The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” That’s from the Bible. Many Christians prefer not to use that particular text because it’s pretty divisive. Modern English has another word for people who don’t believe in God: “Atheist.” We like that word better because it is much more dignified. Fools don’t mind being called “atheists” and we Christians appreciate having a term that isn’t condescending and combative.

Harvard University selected a fool as Chaplain. The pick was unanimous and the University is enthusiastic about their new Chaplain’s ability to keep dialogue open among different religious groups. You see, modern religion isn’t about finding what’s true. All that matters is expressing your views.

Christians are happy to “agree to disagree” with other religions. We start every religious conversation with the disclaimer, “I’m not saying I have all the answers…” We don’t really want to convert anyone to the Christian faith. Our goal is to have a dialogue that doesn’t end in a fist-fight. We just want the fools to like us.

We don’t really believe atheists are fools. We think the Bible is exaggerating. We think the atheists are decent, intelligent people who haven’t been properly shown God’s love. We cringe at the word, “fool” because we don’t want to put anyone down. We believe that it’s possible to come to Christ without denying ourselves.

Christianity is an exclusive religion. There is no wisdom to be gained from anyone who claims there is no God. There are no fools in God’s family.

The fool says in his heart,

“There is no God.”

They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;

there is no one who does good.

Psalm 14:1