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To: dangus
I'm afraid I have difficulty accepting either the Calvinist or the Catholic set of doctrines as you have described them. So I suppose it is well I'm neither Catholic nor Calvinist. But on total depravity I suppose I must side with the Catholics.

It seems to me, any doctrine that holds the unsaved to be "total depraved", must either be absurd, or simply have a radical departure from what such a term means in common language. Normally I would take "totally depraved" to mean a person has absolutely no moral consciouses. Out of charity for the Calvinist position, I am willing to entertain that it means something more plausible, but I can't seem to find a meaning that fits the teachings of the Bible.

Jesus Himself compared the evil in men's heart to "yeast". A strange analogy if flour is also evil.

Jesus advised sinners to discard an eye or hand that caused them to stumble, rather than have their whole body thrown into hell. A curious suggestion if the rest of the body were totally corrupt as well.

And do not forget the parable of the talents. The unworthy servant who hid his talent in the dirt was certainly an example of a damned soul. But the damned soul was in possession of some investment from God. At judgment "what little he had" was "taken away". But he did have something. What was it under a doctrine of total depravity?

8 posted on 04/26/2008 11:24:19 PM PDT by AndyTheBear (Disastrous social experimentation is the opiate of elitist snobs.)
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To: AndyTheBear; Penny1

Man is Totally Depraved in that, in his unregenerated state he has no desire to draw near to God. It is not that every action is evil, but no action will be pleasing to God. Unregenerated man cannot and will not choose to follow God. God has to regenerate man first. Therefore, all who come to God do so at God’s will, not man’s.


10 posted on 04/28/2008 1:03:01 AM PDT by irishtenor (Check out my blog at http://boompa53.blogspot.com/)
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