4 - Open Discussion on Religious Subjects - 2006
This Post is for Open Discussion on Religious Subject matter and doctrine. Please be respectful of each other and hold malice towards none.
posted by B. W. Melvin | Tuesday, February 28, 2006
5 Comments:
The Doctrine of Total Depravity of Humanity,
What is it? What does it mean? Here is a chance to discuss what it means and state what you believe. Let’s begin by looking at how Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines Deprave / Depravity:
Deprave
DEPRAVE, [L. Crooked, perverse, wicked.]
1. To make bad or worse; to impair good qualities; to make bad qualities worse; to vitiate; to corrupt; as, to deprave manners, morals, government, laws; to deprave the heart, mind, will, understanding, taste, principles, &c.
2. To defame; to vilify.
Back to topic:
Do you agree or disagree that the Doctrine of Total Depravity of Humanity involves the complete inability for Human Beings to come to God based on a state of corruption (due to original sin) that infected every part of human nature and that it makes one unable to know or obey God as well as corrupt life itself?
Or does it involve: Humanities knack for impairing good qualities, corrupting what ever good there is, makes good worse, has a natural talent for making things crooked and twisting away from right by use of moral reasoning to justify stupid behavior?
Is it a combination of these two statements or something else entirely? What is your view?
I would say it involves the complete inability for Human Beings to come to God based on a state of corruption(original sin) that infects every part of human nature and that it makes one unable to know or obey God.
Transgessing the moral law of God is sin - and that is original sin. Adam disobey the moral law of God by doing what he was told not too.
The Doctrine of Total Depravity of Humanity as you posted two definitions - I would say it would be a mix between the two and what Joel says.
I do not think that this doctrine would be acceptable to teach in the post modern church era as people do not think of themselves as living in a Total Depraved state.
If you try to point this out using the two definitions along with Joel's, the people would no listen. How can reah them to be save? (I am a Christian wondering this very thing?)
The Doctrine of Total Depravity of Humanity has caused great confusion and internal Christian infighting. One side says this and another say that about it.
Can there be any agreement between the different views on this subject? I do not know the answer for this. Maybe someday opposing parties can agree on a common theme (who knows?)
Transgressing the moral law of God is what sin is. This is what original sin consists of. In our day, if you try to convince people of this by use of these terms and definitions, you will most likely lose your audience and spend hours using verbal judo to convince someone they are a sinner. Such Evangelistic effort just does not have the same effect as it once did.
Why? What is the moral Law of God? People cannot see how they can violate this concept, relate to it, and see how they could be held accountable for doing so when they did not ask to be born in the first place.
I use the term – Making Life Ugly – as the means to reach the lost when describing sin. If transgressing the moral law of God does not make life ugly, then, I do not know what does!
People can relate to making life ugly and can see and understand that they do – do this. From this term, you can show what sin is and does and thus be a more successful soul winner for Christ. People can relate to making life ugly and see the transgression of God’s law has on others and the need for a savior.
Total Depravity of Humanity has no simple definition.
Yes, breaking the moral laws of God certainly make life ugly. I tried your phrase on an unsaved friend of mine - Sin is what makes life Ugly. This really opened the door. He could releate so easily to this and then I could explain how the moral law of God is broken and on down the Roman road...
He became a Christian!
Please keep adding to this blog - it helps many...
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