ORIGINAL SIN PT. 3-IS IT TRUE, IF THE PROPENSITY OF MAN’S NATURE IS EVIL, THEN HIS SOUL IS CORRUPT.

THIS MESSAGE CAN BE FOUND ACCOMPANIED WITH MUSIC IF YOU DOWNLOAD THE SPOTIFY APP AND PUT IN THE SEARCH BAR-BROKEN 3 JONATHON EDWARDS WRITES:SECT. III.OVERVIEWThat Propensity which has been proved to be in the Nature of all Mankind, must be a very evil, de|praved and pernicious Propensity; making it manifest that the Soul of Man, as it is by Nature, is in a corrupt, fallen and ruin'd State: which is the other Part of the Consequence, drawn from the Proposition laid down in the first Section.Question to be considered, in Order to deter|mine whether Man's Nature is not depraved and ruin'd, is not, Whether he is not inclined to perform as many good Deeds as bad ones? But, Which of these two he preponderates to, in the Frame of his Heart, and State of his Nature, a State of Innocence and Righteousness, and Favour with God; or a State of Sin, Guiltiness and Abhorrence in the Sight of God?—Persevering sinless Righteousness, or else the Guilt of Sin, is the Alternative, the Decision of which depends (as is confessed) according to the Nature and Truth of Things, as they are in them|selves, and according to the Rule of Right and of perfect Justice, Man's being approved and accepted of his Maker, and eternally blessed as good; or his being rejected, thrown away and cursed as bad. And therefore the Determi|nation of the Tendency of Man's Heart and Nature with respect to these Terms, is that which is to be look'd at, in Order to determine whether his Nature is good or evil, pure or corrupt, sound or ruin'd. If such be Man's Na|ture, and state of his Heart, that he has an infallibly ef|fectual Propensity to the latter of those Terms;; then it is wholly impertinent, to talk of the innocent and kind Actions, even of Criminals themselves, surpassing their Crimes in Numbers; and of the prevailing Innocence, good Nature, Industry, Felicity and Chearfulness of the greater Part of Mankind. Let never so many Thou|sands, or Millions of Acts of Honesty, good Nature &c.descriptionPAGE 28be supposed; yet, by the Supposition, there is an unfail|ing Propensity to such moral Evil, as in it's dreadful Con|sequences infinitely out-weighs all Effects or Consequen|ces of any supposed Good. Surely that Tendency, which, in Effect, is an infallible Tendency to eternal Destruction, is an infinitely dreadful & pernicious Tendency: And that Nature & Frame of Mind, which implies such a Tendency, must be an infinitely dreadful & pernicious Frame of Mind. It would be much more absurd, to suppose, that such a State of Nature is good, or not bad, under a Notion of Men's doing more honest and kind things, than evil ones; than to say, the State of that Ship is good, to cross the Atlantick Ocean in, that is such as cannot hold together through the Voyage, but will infallibly founder and sink by the Way; under a Notion that it may probably go great Part of the Way before it sinks, or that it will pro|ceed and sail above Water more Hours than it will be in sinking:—Or, to pronounce thatRoad a good Road to go to such a Place, the greater Part of which is plain and safe, tho' some Parts of it are dangerous, and certainly fatal to them that travel in it; or to call that a good Pro|pensity, which is an inflexible Inclination to travel in such a Way.SECT. V.The Depravity of Nature appears, in that the general Consequence of the State & Tendency of Man's Nature is a much greater Degree of Sin, than Righteousness; not only with respect to Value and Demerit, but Matter and Quantity.I Have before shewn, that there is a Propensity in Man's Nature to that Sin, which in Heinousness and Ill-desert immensely outweighs all the Value and Merit of any supposed Good, that may be in him, or that he can do.