Psalm 14
There are atheisms of the mind and atheisms of heart. The psalmist points to atheisms of the heart. “Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is no one who does good.” We see quickly what is implied by an atheism of the heart: doing abominable deeds, going astray. Christians in the United States have focused so much energy on atheism of the mind that we have lost sight of the atheism of the heart. This is especially clear in the relationship between the Church and the Prison Industrial Complex. The Church has been complicit in narratives of “good guys” and “bad guys” that ignore the teachings of Jesus and Scripture around the image of God, reconciliation, conversion, and the possibility of justice and righteousness here and now.
The justice of God is not found in punishment. Jesus never said, “well, he got what was coming to him.” And yet the complacency with the reality of sin that is our contemporary system of Justice echoes the words of the Psalmist: “fools say in their heart, ‘there is no God.’” This is what we say by ignoring injustice. This is what we say by turning from the sins of which we are complicit.
Psalm 14 does not end with its powerful first words but reminds us that God is not a bystander in the ways we treat others. “You would confound the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge.” No matter what we say in our hearts, God is the refuge of those who are spurned by society. No matter what we do with our actions, God is the deliverer who will restore true justice. Where do we hope to be? Whose side do we hope to be on?
Rev. Wilson Pruitt is a Methodist pastor and translator in Spicewood, TX.