These thoughts just struck me, after all these years. I guess I'm slow.

You state in another thread how the doctrine of total depravity did not affect Jesus in his birth, because he was not born of the seed of Adam, and so did not inherit depravity, according to reformed doctrine.

Does this doctrine mean to say that depravity is passed on only through the action of the man in reproduction? What about the woman? She would be just as stricken with depravity as the man, and HER part of the reproductive joining of seed and egg is fully half the picture. Why is not depravity passed on through HER contribution as well. (If you wish, you might answer both in general terms AND in terms of Jesus specificly.)

Also, it suddenly seems to me that the Catholic doctrine of the Immaculate Conception would have to be true, if total depravity is true. Mary would have to be conceived without sin so that she wouldn't pass it on to Jesus. This stuff just begs all kinds of questions.

-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000

Answers

"Total depravity" or even "Partial Depravity" is not found in the Holy Oracles of God. "Sin" is an Act, not something forced on us because of what Adam did. We reap the consequences of what he did, but one of them is not "depravity. The Calvinistic view of Election and reprobation led to the "Hereditary Total Depravity" Doctrine. The Presbyterian confession of Faith deals with this. We are told that from this original corruption of Adam proceed all actual transgressions. If this is true how came Adam to sin? Need more information please let me know.

-- Anonymous, May 07, 2000