not account for children's universally committing sin as soon as
immortal glory at God's right hand. Surely if it were not for an extreme corruption of the heart of men, such an example would have that strong influence on the heart, that would as it were swallow up the power of all the evil and hateful examples of a generation of vipers.
3. The influence of bad example, without corruption of nature, will not account for children's universally committing sin as soon as capable of it; which, I think, is a fact that has been made evident by the Scripture. It will not account for this, in the children of eminently pious parents; the first examples, that are set in their view, being very good; which, as has been observed, was especially the case of many children in Christian families in the apostles' days, when the apostle John supposes that every individual person had sin to repent of, and confess to God.
4. What Dr. Taylor supposes to have been fact with respect to a great part of mankind, cannot consistently be accounted for from the influence of bad example, viz. the state of the heathen world, which he supposes, considered as a collective body, was helpless, dead in sin, and unable to recover itself. Not evil example alone, no nor as united with evil instruction, can be supposed a sufficient reason why every new generation that arose among them, should not be able to emerge from the idolatry and wickedness of their ancestors, in any consistence with his scheme. The ill example of ancestors could have no power to oblige them to sin, any other way than as a strong temptation. But Dr. Taylor himself says (p. 348), "To suppose men's temptations to be superior to their powers, will impeach the goodness and justice of God, who appoints every man's trial." And as to bad instructions, as was observed before, he supposes that they all, yea every individual person, had light sufficient to know God, and do their whole duty. And if each one could do this for himself, then