The 39 Articles of Religion

1. The 39 Articles of Religion Part eight: fallen Man

2. Article IX. Of Original or Birth-Sin.Article X. Of free will. Eden, from the Sistine Chapel

3. The innate depravity of man “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” Genesis 6:5 Jan Breughel the elder, Flood, c. 1620

4. Judicial unrighteousness “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb.” Psalm 51:5-6 Stefan Lochner, Last Judgment, 1425

5. The spirit and the flesh • “For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.” Romans 7:19-20 Apostle Paul in Prison, Rembrandt, 1625

6. Post-Enlightenment thought and the doctrine of sin • Western thought since the Enlightenment has rejected the notion of man’s innate sinfulness, despite sparse evidence to suggest mankind’s innate goodness • Post-moderns view ‘sin’ as a construct

7. Sin, freedom, and the problem of pain But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” Luke 13:1-4 IlyaYefimovich-Repin, Job and his Friends, 1869

8. Augustine, Pelagius, sin and the gospel • An inadequate understanding of the problem of sin can only lead to inadequate religion • Only acceptance of our spiritual helplessness will drive us to the source of growth Philippe de Champaigne, St. Augustine, c.1648