Position on Human Depravity

Position on Human Depravity

In humanity’s constant search for understanding, one of the core issues concerns our very nature. Knowledge of our true nature would provide an insight into many of the questions that go unanswered in our world. Whether deep down inside we are good or evil decides what situation we are in, and has implications about what we can do about it. Two famous figures in Christian history have taken opposing views on this subject. Augustine believed that humans have been corrupted at the core ever since the fall of man back in Genesis, while Pelagius believed that humans have complete freedom to choose good or evil, and human depravity is only a direct result of choosing evil.

Augustine had the conviction that man is naturally good, since man was created by God, and that our nature has not been altered completely by the “original sin”, but that our nature has simply been distorted or perverted from its original “good” state. He would say that, because of our corrupted nature, we do things selfishly, or, we do things to benefit ourselves instead of God and our neighbors. We tend to be unable of choosing good over evil in every situation. We have an inability to do what is right, while at the same time, we are completely responsible for what we do. This is not to say, however, that we never do what is right, or that we are pure evil, because evil is simply a corruption of the good. Instead, it means that our every action, when analyzed at the root, has the wrong motive, and ultimately we serve ourselves. Saying that human nature is not at least based on something good would imply that God created evil. Everything that is good is created by God, and there is nothing besides that. This ties into Augustine's belief that evil itself is not a thing, but is simply an absence of good.

Augustine would also say that without the divine intervention of God’s grace, we would not be able to take even the first step towards him, which is supported by verses like John 6:44a: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." This means that until we are saved, or under the influence of this divine grace, we are unable to even choose to follow him.

A contrasting point of view is given by Pelagius, who would argue that it is not necessary for God to enable us with divine grace in order to follow him. Man takes the first step towards God, and then God completes salvation in reaction only after we have taken the initiative to turn to him first. According to him Christians are completely free to choose not to sin, and are not necessarily inevitably going to mess up. His view is that our nature is not affected or caused by the sin of one man thousands of years ago. Pelagius' would say that Adam set the bad example, but it did not have condemning consequences for the rest of humanity. Similarly, Jesus was the one man who set the good example, and because of him, we have the freedom to choose what is right. This puts a lot more responsibility on man, since it would imply that we are accountable for our own salvation, as well as all of our sins. This view also almost completely excludes grace from the picture.

Pelagius' view conflicts with Augustine's idea that man is being condemned for something which he cannot avoid doing. He accused Augustine of continuing to be influenced by the worldview of his previous religion, Manichaeism, because he raised sin up so high, to the same level as God.

I agree with Pelagius' view more than Augustine's, but not completely. Pelagius has the view that life is not deterministic; it is up to us to choose between good or evil. Part of 1 John 2:1 says “I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin...”. The “if” could be interpreted to imply that sin is not inevitable, and we do have a choice to live perfectly, like Jesus. I agree with Augustine though, in the idea that original sin has consequences for all of us, and is similar to a sort of genetic flaw that has been passed down through all of humanity since Adam. Other verses like Jeremiah 13:23 and Romans 3:10-11 seem to support a sort of hopelessness against resisting sin. It is only by the restoration and freedom brought by Christ and the Holy Spirit that we are able to choose what is right and live pleasing God. I also agree with Augustine’s view that God takes