A Comparison Among the Writings of Taylor, Palmer and Emerson Essay

A Comparison Among the Writings of Taylor, Palmer and Emerson - Essay Example It is the classic quandary: if an all-powerful God loved us, why does He allow a man to be harmed by evil? Taylor’s response reconciles God as all-good, man as a moral being, and evil as the result of human choice. Moral depravity is his sinful character, his â€Å"state of mind and heart† that pertains to â€Å"guilt† and â€Å"wrath†. God created man to be good, but at the same time allows man the choice of whether to be obedient to His divine will or to pursue his own selfish interests. Man is saved if he chooses to follow God’s will rather than his own. Sin, therefore, is seen as an integral part of salvation. By giving in to his moral depravity, man creates the evil, not God. However, because he has a choice, man can rise from this moral depravity and choose God, thereby meriting salvation. God did not create the evil, but by allowing man the freedom to choose evil he also afforded man the chance to choose well. This debunks the notion that God could have prevented all sin or at least the present degree of sin. In Taylor’s works, he speaks of God as a personal Father, with a mind and will whose intentions man tries to understand. God provides the opportunity for man to exercise his moral nature, that is, to choose the virtuous over the evil. The interaction between God and man is one of dynamic interaction, with God offering the choice and man taking the volition to make the choice. Palmer was more of a mystical writer. She espoused the experience of holiness as the road to sanctification. Holiness is seen as a mystical union with God. It is only when one abandons his own efforts and surrenders all to God that he gets to experience the faith necessary for him to live a sinless life. Sanctification is obtained when one is united with Christ, bathed in the blood of Christ, because it is only through Him that man can reach God.