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Questions tagged [total-depravity]

Doctrine that every person is born enslaved to sin and unable to choose to follow God

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Are Protestants the only group that considered themselves really sinful, or is there some other group that also considers human nature the same way?

When Luther broke from Catholic traditions and (according to Protestants) returned to early Catholic faith and to the teaching of the gospel in the New Testament, a lot of attention was paid on the ...
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What is the earliest example of the concept of Total Depravity?

Total Depravity is the Calvinist doctrine that human nature is thoroughly corrupt and sinful as a result of the Fall. Thus we can only do good works through God's grace. What is the earliest document ...
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Did C.S. Lewis misunderstand or did he truly repudiate the Reformed / Anglican doctrine of Total Depravity?

In the book The Problem of Pain CS Lewis said explicitly that he disbelieved the doctrine of Total Depravity despite his dedicating the whole chapter 4 (Human Wickedness) with 8 very good insights ...
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Does John 6:64-65 prove total depravity?

John 6:64-65 reads: “But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray Him. And He was saying “For ...
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Why do many who believe that “all are born sinful” hold that “none are born gay or trans”?

Many Protestants, though not technically or officially Reformed, are nevertheless strongly influenced by Calvinistic theology; as such, they espouse the doctrine of total depravity, teaching that all ...
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In the Reformed tradition, can an elect expect progressive recovery of reason, emotion, and will before death?

Reformed tradition teaches that human beings are totally depraved, and cannot even come to faith without God's assistance. Their reason rejects God's supremacy, their will refuses God's invitation, ...
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How is God's Predestination according to Calvinist?

I've just read from this link, an explanation by John Piper : Nobody is in hell that doesn't deserve to be there and isn't in active rebellion to God Because my own interpretation that Total ...
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Calvinism: alternatives to evanescent grace?

It appears to me that the so-called "Doctrines of Grace" contain a practical contradiction. The T in TULIP states that the reprobate (and even the unregenerate elect) are zealous in their ...
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According to the Reformers, how does the doctrine of Total Depravity result in assurance of faith?

The doctrine of Total Depravity is a reformed doctrine that teaches that man is wholly incapable of having acts or will that is holy or pleasing to God. According to Calvin and modern reformed ...
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What is an overview of the similarities and differences between the Catholic doctrine of Original Sin and the Reformed doctrine of Total Depravity?

Upon a cursory examination, both the Catholic doctrine of Original Sin and the Reformed doctrine of Total Depravity seem to say that mankind is by default separated from God. What is an overview of ...
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How does one reconcile the principle of justice with the doctrine of original sin?

How does one reconcile the idea in modern democracy that every person will be judged purely based on their own actions, with the doctrine of the belief in the state of sin in which humanity exists ...
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According to Calvinists, does God command the non-elect to do what is for them impossible?

Question: Does God, according to Calvinism, command people He has specifically given neither the ability nor choice to do so to repent and believe in Christ or be damned?1, 2 And if so, why? ...
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On what bases do Eastern-Orthodox reject total depravity?

Why do Eastern-Orthodox reject the doctrine of total depravity? Considering evidence like, Matthew 7:11, Romans 3:10-20.
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If Christ had a complete human nature, how come his human nature wasn't totally depraved as ours is?

I understand the reformed doctrine of total depravity to be that the human nature is such that it is utterly unable to choose to follow God. Another way I've heard it put is that men are by nature ...
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According to Reformed theology, why does God tell people to repent if they don't have the choice to do so, as in Exodus 10:3?

This question is addressed to those who believe in the doctrine of Total Depravity. In Exodus 10:3 God asks the Pharaoh for how long will he remain proud. Why does God ask such a question if the ...
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According to Calvinists, is each person "dead in sin" at birth, or only after committing a sin?

First I thought that there is no difference between OS (Original Sin) and TD (Total Depravity) in the Calvinist pov. This is what I first thought : (OS = TD) Cain/Abel/Seth (and their next ...
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In Reformed theology, are Christians still "totally depraved"?

In 2012, Calvinist pastor Tullian Tchividjian wrote an article, "Are Christians Totally Depraved?", in which he applied the language of total depravity to both non-Christians and Christians. He ...
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Baby Jesus couldn't exist in "Total Depravity" because he was God? [closed]

I was recently reflecting total depravity after reading from a site which stated, Total depravity does not mean that man is as wicked or sinful as he could be, nor does it mean that man is without ...
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What is the biblical basis for the idea that people can't stop sinning?

I had someone ask me to show Scripture that says people can't stop sinning. I had a hard time locating one. What passage(s), if any, support this idea?
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What was the point of the third article of Remonstrance?

The other four points of the Remonstrants seem to articulate significant departures from Calvin's soteriology, but not this one: THIRD ARTICLE. Saving Faith.—Man in his fallen state is unable to ...
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Where in the Bible does it say we have a sin nature? [closed]

Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: Notice the verse says death is passed on and not that ...
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Orthodoxy's "ancestral sin" versus Calvinism's "total depravity"

Correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I understand, one of the major differences between Eastern Orthodox and Protestant theology is "ancestral sin." Note: Although Roman Catholicism's definition ...
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What is the biblical basis for concluding that 'all moral works' done without grace are sinful?

Jonathan Edwards, a renowned Christian thinker and past president of Princeton University said: So long as men are in their natural state, they not only have no good thing, but it is impossible ...
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What is the opposite of Total Depravity?

One of the core beliefs of all Calvinists (and many Christians in general) is that of Total Depravity. Fundamentally, it suggests that mankind is inherently fallen, corrupt, and incapable of doing ...
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How do Calvinists go from "X is Sinful" to "X is unable to accept Christ on his own?"

I was recently reviewing Piper's TULIP notes. I'm also aware of What is the Biblical Basis for Total Depravity Here, however, is something that I no longer understand. How do Calvinists jump from: "...
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Total Depravity vs the Rich Man

If I understand "Total Depravity" from Calvinism -- apart from God's grace, there is nothing good within us -- we are miserable, evil creatures. In light of this, I have some questions about the rich ...
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What doctrines teach that people are inherently good or bad?

Are we "basically sinful" or "basically good" (are we born fundamentally sinful, or are we born holy but then "fall to temptation?). What I really want are the names of the doctrines associated with ...
Arafangion's user avatar
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How are the Calvinist, Arminian and Lutheran conceptions of Total Depravity different?

I'm quite sure I understand the concept of Total Depravity, but I'm not sure it's viewed exactly the same in different doctrinal frameworks that support it. I've spent a lot of time among Lutherans, ...
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Are our consciences trustworthy? [closed]

In Romans there are a couple verses that indicate that the law has not only been given in written form through the ten commandments, but written "on our hearts." It also says that this law will bear ...
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What is the Biblical basis for Total Depravity?

Calvin, among his other points starts with the point that we are totally depraved and sinful from birth. What is the Biblical basis for this point?
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