Why I am a member of the church of Christ

Lesson 7

Because it teaches we are born innocent and not in sin.

Psalm 51:5

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.

TOTAL HEREDITARY DEPRAVITY

A. TOTAL 1. "Constituting the (or a) whole; entire; whole... 2. Complete; utter (a total loss) -n. The whole amount or number; sum; aggregate...“

B. HEREDITARY 1. "... of, passed down by inheritance from ancestor to a legal heir; ancestral... 2. Of, or passed down by, heredity; designating or of a characteristic transmitted genetically from generation to generation..."

TOTAL HEREDITARY DEPRAVITY

C. DEPRAVITY "...A depraved condition; corruption; wickedness..."

The Theory

The theory of total hereditary depravity claims that sinful corruption has been transmitted to the infant from the parent and that it is wholly inclined to evil; that it is inherently impure; that it is a child of the devil.

Some sources that promote this doctrine.

1. Church Manuals1. "The Confession of Faith of the Presbyterian Church in

The United States".2. Discipline of the Methodist Church 1948.

Some sources that promote this doctrine.

1. Church Manuals2. Other “church” documents, Cyclopedia, commentaries, etc

Other sources on depravity.

The Lutheran Cyclopedia "The inborn sin which all human beings, naturally engendered, inherit at their origin from their parents, and which is the source whence the actual sins of every individual proceed…

Other sources on depravity.

Catholic Dictionary and Encyclopedia of Religious Information, "Original sin is the sin which we inherit by natural descent from Adam, our first father".

Other sources on depravity.The Depravity of Man by Dr. W.R. Crews, "Human depravity is a direct result of the fall of the race in Adam. By depravity we mean that man's entire being is spiritually corrupt before God. The entire man (body, mind, soul and spirit) has become affected and poisoned by sin. This condition is passed along to all men by conception and naturalbirth. Every man that is born is born wrong.

Other sources on depravity.The Depravity of Man by Dr. W.R. Crews, He is as prone to sin, evil and unrighteousness as a falling object is to fall or the human lungs to breathe. Every part ofman's nature is marred by sin and is vitiated and totally corrupt. One may ask, "is man totally depraved? Yes, indeed he is".

Some texts twisted in an attempt to support this false doctrine.

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. – Psalm 51:5

Some texts twisted in an attempt to support this false doctrine.

For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight —That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.- Psalm 51:3-5

Words of a commentator“Infants are no innocents, being born with original sin, the first sheet wherein they are wrapped is woven of sin, shame, blood, and filth. Ezekiel 16:4(this is concerning Jerusalem not a literally person), etc…All are sinners, infected with the guilt and filth of sin; the rot over runs the whole flock. Hence David reflects upon original sin as the cause of all his actual, saying, Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Words of a commentatorThus man's malady begins betimes, even in our conception; this subtle serpent sowed his tares very early, so that we are all "born in sin." John 9:34 (They believed since the man was born blind that this confirmed he was born in sin).

Christopher Ness's "Divine Legacy," 1700”

Some texts twisted in an attempt to support this false doctrine.

The wicked are estranged from the womb; They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.- Psalm 58:3

Some texts twisted in an attempt to support this false doctrine.

Surely you did not hear, Surely you did not know; Surely from long ago your ear was not opened. For I knew that you would deal very treacherously, And were called a transgressor from the womb. – Isaiah 48:8

Some texts twisted in an attempt to support this false doctrine.

Surely you did not hear, Surely you did not know; Surely from long ago your ear was not opened. For I knew that you would deal very treacherously, And were called a transgressor from the womb. – Isaiah 48:8

Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. – 1 John 3:4

Some texts twisted in an attempt to support this false doctrine.

among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.- Ephesians 2:3

Passages that refute (disprove) this doctrineAnd the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, "I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.- Genesis 8:21

Passages that refute (disprove) this doctrineThen the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it.- Ecclesiastes 12:7

Passages that refute (disprove) this doctrinefor in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ' For we are also His offspring. ‘- Acts 17:28

Passages that refute (disprove) this doctrine"Yet you say, 'Why should the son not bear the guilt of the father? ' Because the son has done what is lawful and right, and has kept all My statutes and observed them, he shall surely live. The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.- Ezekiel 18:19-20

Passages that refute (disprove) this doctrineBut Jesus said, " Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.“- Matthew 19:14