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Comment by 131012 | Hacker News Reader

Christianism considers everyone intrinsically bad.

"Original sin is the Christian doctrine that holds that humans, through the fact of birth, inherit a tainted nature in need of regeneration and a proclivity to sinful conduct." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_sin

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Only Calvinism subscribes to total depravity. Catholicism and Orthodoxy actually remind us that we are created good, holy, and innocent. Nice try tho.

AFAIK original sin does teach that all men are fallen and require salvation. This doesn’t mean that human nature is all bad and it’s indeed not the same as total depravity. However it’s also not true that men are born holy.

Indeed 'created in His image' would seem to be at odds with 'intrinsically bad'.

I didn't say "born holy" but if you kindly turn to Genesis you can see how the first man and woman were CREATED in Original Holiness (and Solitude, Justice, Unity).

Original sin is a deprivation of these positive qualities. Mary, for example, preserved in holiness, not simply cleansed of it. Holiness is our natural state, and so baptism returns us to that preternatural holiness that Adam enjoyed when he walked with God in the Garden.

The total in TULIP's "total depravity" is not a measure of sinfulness. It is not meant to imply that we are naturally as evil as possible in every context. The "total" is speaking in terms of the extent of depravity. That is to say, sin touches and influences every aspect of our existence. So that even in good works with the best of intentions humanly possible, there still exists an element of self exalting corruption.

I mean “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” though. Obviously the entire message of the New Testament is that all are also offered salvation through Jesus, but it’s pretty clear that everyone needs saving in the first place.

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