Historical and Systematic Theology. “Incapable of Doing Any Good”: The Meaning and Context of Heidelberg Catechism, Question 8

This article examines what is meant by the statement in the Heidelberg Catechism, question and answer 8, that man is incapable of any good. What exactly is meant by it? And why is it stated so categorically? This question and its answer are placed in the context of the rest of the Catechism and of the theological debates on human nature and the influence of the fall on it in Medieval and Reformation times. However, most surprising is the discovery of the probable influence of Gnesio-Lutherans, especially Matthias Flacius, on the formulation of question and answer 8.