Again: that theologians use the word in this sense, is manifest from their attempts to relieve the character of God from the charge of being “the author of sin.” They can not deny that the nature of a contrivance proves the character and intention of the author, and that, if God is the author of man’s depravity by a wrong _construction_ or _nature_ of mind, it would be proof that he is the author of all the sin resulting from it, and thus a depraved character. Instead of denying this use of the term, they allow it, and then try to make man himself the author of this depraved nature, either _by_, or _in_, or _before_ Adam. That is, they allow that man’s mind _is_ wrong in construction, but claim that he himself is the author of this wrong. Again: that theologians use the word nature in this sense, is proved by their description of the depravity intended by them. When they are urged to point out what the depraved nature of man consists in, they always state something which shows it to be wrong in _construction_, and which is exhibited in the wrong _action_ of mind. There are these following methods of describing this depravity, viz.: 1. It is called a _bias_, _propensity_, or _inclination_ to sin. 2. It is called an _unbalanced_ state of the faculties. 3. It is called a _habit_ of sinning formed in a pre‐existent state. 4. It is called a wrong _combination_, or _proportion_, in the mental faculties. 5. It is called a state resulting from the _deprivation_ of God’s Spirit. It will now be shown that each and all of these equally involve the idea of that malformation or wrong construction which proves its author depraved. The first is the most common method. On this view, it is claimed that the minds of angels and of Adam were constructed with such a _bias_ or tendency to good as secured their perfect action for a given period. The mind of man, on the contrary, begins existence here so constructed that it has a contrary _bias_ to evil; so that it never, in a single instance, chooses right till regenerated. The angels and Adam had a _holy nature_, meaning a _bias_, which God created. Mankind have a contrary bias, which is a _depraved nature_, and of this, man is the author, either _in_, or _by_, or _before_ Adam. And they all allow, that if God had created this depraved bias, or depraved nature, he would be “the author of sin.” The second mode is, the claim that man’s depravity consists in an _unbalanced state_ of his faculties or propensities. The angels and Adam were created by God with the proper balance, and this is the holy nature made by God. Man is born with an unbalanced state of the faculties, and this was created by man himself, either _by_, or _in_, or _before_ Adam. Now the balance of the faculties is as much a part of the construction of mind as any thing else, and if God created this depraved, he is proved to be depraved.