Calvin's Institutes: February 18

In these closing sections, Calvin presses the doctrine of original sin to its deepest and most uncomfortable conclusion: corruption does not merely touch the surface of human desire but penetrates the very center of the soul—mind, heart, and will alike. Sin has seized not only our appetites but the “citadel” of reason itself, blinding understanding and twisting judgment so thoroughly that nothing in us remains neutral or untouched (Romans 8:7; Ephesians 4:17–18). This devastation, however, must never be attributed to God as Creator. Calvin is careful here: our corruption is natural in the sense that it is inherited, but it is not original to creation. It is an alien infection, an adventitious wound introduced by Adam’s revolt, not a defect built into human nature by God (Ecclesiastes 7:29). Thus all attempts to blame God for human evil collapse. The fault lies wholly with our degeneration, not with divine workmanship. And by clarifying this, Calvin simultaneously dismantles both Pelagian optimism and Manichaean dualism: humanity is neither morally intact nor metaphysically evil. We are fallen creatures, naturally depraved yet still creatures of God, whose only hope is not repair but re-creation—nothing less than a new nature wrought by grace (Ephesians 2:3; Romans 12:2).Explore the Project:Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.comPatreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpattonCredo Courses – https://www.credocourses.comCredo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org#InstitutesOfTheChristianReligion #OriginalSin #TotalDepravity #ReformedTheology #AugustinianTheology #SolaGratia #TheologyPodcast #ChurchHistory #SystematicTheology