John Locke and the Problem of Depravity

The religious thought of the philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) is examined in this book, which focuses in particular on his view of original sin and its consequences for education in the early Enlightenment. The author argues that Locke has been wrongly accused of denying original sin, ignoring the atonement, and preaching moralism, and that in fact he was much closer to traditional Protestant teaching on human sinfulness than is generally recognized. While education might serve as an effective counterweight to man's innate propensity to overturn God's laws, he recognised that it could never reduce the importance of the central drama: Christ's work of salvation.