Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and
done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou
speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and
in sin did my mother conceive me. (Ps 51:4-5)
Commenting
on the pre-Augustinian interpretation of Psa 51:4-5 and how it was not used as a “proof-text” for Total Depravity,
Ken Wilson wrote:
Ps. 51:5 is hyperbole as seen by comparing
Ps. 58:3. “The wicked go astray from the womb, they err from their birth,
speaking likes” (RSV). Newborns cannot speak lies—they cannot speak. Origen specifically
cited but denied any guilt for sin at birth in Ps. 51 when combating pagans and
Gnostics (C.Cels. 7.50) although he
teaches the sin nature (genuinae sordes
peccati) enters through physical birth (Hom.
Lev. 8.3, 12.4; Com. Rom. 5.9; C. Cels. 7.50) . . . Early Christians
had likewise used Ps. 51:4 to demonstrate human depravity but not total
depravity (inability to respond to God from inherited guilt and loss of free
will). (Ken Wilson, The Foundation of
Augustinian-Calvinism [Regula Fidei Press, 2019], 70 n. 2)
An Examination and Critique of the Theological Presuppositions Underlying Reformed Theology
