The Bible Teaches Total Depravity

"everything changed in Matthew 27:50-54 when Jesus broke the barrier that had existed between man and G-d." Well, something changed, but not the state of man. You say that my position is what the state of man was like BEFORE Christ, but I think you should look again at what the Bible has to say about the state of man in the New Testament even AFTER the death of Christ. Rom. 3:10-12--- "There is none righteous, not even one; 11There is none who understands. There is none who seeks for God; 12All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one." Eph. 2:1--- "And he has mad you alive, who were DEAD in trespasses and sins." 1 Cor. 2::14--- "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned." These verses are AFTER Christ and still speak of man in a way that say there is NOTHING good in fallen man. I have already quoted a verse saying that every intension of the ehart of man is completely evil. There is another that I will post for your benefit though, because it also says in plain terms that the heart of man is completely evil. Gen. 8:21--- "The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: 'Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.'" Every inclination of his heart. You use a ball of mud with either mud or sand in the middle to illistarte man, so I will use that as well. What, throughout the whole Bible is said to be the "center of the ball of mud"? The answer to this question is "the heart". So, if the intension of mans heart is only evil continually from birth... Psalms 1:4--- "Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away." Chaff that the wind blows away, or sand that the water washes away. Either one is a suitable analogy. Mans heart, the very center of his being, is wicked from birth. From conception actually. If our hearts are wicked, then EVEN THE VERY CENTER OF MAN IS NO GOOD. We have NOTHING to offer God. I find it amazing that you believe an almighty God need something in man to work with. God is ALMIGHTY! He made the universe from NOTHING! God does not need anything good in man to work with. Just as God hardened Pharroh's heart, he can soften the hearts of others. The fact of the matter is, man CANNOT offer anything to God. If the heart is in fact as evil as the scripture says it is, how could we? I have already quoted a verse in Ephesians that explains my point. Eph. 2:10--- "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, WHICH GOD PREPARED IN ADVANCE FOR US TO DO." God must CAUSE us to do good works, because it is utterly impossible for us to do them on our own. Only through the power of Jesus Christ that is given to us after regeneration can we do anything acceptable to God. "And once we were cleansed (not recreated)..." Not so. We are in fact recreated. John 3:5-8--- "Jesus answered, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.'" Jesus Himself says we must be born again. This is not all the Bible has to say about this matter though. Take a look at this verse. 2 Cor. 5:17--- " Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, HE IS A NEW CREATION; the old has gone, the new has come!" yes, we're new creations; the Bible tells me so! (musical notes) You quote a verse in Habakkuk saying that God's eyes are too pure to look on evil, and you are correct. God's eyes are still too pure to look on evil. This is why Jesus had to come; He came as a mediater. Yes, Jesus is the same God as the Father, but Jesus humbled and humiliated Himself to the point where He would come down not only to look at the sin, but also to live in a world completely deranged by it. Rom. 5:5-8--- "And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." The Father cannot and will not look at sin. It even says that when Jesus took the penalty of sin on Himself while He was on the cross, the Father turned His face away. He would not even look upon His own Son while He was bearing the sins of man. That father did still love us though, and that is why He sent Jesus Christ as the mediater; the only way for man to come into the presence of God. If God would not look at sin in ANY way, as you say, then even if we were somewhat good we could not make it to heaven. God would still have that "barrier" of sin. The fact of the matter is, God has no barriers He cannot cross. If man being rotten to the core could stop God from saving us, then He would simply not be God. When the curtain was torn, it was representing the fact that man now had free access to the throne room of God. Before the death of Christ, only the high Priest could enter into the presence of God, that is, in the Holy of Holies. When the curtains tore, it showed that God was now giving all men access to Him through PRAYER. People would no longer have to go to the priest to confess sin, and then have the Priest confess that sin to God, but they could go to God and confess the sin THEMSELVES. This was the significance of the tearing of the curtain. Do remember that confessing sin is a good work, and cannot be done without the influence of God. "If man was completely depraved, and there was no good in him, [God] could not have allowed man near him. But [God] allowed man to come." My friend, you could not be more right. The amazing thing is, God did not need anything good to work with. Eph. 2:9--- "not by works, so that no one can boast." Man can do mothing good outside of God. If we could, then we could boast! Well, I don't think I have anything more to say, although I'm sure I must have missed something. If I remember anything I was going to say, I'll put it in the comment box. Thank you for the lively and interesting debate! I would almost like to continue in another debate! I look forward to reading yur final reply, and may the best arguments win! Thank you again! Renzzy