Wesley Corpus

“Its very fundamental powers are shaken and disjointed, and their order toward one another confounded and broken; so that what is judged considerable, is not considered; what is recom mended as lovely and eligible, is not loved and chosen. Yea, ‘the truth which is after godliness’ is not so much disbelieved, as hated, or “held in unrighteousness;’ and shines with too feeble a light in that malignant darkness which ‘comprehends. it not.’ You come, amidst all this confusion, into the ruined palace of some great Prince, in which you see, here the frag ments of a noble pillar, there the shattered pieces of some curious imagery, and all lying neglected and useless, among heaps of dirt. He that invites you to take a view of the soul of man gives you but such another prospect, and doth but say to you, ‘Behold the desolation l’ All things rude and waste. So that, should there be any pretence to the Divine presence, it might be said, ‘If God be here, why is it thus?’ The faded glory, the darkness, the disorder, the impurity, the decayed state in all respects of this temple, too plainly show, ‘the Great Inhabitant is gone !’” NEWINGTON, Jan. 21. In your Third Part you propose, First, to answer some objections and queries; and then to consider the connexion of the doctrine of original sin with other parts of religion. “Objection 1. Are we not in worse moral circumstances than Adam was before he fell? I answer: “(1.) If by moral circumstances you mean, the state of religion and virtue, it is certain the greatest part of mankind ever were and still are very corrupt. But this is not the fault of their nature, but occasioned by the abuse of it, in prostitut ing reason to appetite, whereby, in process of time, they have sunk themselves into the most lamentable degree of ignorance, superstition, idolatry, injustice, debauchery.” (Page 168.) But how came this? How came all nations thus to “abuse their nature,” thus to “prostitute reason to appetite?” How came they all to sink into this “lamentable ignorance, super stition, idolatry, injustice, debauchery?” How came it, that half of them, at least, if their nature was uncorrupt, did not use it well? submit appetite to reason, and rise while the other sunk?