Is the doctrine of total depravity really against an indiscriminate gospel call to repentance and faith?
Joseph sold by his brothers; Image from Wikimedia Commons It is sometimes put that way, isn't it? The sinner is dead in trespasses and in sin, and cannot of his own free will (which is in bondage to sin) respond to the gospel, and therefore the gospel call to repentance and faith should not be addressed to them. Is this right? The way the adherents of such a position put it, you would think this was a slam dunk argument against which its opponents cannot recover. However, as one who thoroughly believes in the doctrine of the total depravity and inability of mankind, this argument is a bit frustrating to me. Frustrating, not because I feel stumped by it, but because the logic of the argument is bafflingly weak. In fact, I deny the logic of the argument and I deny that it has a shred of Biblical warrant. Let's start with the logic of the argument. It depends on believing that the following conditional statement is universally applicable: respon...
