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Examined Doctrine

Thomas Aquinas on Original sin & the human will

1225 – 1274 · SCHOLASTIC
STANDARD SCHOLARLY ACCOUNTAFFIRMS°
STANCE

Nature wounded but not destroyed; grace perfects it

THE POSITION

Original sin is the loss of original justice. Human nature is wounded, not destroyed — it retains real capacities, and grace perfects rather than replaces nature.

SCRIPTURE
ROMANS 5:12 · BSB

12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned.

2 OTHERS HOLD THIS

AthanasiusEphesus
Will in bondage; needs sovereign grace to be freedAUGUSTINE · VODDIE BAUCHAM · CALVIN · JONATHAN EDWARDS · THE CHURCH OF ELEVEN22 STATEMENT OF FAITH · M. HEISER · JOSH HOWERTON · TIM KELLER · SECOND LONDON BAPTIST CONFESSION · LUTHER · JOHN MACARTHUR · JOHN OWEN · JUSTIN PETERS · JOHN PIPER · R.C. SPROUL · CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON · WESTMINSTER CONFESSION · ZWINGLI
Depraved, but prevenient grace restores ability to respondJACOBUS ARMINIUS · PHILIP MELANCHTHON · WESLEY
Free will substantially intact; God and man cooperateBASIL THE GREAT · CHRYSOSTOM · IRENAEUS
See all 27 figures on original sin & the human will →

ABOUT THIS FIGURE

Dominican friar, author of the Summa Theologiae. Synthesized Aristotelian philosophy with Christian doctrine; the reference point for later Catholic theology.

1 OF 13 POSITIONS QUOTED
Everything Aquinas holds →
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"Thomas Aquinas on Original sin & the human will", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/aquinas/original-sin (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/aquinas/original-sin).

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