I recently rewatched the 1980s movie Gremlins the same time my toddler started walking.  An adorable little snuggler can easily become an unholy terror in no time.  The connection was not lost on me.  My weird brain then thought of Augustine’s take on original sin, not so popular these days because babies are cute and seem to have no will of their own.

John Wesley’s thoughts on original sin are strongly influenced by Augustine, (like most Western Christians).  Adam and Eve were created as perfect, where it was possible NOT to sin.  The fact that they chose to sin is the ultimate sin because they didn’t have to…it was their pride and desire to take control that led them to the first sin, and forever after, we are all born with mind, love, and will completed curved in on itself.  Total depravity is the buzzword of original sin–it is not possible for us NOT to sin.  Wesley may have occasionally included some more Eastern language of sin as a disease, but at the end of the day, I think he’s leaving the conversation with Augustine.