Does Original Sin Make God the Author of Evil? | Jonathan Edwards

An episode of the Reformed Thinking podcast, hosted by Edison Wu, titled "Does Original Sin Make God the Author of Evil? | Jonathan Edwards" was published on December 14, 2025 and runs 24 minutes.

December 14, 2025 ·24m · Reformed Thinking

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Summary

Deep Dive into The Doctrine of Original Sin by Jonathan Edwards - Concerning the Objection, against the Doctrine of Native Corruption, That to Suppose Men Receive Their First Existence in Sin, Is to Make Him Who Is the Author of Their Being, the Author of Their DepravityJonathan Edwards defends the doctrine of native depravity against Dr. T’s objection that it charges God with being the author of sin. Dr. T argues that for God to create humanity in a sinful state implies He actively infused a taint or evil quality into human nature,. Edwards rejects this premise, asserting that total depravity does not require a positive cause or the implantation of evil. Instead, he argues that corruption results entirely from privation—specifically, the withholding of special divine influences.Edwards posits that God originally implanted two types of principles in man: inferior or natural principles, such as self-love and appetite, and superior or supernatural principles, which include divine love and holiness. The superior principles were designed to govern the inferior ones, maintaining harmony in the soul. However, when Adam rebelled, God withdrew the superior principles as a just judgment, leaving the natural principles to operate alone. Edwards compares this to a candle being removed from a room; the resulting darkness is not a creation of a new substance but a natural consequence of the light's absence.Left to themselves, the natural principles of self-love and appetite became the absolute masters of the heart. Edwards illustrates this with the metaphor of fire: useful as a servant in the hearth, but destructive when it takes possession of the house. Without the restraint of divine love, self-love inevitably leads to spiritual disorder and enmity against God. Edwards concludes that God’s role is merely upholding the established course of nature. By treating Adam and his posterity as one system, God withholds the supernatural grace lost by the head of the race. Thus, God is the author of human existence but not the author of sin, as He simply permits the natural consequences of Adam’s apostasy to unfold,.Reformed Theologian GPT: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-XXwzX1gnv-reformed-theologianhttps://buymeacoffee.com/edi2730

Episode Description

Jonathan Edwards defends the doctrine of native depravity against Dr. T’s objection that it charges God with being the author of sin. Dr. T argues that for God to create humanity in a sinful state implies He actively infused a taint or evil quality into human nature,. Edwards rejects this premise, asserting that total depravity does not require a positive cause or the implantation of evil. Instead, he argues that corruption results entirely from privation—specifically, the withholding of special divine influences.

Edwards posits that God originally implanted two types of principles in man: inferior or natural principles, such as self-love and appetite, and superior or supernatural principles, which include divine love and holiness. The superior principles were designed to govern the inferior ones, maintaining harmony in the soul. However, when Adam rebelled, God withdrew the superior principles as a just judgment, leaving the natural principles to operate alone. Edwards compares this to a candle being removed from a room; the resulting darkness is not a creation of a new substance but a natural consequence of the light's absence.

Left to themselves, the natural principles of self-love and appetite became the absolute masters of the heart. Edwards illustrates this with the metaphor of fire: useful as a servant in the hearth, but destructive when it takes possession of the house. Without the restraint of divine love, self-love inevitably leads to spiritual disorder and enmity against God. Edwards concludes that God’s role is merely upholding the established course of nature. By treating Adam and his posterity as one system, God withholds the supernatural grace lost by the head of the race. Thus, God is the author of human existence but not the author of sin, as He simply permits the natural consequences of Adam’s apostasy to unfold,.

Reformed Theologian GPT: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-XXwzX1gnv-reformed-theologian

https://buymeacoffee.com/edi2730