A Treatise of Original Sin, Part 2 · Chapter 17
CHAP. XVII.
Objections againſt the Poſitive Part of Original Sinne anſwered.
SECT. I.
Cautions Premiſed.
THere remain only ſome Objections againſt this Truth, but before we anſwer them, take notice,
Firſt, That although we ſay original ſinne is more than a privation of that Righteouſneſſe which ought to be in man, yet We do not make it to be like ſome infecting corporeal quality in the body, that hereby ſhould vitiate the ſoul, and as it were poiſon that. Lombard and ſome others, eſpecially Ariminenſis (Diſtinct. 30.) They ſeem to deliver their opinion ſo, as rejecting Anſelm's definition of original ſinne, making it to be want of that original righteouſneſſe which ought to be in us, and do declare it to be a morbida qualitas, ſome kinde of peſtilential and infecting quality abiding in the body, and thereby affecting the ſoul; As when the body is in ſome phrenetical and mad diſtempers, the ſoul is thereby diſturbed in all its operations; ſo that theſe make the want of original righteouſneſs to be the effect of original ſinne, not the nature of it, ſaying upon Adam's ſinne, Man becoming thus defiled, God refuſed to continue this righteouſneſs to him any longer. But if theſe Schoolmen be further queſtioned, How ſuch a diſeaſed peſtilential quality ſhould be in the body? Some ſay, it was from the forbidden fruit that that had ſuch a noxious effect with it; but that is rejected, becauſe that was made of God, and all was exceeding good: Arimine…ſis therefore following as he thinketh Auſtin, maketh this venemous quality in a mans body to have its original, from the hiſſing and breath, as it were of the Serpent; he conceiveth, that by their diſcourſe with the Serpent, there came from it ſuch an infectious air, as might contaminate the whole body, and he ſaith Auſtin ſpeaks of ſome, who from the very hiſſing and air from Serpents have been poiſoned.
But the Proteſtants they do not hold it any poſitive quality in this ſenſe; for this is to make the body, the firſt and chiefeſt ſubject of original ſinne, and ſo to convey it to the ſoul, whereas indeed the ſoul is primarily and principally the ſeat of original ſinne; We therefore reject this, as coming too near Manicheiſm, as if there were ſome evil and infectious qualities in the very nature and ſubſtance of a man.
Secondly, It muſt be remembred, what hath been ſaid before, That when we come to give a particular reaſon why the underſtanding or will are propenſe to any evil; We can aſſign only a privative cauſe, viz. Becauſe it wants that rectitude which would regulate it; as if a ſhip (it's Anſelm's compariſon) were without Pilot and Governour of tacklings let looſe into the whole Ocean, it would be violently hurried up and down till it be deſtroyed. Thus man without this Image of God would be toſſed up and down by every luſt, never reſting till he had hurled himſelf into hell; yet though we cannot give any more than a privative cauſe, there is alſo a poſitive propenſity to all evil connoted: As in a wicked action of murder or drunkenneſs, if you go to give a reaſon, why ſuch actions are ſinnes; we muſt ſay from the foreign that is in them, that want of order which the Law requireth; There is a privation of that rectitude the Law commands, yet thoſe ſinnes do imply alſo the material and ſubſtrate acts, as well as the obliquity: In every ſinne of commiſſion, there is that which is poſitive as well as privative; Though the ratio formalis of the ſinne be a privation; and thus it is in original ſinne, the whole nature of it comprehends both a want of Gods Image, and a conſtant inclination to all impiety. Though the privative be the cauſe of the poſitive Indeed Rolloc (De vocatione cap. 25. de peccat. orig.) maketh a three-fold matter, and a three-fold form in original ſinne: The three-fold matter he aſſigneth to be a defection from God, a want of original righteouſneſs, and a poſitive quality, which ſucceedeth in the room of holineſſe: To which three-fold matter he attributeth a three fold form or foreign, in which the nature of ſinne conſiſts. Now theſe material parts of original ſinne, are ſo many entities, being good in themſelves, and coming from God the Author of nature, but how Apoſtaſie and want of original righteouſneſs can be poſitive entities, and good of themſelves, I cannot underſtand, or how carentia juſtitiae originalis, ſhould have the foreign for its form when that it ſelf is the foreign, and ſo a form have a form ſeemeth irrational to conceive.
SECT. II.
THeſe two things thus premiſed, the plain and obvious Objection is, That if original ſinne be poſitive, then it's good, and ſo of God, becauſe omne ens eſt bonum, every being is good, and then as Auſtin, Omne bonum eſt vel Deus, vel à Deo, all good is either God himſelf, or of God Would it not then be blaſphemy to make God the Authour of it, and if it have a poſitive being, then certainly it muſt come from God the Author of all being?
But to this ſeveral Anſwers may be returned:
Firſt, That though original ſinne ſhould be granted to be poſitive, yet for all that God would not be made the Author of ſinne, Becauſe as it's ſinne, it doth ariſe from man. There are ſome great Schoolmen, as Cajetan and others, that hold ſinnes of commiſſion have a poſitive real being, as ſinnes; They deny that the nature of ſuch ſinnes lieth formally in a privation. but in a poſitive relative contrariety to the Law of God; and when urged with this Argument, That then ſuch ſinnes have their being immediately from God, as all other created beings have: They will anſwer, That God is indeed the efficient of every being, but not of every modus, or relative reſpect of that being: As for example, when a man eateth and drinketh, this eating and drinking they are from God, but then take them under this relative reſpect, as they are vital and formal actions of man, ſo they cannot be attributed to God, for then we might ſay, God doth eat and drink, yea in thoſe gracious acts when we do believe and repent, God is the efficient cauſe of them, yet as they do formally and vitally flow from us, ſo they are not to be attributed to God, for God doth not repent or believe. Thus it may be ſaid, That though God be efficiently the cauſe of all poſitive being, yet as ſome being hath a relative reſpect to the ſecond cauſe working, ſo it cannot be attributed to God, neither is this any imperfection, but a perfection in God, becauſe Deus non poteſt ſupplers vicem materialis, aut formalis cauſae: Therefore ſaith Curiel a poſitive Doctor for the poſitive nature of ſinnes of Commiſſion (Lectur. 6. in Thom. pag. 300.) That it may be granted, the will is prima moralis cauſa peccati, as we may ſay a man is the firſt cauſe of ſight, per modum videntis, becauſe he is not ſubordinate to any other cauſe, which doth produce this ſight, viz. formally, a ſight; and (ſaith he) the like is in all other vital actions. But I need not run into this thorny thicket to hide my ſelf from the force of this Objection.
Secondly, There are ſome learned Proteſtants, that do diſtinguiſh of ens, or being; That ens is either created, as the works of the ſix dayes, or generated, as mankind, and the animate creatures, or made as artificial things, or prepared, as Heaven and Hell, or introduced, as ſinne; for it's ſaid of ſinne, that it's foreign; So that upon this diſtinction they will ſay, That God is the cauſe of all made, and created beings, but not of introduced beings, ſuch as ſinne is, becauſe that came in by Satans temptation, and mans diſobedience. But this diſtinction hath ſcarce ſo much as a ſandy foundation; for though it be an introduced being, yet becauſe a being, it is a creature, and ſo muſt come from God the chief being, according to that of the Evangeliſt, John 1. All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made: For that which is ens only by participation, muſt be reduced to that which is ens per essentiam. Therefore
In the third place, We muſt ſpeak of original ſinne, as we do of vicious habits, and of actual ſinnes; The material and ſubſtrate of them, being a good of nature is of God, but the vitioſity and obliquity that is of man, when a man moveth his tongue to curſe and ſwear, or his hand to murder another: As they are actions they are of God, For in him we live, and move, and have our being; but as evil adhereth to them, ſo they are of man: Thus it is in original ſinne, when we ſay, there is a poſitive inclination in mans heart to all evil; The meaning is, That the underſtanding and will, as they are faculties, and as they do act, thus farre they are of God, but as they cannot but act ſinfully, and offend in every motion, ſo it's of Adam's diſobedience, to underſtand then, to think, to will, to love, theſe are of God, but to love what is evil and contrary to Gods Word, or to love exceſſively and immoderately that which we are to do in ſubordination only, this is of our ſelves.
A ſecond Objection is, That if original ſinne be like a vicious habit in a man, then it cannot be tranſmitted unto poſterity, for habits (they ſay) are perſonal things: No father doth communicate to his childe any habits, either virtuous or vicious.
But to this it's anſwered, That original ſinne is not an acquired habit of ſinne, but an innate and imbred one in us; So that as if Adam had ſtood, original righteouſneſſe, which was like a concreated habit in man, would have been communicated to all his poſterity, thus it is no wonder, if original ſinne, which doth ſo tenaciouſly and inwardly adhere to all natures be tranſmitted to every one born in a natural way.
The laſt Objection is, That there is no neceſſity of ſuppoſing ſuch an habitual vitioſity in a man; It's enough (ſay they) that a man be deprived of the Image of God, and when that is loſt, of it's own ſelf man's nature is prone to evil; It needs no habitual inclination to weigh him down; as if a wild beaſt be tied in cords and chains, loſe him, unty him, and of himſelf he will runne into wild and untamed actions.
But to anſwer this:
Firſt, The Papiſts, they cannot conſequentially to their principles ſay thus; For they hold, That if this Image of God be removed, he doth continue in his pure naturals, there is no ſinne inhering in him, upon the meer loſſe of that; For they confeſſe, That although by acting from his pure naturals he could not deſerve Heaven, or love God as a ſupernatural end, yet in an inferiour way, as the ultimate natural end, ſo he might love God, and that above all other things.
But ſecondly, That is granted, This poſitive inclination to all evil, followeth neceſſarily from the removal of this Image of God from us; If the Sunne be removed, then neceſſarily darkneſſe doth cover the face of the ſoul; If the loco-motive faculty be interrupted, then there is nothing but halting and lameneſſe: Diſturb the harmony, and good temperament of the humours, and then immediately diſeaſes and pains do ſurprize the whole man; It cannot therefore be avoided, that when this diſorder is come upon the ſoul, but that our luſts break out as at a flood-gate, and we are in a ſpiritual deluge all over covered with the waters of ſin; but then here is a poſitive as well as a privative.
Beſides, It is not for us to be curious in giving a reaſon of ſuch poſitive corruption in a man by nature; it is enough that Gods word is ſo clear and full in the diſcovery of it, that he muſt needs wilfully ſhut his eyes, that will not be convinced by the light of Gods word herein: And this may ſuffice to diſpel that darkneſſe, which ſome would have covered this Truth with, and as for what knowledge about this poſitiveneſſe of original corruption is further neceſſary; We ſhall then take notice of it, when we ſpeak of original ſinne, as it is called luſt or concupiſcence.
SECT. III.
LEt therefore the Uſe from the former Doctrine delivered, be, To affectus, and wound us at the very heart, that we are thus all over covered with ſin, that we have not an underſtanding, but to ſin, a will but to ſin, an heart but to ſin; May not this be like a two edged ſword within thee? What will fire thee out of all thy ſelf-confidence, thy ſelf-righteouſneſſe, if this doe not? What delight, what comfort canſt thou take by beholding thy ſelf, by looking on thy ſelf thus corrupted and depraved? And the rather let this conſideration go to the very bottom of thy ſoul. Becauſe
Firſt, Thy propenſity and inclination is to that onelyonly which God onelyonly hateth, which God onelyonly loatheth, and hath decreed to puniſh with his utmoſt wrath to all eternity. Conſider that ſinne is the greateſt evil; All the temporal evils in the world are but the effect of it, that is the cauſe. Now can it ever humble thee enough to think, that the whole bent, and conſtant tendency of thy ſoul is unto that which is the moſt abominable in the eyes of God? Thou canſt not do that which is more deſtructive to thy own ſoul, and more diſhonouring unto God, then by committing ſinne, and yet thou canſt do nothing elſe, thou delighteſt in nothing elſe; Thy heart will not let thee do any thing elſe: Look over thy whole life, take notice how many years thou haſt lived, and yet if not regenerated and delivered in ſome meaſure from the power of original corruption, thou haſt done nothing but ſinned; Every thought hath been a ſinne, every motion a ſinne within thee, and yet ſinne is the greateſt evil, and that alone which God hateth.
Secondly, If yet thy heart be hard, and nothing will enter, take a ſecond naile, or wedge to drive into thee, and that is, being thus all over carried out to ſinne, not the leaſt good able to riſe in thy heart, that hereby the very plain Image of the Devil is drawn over thee: Hence it is, that wicked men are ſaid to be of their Father the Devil; and he is ſaid to rule in the hearts of the children of diſobedience, Epheſ. 2. What a wofull change is this, to be turned from a Sonne of God, to become a Devil? While Adam retained the Image of God, God abode with him, and in him, there was a near union with God, but upon his Apoſtaſie, the Devil taketh poſſeſſion of all, and ſo now man is in a near union with the Devil: Every mans ſoul is now the Devils Caſtle, his proper habitation; The Spirit of God is chaced away, and now thy heart is made an habitation for theſe Satyrs; Thy ſoul is become like an howling wilderneſſe, wherein lodge all beaſtly luſts whatſoever; Thou that wouldſt account it horrible injury to be called beaſt and Devil, yet thy original ſinne maketh thee no leſſe.
Thirdly, This further may break thy heart, if it be not yet broken enough, that hereby thou art utterly impotent and unable to help thy ſelf out of this loſt condition; For how can a dead man help himſelfe to live again? How can thy crooked heart be ever made ſtraight, unleſſe a greater power than that ſubdue it; If thou didſt judge thy condition an hopeleſſe one, as to all humane conſiderations, then thou wouldeſt tremble, and have no reſt in thy ſelfe, till God had delivered thee out of it?
Laſtly, Let this alſo further work to thy Humiliation, that being thus poſitively inclined to all evil, not onelyonly proper and ſutable temptations draw out thy ſinnes, but even all holy and godly remedies appointed by God, they do increaſe this corruption the more, And is not that man miſerable, whoſe very remedies make him more miſerable? Doth not the Apoſtle complain ſadly of that Law of ſinne in him, even in this reſpect, that by this means, the Law wrought in him all evil? The more holy and ſpiritual the Law was, the more carnal and ſinfull was he thereby occaſioned to be: Oh then! What wilt thou do, when good things make thee evil, ſpiritual things make thee more carnal?