Original sin

===Cassian===
[[File:John Cassian.jpeg|thumb|upright=0.9|[[John Cassian|John Cassian the Roman]], modern Greek icon.]]

In the works of [[John Cassian]] ({{c.|360–435}}), ''Conference'' XIII recounts how the wise monk Chaeremon, of whom he is writing, responded to puzzlement caused by his own statement that "man even though he strive with all his might for a good result, yet cannot become master of what is good unless he has acquired it simply by the gift of Divine bounty and not by the efforts of his own toil" (chapter 1). In chapter 11, Cassian presents Chaeremon as speaking of the cases of Paul the persecutor and Matthew the publican as difficulties for those who say "the beginning of free will is in our own power", and the cases of Zaccheus and the [[good thief|good thief on the cross]] as difficulties for those who say "the beginning of our free will is always due to the inspiration of the grace of God", and as concluding: "These two then; viz., the grace of God and free will seem opposed to each other, but really are in harmony, and we gather from the system of goodness that we ought to have both alike, lest if we withdraw one of them from man, we may seem to have broken the rule of the Church's faith: for when God sees us inclined to will what is good, He meets, guides, and strengthens us: for 'At the voice of thy cry, as soon as He shall hear, He will answer thee'; and: 'Call upon Me', He says, 'in the day of tribulation and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me'. And again, if He finds that we are unwilling or have grown cold, He stirs our hearts with salutary exhortations, by which a good will is either renewed or formed in us."<ref name=Conference13>Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume XI/John Cassian/Conferences of John Cassian, Part II/Conference XIII/Chapter 11 [[s:Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume XI/John Cassian/Conferences of John Cassian, Part II/Conference XIII/Chapter 11]]</ref>

Cassian did not accept the idea of [[total depravity]], on which [[Martin Luther]] was to insist.{{sfn|Elton|1963|p=136}} He taught that human nature is fallen or depraved, but not totally. Augustine Casiday states that, at the same time, Cassian "baldly asserts that God's grace, not human free will, is responsible for 'everything [that] pertains to salvation' – even faith".{{sfn|Casiday|2006|p=103}} Cassian pointed out that people still have moral freedom and one has the option to choose to follow God. Colm Luibhéid says that, according to Cassian, there are cases where the soul makes the first little turn,<ref name="Cassian1985">{{cite book|last=Cassian|first=John |title=Conferences|url=https://archive.org/details/conferences00cass|url-access=registration|year=1985|publisher=Paulist Press|isbn=978-0-8091-2694-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/conferences00cass/page/27 27]–}}</ref> but in Cassian's view, according to Casiday, any sparks of goodwill that may exist, not {{em|directly}} caused by God, are totally inadequate and only {{em|direct}} divine intervention ensures spiritual progress;{{sfn|Moss|2009|p=4}} and Lauren Pristas says that "for Cassian, salvation is, from beginning to end, the effect of God's grace".<ref name=Pristas>{{Cite web |url=http://escholarship.bc.edu/dissertations/AAI9329276/ |title=Lauren Pristas, ''The Theological Anthropology of John Cassian'' |access-date=30 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610223355/http://escholarship.bc.edu/dissertations/AAI9329276/ |archive-date=10 June 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>