Al Mohler the Traducianist

by Ken Hamrick

I was surprised this week to hear Al Mohler take a stand for traducianism—and to explain it in terms that were exclusively paternal.

See 53:14 – 56:20, @ https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2F_3T6YoaiMmw&data=05%7C01%7C%7Cc7efcac0c2964c65362608db12e436f2%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638124543593139726%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=r0xz2PZ538UqSSVh63faUiNAlE%2FF0TGcSH6xxHHTyiY%3D&reserved=0

The above-linked comments were given in one of Dr. Mohler’s Ask Anything sessions. However, Dr. Mohler previously commented on traducianism during Q&A for the Ligonier National Conference 2016, but did not commit to it—although he did explain that it had something to do with why Jesus was born of a virgin, Here’s the transcript from the Ligonier Conference:

Dr. Mohler, would you comment on the relevance, influence, significance of traducianism as relating to creation?

ALBERT MOHLER: Yes. It’s significant. There is no doubt that, when God says, “Let there be life,” there’s life. And without God’s active will that there be life, none of us would be. We are all created in that sense. Traducianism has within it a very important answer to how sin is transmitted, in such a way that it appears not only that there is biblical evidence for how this is transmitted by that means, in terms of the soul, you know, being explained in its existence in a sinful state by that way.

But it also appears to have something to do with, with why Christ is presented in terms of the virgin conception. Now, it’s not tied — I’m not sure exactly how you asked the question, to be honest. It’s not tied just to the existence of the soul and what we would call “original sin,” but it’s also tied to how indeed — it’s not just creation, it’s the historicity of the Genesis account that would include creation and fall. Am I missing something in that question?

CHRIS LARSON: I believe it’s a general question. Influence, relevance, significance, as it relates to creation overall.

ALBERT MOHLER: Well, let’s put it this way: If there — there have been long debates over these issues and neither of these answers gets to a matter of orthodoxy. So long as all that is affirmed in the Scripture is affirmed. One could conceivably come up with an explanation for the transmission of sin that would not require traducianism. I just think it’s not the easiest way to get there — not the you know, it’s following Occam’s Razor. It’s not the easiest way to answer the question with the biblical evidence.