Theologian: "I was kind of excited to learn how rotten we are as human beings" He says some Calvinists revel in the fact that they're totally depraved. The worm bit is about moral, ethical transgression, he says. But it's not a Genesis 1 versus Genesis 3 or Genesis 3 against Genesis 1 and 2.
Many churches preach that your biggest problem is that you’re not living your best life now. Rather than calling people to repentance, they call them to “try harder, do better” so that they can be fulfilled, healthy, and happy. Reformed theology provides a doctrine to help counter this wrong diagnosis of our true problem: total depravity. But sometimes, this doctrine sounds much more like “utter depravity,” leaving nothing good or redeemable about humanity. In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, and Bob Hiller consider how we hold total depravity in tension with the goodness of humanity.