Brief Exposition (Whitehead) n. 10

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10. From the Formula Concordiae, concerning original sin. (a) That since the fall of Adam, all men naturally descended from him are born with sin, which condemns, and brings eternal death upon those who are not born again, and that the merit of Christ is the only means whereby they are regenerated, consequently the only remedy whereby they are healed (pp. 9, 10, 52, 53, 55, 317, 641, 644, and Appendix, pp. 138, 139). (b) That original sin is such a total corruption of nature, that there is no spiritual soundness in the powers of man either as to his soul or body (p. 574). (c) That it is the source of all actual sins (pp. 317, 577, 639, 640, 942; Appendix, p. 139). (d) That it is a total absence or privation of the image of God (p. 640). (e) That we ought to distinguish between our nature, such as God created it, and original sin which dwells in our nature (p. 645). (f) Moreover, original sin is there called the work of the devil, spiritual poison, the root of all evils, an accident and a quality; whereas our nature is there called the work and creature of God, the personality of man, a substance, and an essence; and that the difference between them is the same as the difference between a man infected with a disease and the disease itself.


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