Total Hereditary Depravity

The Philadelphia Confession of Faith, the first creed adopted by the Baptist churches in the United States, says,

“Our first parent by the sin fell from their original righteousness and communion with God, and we in them, whereby death came upon all; all becoming dead in sin, and wholly defiled in all faculties, and parts of the soul, and body.” (p. 24)

“They being the root, and by God’s appointment, standing in the room, and stead of all mankind, the guilt of their sin was imputed, and corrupted nature conveyed, to all their posterity, descending from them by ordinary generation, being now conceived in sin, and by nature children of wrath, the servants of sin, the subjects of death and all other miseries, spiritual, temporal, and eternal, unless the Lord Jesus sets them free.” (p. 24)

“From this original corruption whereby all are utterly indisposed, disables, and made opposite to all good and wholly inclined to all evil, do proceed all actual transgressions.” (p. 24)

Some Texts Used to Support This Doctrine

Genesis 6:5. The argument based on this text is that every intent of man’s heart was evil continually; therefore, all men were born totally depraved. In the context, Noah was a “just man, perfect in his generations” (v. 9). The text states that “all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth” (v. 12), not that they were born corrupt. If this verse depicts Total Hereditary Depravity, then why was it not the same in the generations before that of Noah? Why did not God destroy mankind sooner? How is it, if all men were depraved, that in Genesis 4:26, “men began to call on the name of the Lord”?

Psalm 5:1-5. The argument from this passage says that David, being conceived in sin and born in iniquity, was a sinner at birth. However, nothing in the text or context says David was born a sinner. David asks God to forgive his sin not his mother’s sin. His mother could have conceived in sin but it does not logically follow, neither does it state, that the child inherits that sin. David’s parents were simply like all other men and women – sinners themselves who lived in a world of sin.

Romans 3:19. The argument Calvinists use from this passage is that the whole world is guilty of sin before God because all are born in sin. However, Adam’s sin or supposed inherited depravity is not even mentioned. The passage is simply stating that both Jews and Gentiles are guilty of sinning against God. Note verse 12: “They have all turned aside.” One cannot turn aside from that which he was not on in the first place.

Romans 5:12-21. This passage is used to argue that the guilt of the sin of Adam, and thus depravity, has been passed unto all people. However, while this is a difficult passage, there is one important thing to remember that helps us understand this text in its context. (1) “All sinned” (v. 12; cf. Rom. 3:23)!

Scriptural Objections

Isaiah 59:1-8. Our sins and iniquities, not someone else’s, separate us from God. Verses three through eight list some specific sins -- murder, lying, acting violently, running toward evil, etc. Could a newborn baby have done these things?

Ezekiel 18:5-20. A righteous son is not guilty of his wicked father’s sins and a righteous father is not guilty of the sins of his wicked son. The conclusion in verse 20 is too obvious to miss: “The soul who sins shall die.”

Matthew 18:1-5. If we are to be as little children and if Total Hereditary Depravity is true, we need to be more like sinners. Total Hereditary Depravity is inconsistent with the teaching of Jesus about the nature of children. If one believes the Calvinist and his denominational creeds, when Jesus demands people to become as little children, they must be: “Wholly defiled in all the faculties of soul and body” and “By nature children of wrath.”

Romans 7:9-11. Rather than being born spiritually dead, the apostle Paul was born spiritually alive. We become spiritually dead because of our own sins not sins we inherit from our ancestors. Death came to all because all sinned (Rom. 5:12). We become “dead through your trespasses” (Col. 2:13).

1 Corinthians 14:20. “In malice be babes.” If babes are totally depraved, why would the apostle Paul encourage anyone to be like them?

Conclusion

The basis of Calvinism originated, not in the mind of God, but in the mind of a mistaken theologian. A person becomes a sinner when he violates God's law not when he is born. We do not inherit the sin of our parents, Adam or anyone else.