretty clearly proves that there are atheists who do good. That only leaves you with the second interpretation. Or the Bible being wrong, but I know you don't think that.
"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the Lord. There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous. Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the Lord is his refuge. Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when the Lord bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad."
So the possible interpretations are, this is explaining that people who say there is no god are fools, and none of them do good...or that these specific people, none of which do good, and who say there is no God, are fools. If you say that the first is correct, and use it as justification that atheists are fools, then you have the problem of the falsity of the statement that no atheists do good. "There is none that doeth good, not one." All the secular humanists helping the hungry and sick and caring for humanity as a whole pretty clearly proves that there are atheists who do good. That only leaves you with the second interpretation. Or the Bible being wrong, but I know you don't think that.
In the 13th chapter of Matthew, It gives the same parable, in verse 19 Jesus says "anyone that hears the Word of God", That would seem He meant everybody, "anyone" is used instead of "they", that when they hear or read the Word of God it will go into your heart, according to the parable, then the seed will grow or die.
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He's wrong as usual. I don't have time to correct the many false assertions atheists posting in this thread continue to make but obviously there were people in antiquity that shared their error. Diagoras of Melos (5th century BC) is the first in recorded history that I'm aware of.
I find your comment (that I put in bold) very interesting. Do you really believe that? When do you suppose the first atheist happened along?
There were some educated Greeks and perhaps Romans that might have come close, Cicero, for example or Augustus, but think about it, what other explanations were there? It has been said that modern science does not prove that God does not exist, it only makes it possible not to believe. I direct you to Cicero's comment that the regular motions of the planets, cannot in themselves, be taken as proof that they are gods. Clearly he would not have said that if people were not making this argument. Today we have visited the planets and we know they are not gods. No one in antiquity had that advantage. The Jews may not have believed that the Sun and planets were gods, as did the pagans, but they believed God directed their motions. So the motions of the heavens were taken as evidence of God. Now we know that when you put something in a stable orbit it maintains that orbit. We don't see this as evidence of God. Under the Vatican in a crypt is an early Christian paining of Christ portrayed as Apollo driving his sun chariot across the sky. We have mathematical formula and theories that explain it all. Cicero and Augustus might well have reasoned that they had no solid evidence that the planets were not gods, but they could not prove it, and clearly the great mass of people believed it so. The best Cicero could say is that the existence of the gods seemed unlikely. Maybe he was one of the first agnostics, but arguing that in 586 BC, or there about, when the Psalm was written that its author felt it necessary to comment upon the atheists in the world, is far fetched. That particular author held himself to be a righteous Jew, and he held that God was with the righteous Jews and would justify them in the end. The unrighteous Jews who did not accept his proclamations regarding God were unbelievers upon whom the destruction of Jerusalem could be blamed. Perhaps it was they who had supported the Asherah cult; perhaps it was they who printed the words found by archeologists: Yahweh and his Asherah.
Many biblical archeologists today believe that Israel did not become fully monotheistic until after the Babylonian captivity. They hold that there was a cult of Asherah in the temple and throughout Israel, and I argue that the author of Psalm is directing his polemics against these unbelievers, against these evil doers. They were not atheists in our understanding, but they were atheists in his. Note that the Romans considered the Christians atheists because they did not accept the Roman pantheon. "The fool has said in his heart there is no God" means the author of Psalm holds a different view of God than the one held my the mass of Jews living at that time, and they are the evil doers that he was berating. No, there is not one who is good, he wrote, before going on to mention the righteous Jews who God still stood with.
It is a mistake to interpret this line, "the fool has said..." with a modern understanding. In 586 BC in Israel there were no atheists. The author of Psalm is directing his polemics against something quite different.
Many biblical archeologists today believe that Israel did not become fully monotheistic until after the Babylonian captivity. They hold that there was a cult of Asherah in the temple and throughout Israel, and I argue that the author of Psalm is directing his polemics against these unbelievers, against these evil doers. They were not atheists in our understanding, but they were atheists in his. Note that the Romans considered the Christians atheists because they did not accept the Roman pantheon. "The fool has said in his heart there is no God" means the author of Psalm holds a different view of God than the one held my the mass of Jews living at that time, and they are the evil doers that he was berating. No, there is not one who is good, he wrote, before going on to mention the righteous Jews who God still stood with.
It is a mistake to interpret this line, "the fool has said..." with a modern understanding. In 586 BC in Israel there were no atheists. The author of Psalm is directing his polemics against something quite different.
The text clearly says that "fools say (in their hearts) that there is no god" rather than "Those who say (in their hearts) that there is no god are fools". However, it makes sense to consider it both ways. The text describes fools more explicitly than atheists.
Remembrance of god does not reside in their hearts. They may not claim to be atheists with their mouths. For many centuries, professed atheism was a rare position. If they once possessed any knowledge of god, these did not retain it for consideration in their hearts. The fool denied god in his (or her) heart and motives.
In the Proverbs 1, Solomon, that teacher upon wisdom, asserts that fools hate wisdom and instruction (v.7) and that fools hate knowledge (v.22).
I will give credit to the professing atheists here that they don't hate all knowledge.
But, what might be the motive for retaining no acknowledgment of God? God knows motives but it is possible that some don't want there to be a god. If God exists, that means that there could be potential consequences after death for sinfulness that encountered no consequences on earth.
At the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus commended the ones who would hear the saying of Jesus and do them as being like the wise man who built his house upon the rock. He added: "And every one who hears these sayings of mine and does them not shall be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand" (Matthew 7:26).
Earlier in the Sermon, Jesus had spoken the lines described as the "Beatitudes": Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8). Exhortation: hear and do and you will see.
My observations here and elsewhere are that atheists can be very intelligent and disciplined. Some heart attitudes apparently do not consider God when pondering an action. Other heart attitudes fear God and behave accordingly. Heart attitudes can be expected to have an impact on morality. But, human hearts are impossible for all but God to know and understand accurately (Jeremiah 17:9). Emotions and intuitions can drive us. Sometimes, it is difficult to even understand ourselves.
The text of Psalm 14 is largely repeated with seemingly minor variations in Psalm 53. Mankind is generally depraved rather than generally good although many noble deeds do happen. There is none who does good as he or she should nor any who seek God as He ought to be sought.
Remembrance of god does not reside in their hearts. They may not claim to be atheists with their mouths. For many centuries, professed atheism was a rare position. If they once possessed any knowledge of god, these did not retain it for consideration in their hearts. The fool denied god in his (or her) heart and motives.
In the Proverbs 1, Solomon, that teacher upon wisdom, asserts that fools hate wisdom and instruction (v.7) and that fools hate knowledge (v.22).
I will give credit to the professing atheists here that they don't hate all knowledge.
But, what might be the motive for retaining no acknowledgment of God? God knows motives but it is possible that some don't want there to be a god. If God exists, that means that there could be potential consequences after death for sinfulness that encountered no consequences on earth.
At the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus commended the ones who would hear the saying of Jesus and do them as being like the wise man who built his house upon the rock. He added: "And every one who hears these sayings of mine and does them not shall be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand" (Matthew 7:26).
Earlier in the Sermon, Jesus had spoken the lines described as the "Beatitudes": Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8). Exhortation: hear and do and you will see.
My observations here and elsewhere are that atheists can be very intelligent and disciplined. Some heart attitudes apparently do not consider God when pondering an action. Other heart attitudes fear God and behave accordingly. Heart attitudes can be expected to have an impact on morality. But, human hearts are impossible for all but God to know and understand accurately (Jeremiah 17:9). Emotions and intuitions can drive us. Sometimes, it is difficult to even understand ourselves.
The text of Psalm 14 is largely repeated with seemingly minor variations in Psalm 53. Mankind is generally depraved rather than generally good although many noble deeds do happen. There is none who does good as he or she should nor any who seek God as He ought to be sought.
I have two sons. Ages about 30 and 25, but don't quote me on that.
I was there for the first birth. The second was an emergency procedure. My son dearly died and spent two months in intensive care. However, I became an atheist at age sixteen. I was in my thirties when my children were born. But no, the experience never made me think of God.
You probably missed an earlier post of mine. When I was twenty-five I suffered a ruptured appendix and nearly died before I got treatment. I was in hospital a week and then spent a week at home before it occurred to me that during the whole experience I never once thought of God. Maybe that says something about the depths of my atheism. I just never see God in anything.
I was there for the first birth. The second was an emergency procedure. My son dearly died and spent two months in intensive care. However, I became an atheist at age sixteen. I was in my thirties when my children were born. But no, the experience never made me think of God.
You probably missed an earlier post of mine. When I was twenty-five I suffered a ruptured appendix and nearly died before I got treatment. I was in hospital a week and then spent a week at home before it occurred to me that during the whole experience I never once thought of God. Maybe that says something about the depths of my atheism. I just never see God in anything.
Well I am going to wrap it up here before I turn this into a wall of text no one will read. I do appreciate you taking the time to answer my question, and appreciate your contributions here as well. May God bless you and your two little guys (that aren't little anymore) and wife.
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Abraham was monotheistic. Moses and the Israelites were monotheistic at the time of the Exodus from Egypt. It was at Mount Sinai that the Israelites began to grumble and forget their blessings and worship the golden calf idol. This tendency toward idolatry continued for centuries.
The Babylonian Captivity was a severe affliction and chastisement but it did "cure" and "heal" the previous idolatry. Denial of God can take the form of denying God's true identity (idolatry) or else of denying God entirely (atheism).
The Babylonian Captivity was a severe affliction and chastisement but it did "cure" and "heal" the previous idolatry. Denial of God can take the form of denying God's true identity (idolatry) or else of denying God entirely (atheism).