The semi-Pelagian theory of Dr. Taylor may be disproved by the facts, 1st. That infants die, are baptized, and must be re- deemed before the commencement of moral agency. — See above, questions 16-19. 2d. The Scriptures declare this corruption to be hereditary and innate. — Ps. li., 5 ; lviii., 3 ; John iii., 6 ; Eph. ii-, 3. 3d. The Scriptures call this inherent principle or state of the heart sin.~Kom. vi., 12, 17 ; vii., 5, 17 ; Eph. iv., 17, 18 ;
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John viii., 34. If men are " servants of sin/' it follows that this principle, although in the will, lies back of and is superior to the mere volitional faculty.
21. If God is the author of our nature, and our nature is sinful, how can we avoid the conclusion that God is the author of sin ?
That conclusion would be unavoidable if, 1st, sin was an essential element of our nature, or if, 2d, it inhered in that na- ture originally, as it came from God.
But we know, 1st, that sin originated in the free act of man, created holy, yet fallible ; 2d, that entire corruption of nature sprang from that sin ; and, 3d, that in consequence of sin God has justly withdrawn the conservative influences of his Holy Spirit, and left men to the natural and penal consequences of their sin. — See Calvin's Instil, Lib. II., Chap. I., sec. 6 and 11.
22. How can this doctrine be reconciled with the liberty of man and his responsibility for his acts ?
1st. Consciousness affirms that a man is always responsible for his free actions, and that his act is always free when he wills as, upon the whole, he prefers to will. 2d. Original sin consists in corrupt dispositions, and, therefore, in every sin a man acts freely, because he acts precisely as he is disposed to act. 3d. Consciousness affirms that inability is not inconsistent with re- sponsibility. The inherent habit or disposition of the will deter- mines his action, but no man, by a mere choice or volition, can change his disposition. — See Chap. XVIII., questions 4 and 25.
23. How is this corruption of nature propagated ?
Several theories have been held upon this subject. 1st. The Manichsean doctrine was, that matter, eternal and self-existent, is inherently corrupt and corrupting ; all souls, therefore, being severally created pure, become vitiated from connection with their bodies. — Mosheim, Book I., Part II., Chap. V.
2d. Some have supposed that all human souls were created cotemporaneously with Adam, having since remained in a state of unconsciousness to the moment of their individual births, and
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that, by some law of connection, they became depraved together with him.
3d. The doctrine designated " ex traduce" supposes that, by some law of spiritual generation, the soul of the child is propa- gated by, and derives its qualities from the souls of its parents. This view is now universally abandoned. Yet it is evident that the soul of the child is created after the analogy of the souls of its parents, i. e., the child is. like the parent, mentally and moral- ly, as well as physically. And surely the soul of the child deter- mines the individual idiosyncrasies of the body in the womb, not . the body of the soul ; as appears evident from the universally recognized truth of physiognomy, etc., etc.
4th. The sufficient answer is that the moral health of the soul depends upon its communion with God. But, because of God's displeasure with the race, he creates every infant soul in a state judicially excluded from that fellowship, and hence the tendency to sin. — Conf. Faith, Chap. VI., sec. 3 ; Gen. v., 3 ; Ps. lvii., 5 ; Job xiv., 4 ; xv., 14 ; John iii., 6.
24. In what sense may sin he the punishment of sin ?
1st. In the way of natural consequence (1.) in the interior working of the soul itself, in the derangement of its powers ; (2.) in the entangled relations of the sinner with God and his fellowmen.
2d. In the way of judicial abandonment. Because of sin God withdraws his Holy Spirit, and further sin is the consequence. — Kom. i., 24-28.
25. What distinction do the Romanists make "between mortal and venial sins ?
By mortal sins they mean those that turn away the soul from God, and forfeit baptismal grace. By venial sins they mean those which only impede the course of the soul to God.
The objections are, 1st. This distinction is never made in the Scriptures. 2d. Except for the sacrifice of Christ, every sin is mortal. — James ii., 10 ; Gal. iii., 10.
26. What do the Scriptures teach concerning the sin against the Holy Ghost ?
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See Matt. xii., 31, 32 ; Mark iii., 29, 30 ; Heb. vi., 4-6 ; x., 26, 27 ; 1 John, v., 16.