APRIL 11
Why is there sin in the world? Because man was created in the image of God, because he is not mere matter – a clod of earth, a lump of clay – without sense or understanding, but a spirit like his Creator, a being endued not only with sense and understanding, but also with a will exerting itself in various affections. To crown all the rest he was endued with liberty: a power of directing his own affections and actions, a capacity for determining himself or of choosing good or evil. Indeed, had not man been endued with this, all the rest would have been of no use. Had he not been a free as well as an intelligent being, his understanding would have been as incapable of holiness or any kind of virtue as a tree or a block of marble. And, having this power, a power of choosing good or evil, he chose evil.
The Fall of Man
Do not reason, but believe.
to Mrs. Rose, 1780
