Deep Dive into The Doctrine of Original Sin by Jonathan Edwards - Universal Morality Proves Original Sin; Particularly the Death of Infants, with Its Various Circumstances

Death is described in the sources as the chief calamity and the most extreme and terrible of all natural evils in this world. It is regarded as such because of the profound terror it inspires in mankind—creatures capable of desiring and reflecting on immortality, yet possessing an extreme dread of death. Furthermore, death is the ultimate measure of suffering, exemplified by the description of Christ’s agony as suffering "unto death," and is attended by an "awful appearance" suggesting profound divine displeasure.

Fundamentally, death is understood not merely as a limitation of existence but as a judicial consequence of sin, a sentence pronounced by God as a righteous judge. The Apostle Paul states that sin entered the world, and death followed by sin. This connection establishes that universal death is a most glaring manifestation of God’s anger or "wrath," as the term "wrath" is often used in Scripture for calamities that issue in death. The Psalmist explicitly connects general mortality to being consumed by God's anger.

The fact that death reigns universally proves universal sinfulness, or the doctrine of original sin. If death is a judicial punishment, then no individual can be perfectly innocent, as the righteous Judge of all the earth would not bring this terrible evil upon those "worthy of no punishment at all." This is powerfully demonstrated by the death of infants, who are incapable of actual sin but die in vast numbers, often suffering extremely and being included without distinction in historical mass judgments (such as the Flood, Sodom's destruction, and the last destruction of Jerusalem).

This view stands in sharp contrast to the opinion held by Dr. T., who argues that affliction and death are a great benefit intended purely as fatherly chastisements designed to mortify pride, restrain lusts, and lead men to obedience, suggesting they are "not of the nature of punishments." However, the Gospel contradicts this, representing death not as a favor but as the "last enemy that shall be destroyed" by Christ, the second Adam. The destruction of infants, who cannot make the spiritual improvement suggested by Dr. T., serves as primary evidence that death must be a penalty for inherent guilt.

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

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