total depravity

noun

1. the Calvinist doctrine that humankind's entire nature, including its reason, is corrupt or sinful as a result of the Fall and that people are therefore completely dependent on God for regeneration.

total depravity

noun

1. Calvinist the doctrine that man's nature is totally corrupt as a result of the Fall

Word History and Origins

Origin of total depravity¹

First recorded in 1785–95

Example Sentences

It’s just hard to believe that it steered a slightly crooked, often endearing and largehearted man into total depravity.

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Lingan added, “It’s about greed. It’s about anger. It’s about torture. And it’s about total depravity.”

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Indeed, the doctrine of total depravity was invented by the priests to create a demand for the offices of the church.

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But the earlier Fathers did not connect the notion of the vicarious atonement with that of original sin and total depravity.

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He can never resist the temptation to draw a moral, and his dogmatic bias in favor of the doctrine of total depravity is only too evident.

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