age-old issue here, but only observe the remarkable force of the language of Scripture. When actual sins (at least) are taken together with the propensity to sin, the Bible speaks plainly of bondage and of the impossibility of change. Jesus himself aroused the anger of his hearers when he insisted that all sinners are slaves to sin (Jn. 8:34), a metaphor which Paul took over and exploited (Rom. 6:19f.). Jeremiah warned his people that they could not do good, any more than an Ethiopian could change his