In Calvinism were told about the doctrine of Total depravity, or total inability . But is it true ? How many things can the unbeliever do or not do ?
This is what a Calvinist website has to say on Total depravity.
(Got questions)
Total depravity - is it biblical?
ANSWER
Total depravity is a phrase or name that is used to summarize what the Bible teaches about the spiritual condition of fallen man. It is the “T” in the acronym TULIP, which is commonly used to enumerate what are known as the five points of Calvinism or the doctrines of grace. Because the name “total depravity” can cause people to have wrong ideas about what is meant, some people prefer to use terms like “total inability,” “righteous incapability,” “radical corruption” or even “moral inability.” Yet what is important is not the name assigned to the doctrine but how accurately the doctrine summarizes what the Bible teaches about the spiritual condition of fallen man. No matter which name you use to refer to “total depravity,” the fact remains that when properly understood it is an accurate description of what the Bible does teach on this important subject.
While often misunderstood, the doctrine of total depravity is an acknowledgement that the Bible teaches that as a result of the fall of man (Genesis 3:6) every part of man—his mind, will, emotions and flesh—have been corrupted by sin. In other words, sin affects all areas of our being including who we are and what we do. It penetrates to the very core of our being so that everything is tainted by sin and “…all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” before a holy God (Isaiah 64:6). It acknowledges that the Bible teaches that we sin because we are sinners by nature. Or, as Jesus says, “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.” (Matthew 7:17-18).
End of quote .
Do you agree with this as a professing non calvinist ?
There are many things i disagree with here. Which hopefully we can get into. But how many things does calvinism really say man cannot do ? when we scrutinize this doctrine it raises questions. ' sin nature ',where is that in the bible for one?
But the aim of this post is to look at what a unbeliever is really unable to do if they are totally depraved ect
. It seems as if unbelievers can do pretty much the things that believers do . They can pay taxes , love their wives, stay faithful, be loyal at work , care for their families, give to charities, build hospitals , invent things for good , create medicines, ect . When we think of the things that Christians have done over history we could probably find unbelievers who have done equally good things also .
I listened to something recently that said that Calvinsim is really teaching ' singular depravity " . That when you scrutinise the doctrine of the T in TULIP all its really saying is that there's only ONE thing man cannot do ,and that's ' believe the Gospel .
Thoughts?
This is what a Calvinist website has to say on Total depravity.
(Got questions)
Total depravity - is it biblical?
ANSWER
Total depravity is a phrase or name that is used to summarize what the Bible teaches about the spiritual condition of fallen man. It is the “T” in the acronym TULIP, which is commonly used to enumerate what are known as the five points of Calvinism or the doctrines of grace. Because the name “total depravity” can cause people to have wrong ideas about what is meant, some people prefer to use terms like “total inability,” “righteous incapability,” “radical corruption” or even “moral inability.” Yet what is important is not the name assigned to the doctrine but how accurately the doctrine summarizes what the Bible teaches about the spiritual condition of fallen man. No matter which name you use to refer to “total depravity,” the fact remains that when properly understood it is an accurate description of what the Bible does teach on this important subject.
While often misunderstood, the doctrine of total depravity is an acknowledgement that the Bible teaches that as a result of the fall of man (Genesis 3:6) every part of man—his mind, will, emotions and flesh—have been corrupted by sin. In other words, sin affects all areas of our being including who we are and what we do. It penetrates to the very core of our being so that everything is tainted by sin and “…all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” before a holy God (Isaiah 64:6). It acknowledges that the Bible teaches that we sin because we are sinners by nature. Or, as Jesus says, “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.” (Matthew 7:17-18).
End of quote .
Do you agree with this as a professing non calvinist ?
There are many things i disagree with here. Which hopefully we can get into. But how many things does calvinism really say man cannot do ? when we scrutinize this doctrine it raises questions. ' sin nature ',where is that in the bible for one?
But the aim of this post is to look at what a unbeliever is really unable to do if they are totally depraved ect
. It seems as if unbelievers can do pretty much the things that believers do . They can pay taxes , love their wives, stay faithful, be loyal at work , care for their families, give to charities, build hospitals , invent things for good , create medicines, ect . When we think of the things that Christians have done over history we could probably find unbelievers who have done equally good things also .
I listened to something recently that said that Calvinsim is really teaching ' singular depravity " . That when you scrutinise the doctrine of the T in TULIP all its really saying is that there's only ONE thing man cannot do ,and that's ' believe the Gospel .
Thoughts?
