NOTES for Psa 53

Why is the person who says “there is no God” a fool? Not someone playing to an audience, but one who utters these words inwardly, in his heart, establishing for himself an entirely new way of existing. The world then becomes full of causeless evil, for if there is no God, there is no devil who rebelled against Him either. This evil lies in wait for us at every step; we are forced to defend ourselves as best we can, and then the best defense is an attack. Anticipating a possible blow, one must then kill at once. It is impossible to struggle for one's life or give life to children if one says in one's heart, “There is no God.” For if that is so, there is not a single reason to go on living. There is no need to struggle, suffer, or love, because only one constant remains in the world: death. A person who rejects God is not always prepared to admit that the path now lying before him is a path to a terrible and agonizing death.