If I'm not totally depraved, then I don't really need "future grace." My forward-looking hope is that more and more individual humans will progress toward peace and love (the so-called "red letters" of the Bible). This is a hope that Jesus seemed to have, but the overarching message of the Bible denies.

This concept that everyone is intrinsically wicked has probably caused more psychological harm than anything else, and it's my suspicion that this was deliberately invented by people who wanted to keep the masses subservient without having to exert too much physical force to do so.

As a parent, I have tried to nurture a strong sense of worth in each of my kids, so they never feel like they don't deserve good things.