From Rowland:

I got this email this morning (sometime May 2006):

Hi! My name is _ _ _ _ and I am the youth leader at _ _ _ _ Baptist Church. On Sunday at Bible Study some of the girls asked "where do babies go when they die?" My belief has always been that they go to heaven, as they have no understanding.

The girls said that their old Sunday school teacher told them that they go to hell. I know that this is not an easy answer and that there is no biblical answer that I am aware off. So if you could help me that would be great.

The Got Questions answer is fairly standard for conservative Christians (and probably others as well) - http://www.gotquestions.org/age-of-accountability.html

What do others think?

I'll incorporate your responses into an article for our website.

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Here's a pot-pourri of responses, Calvinistic, Evangelical, Liberal: you name it: 'go figure'!

-- Shalom! Rowland Croucher

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I find that a lot more acceptable than these people who dress up a miscarried foetus in baby clothes and post pictures of it on websites. If you believe in a soul, then the soul has *gone* by the time the miscarriage happens, and what's left is not the potential "person", any more than what's in the coffin is your mum, or your dad, when they go.

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Reformed theology runs in opposition to paedosalvation. Now that is not to say that those of the Reformed faith believe that all babies go to Hell for the whole convoluted theory of Covenant Theology was invented to confirm the salvation of the babies of the grieving Protestant parents without dipping directly into the well of Roman Catholicism.

To the remark: 'The free will view is that the person's fate depends on his decision for Christ.' I would respond: Actually, that is old-school Free Will Theism. The current and most popular doctrine teaches that Salvation is automatic and it requires an active and continual "rejection" of salvation in order to be condemned. In fact, the theory has even said that a "declaration of faith" made as a teenager overrides a rejection of Christ made later in life under the combination of the doctrine of Once Saved Always Saved and the doctrine of Back Slidden Believer.

The Bible is very clear about this, there is no fine print, no exculpatory or sunset language regarding those who will be saved. All of the redeemed will believe, repent, have faith and perform works of righteousness. NOw if you can somehow rationalize how the infant, retard or the insane can do all of those things, then more power to you - otherwise you will be like the American Religion and conjure up some bogus "Age of Accountability" fiction.

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I'm not an expeert on RC theology, but in my younger days I has extensive discussions with a fellow student who was a Polish RC. The answer in those days was "Limbo", which you can read all about in the early cantos of Dante's "Inferno" - "Hell" in English translation.

Personally I haven't thought too much about it. But can I raise a related question? One of our daughters had a miscarriage when she was about 3 1/2 months pregnant. She talked to her pastor about it, and he organised a memorial type ceremony to give thanks for the life which had now departed. I don't have any details of what he said, but _ _ _ _ found it very comforting.

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I believe the Bible IS specific. It's only one "vague" reference, but if your eyes and your mind are sharp, and your "Spirit" is quickened (open), read the account of how King David acted when his infant son, born of adultery and murder, died.

David's comment to his servant was,

"He cannot come back to me; I will go to him."

Now, think about that. IF we KNOW David went to Heaven (we do), then David went where his infant son went.

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In short, this is the Arminian answer:

"Jesus loves the little children,

Until they reach the age of twelve,

Red and yellow, black and white,

Most all are doomed for darkest night,

For they will die in sin and burn in hell."

Of course, if the original author of the question above wanted a biblical answer to this question he/she would have to first come to an understanding that "hell" never was and never will be a proper translation of the Hebrew and Greek words that "hell" references.

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It is CALVINIST doctrine that not only babies go to hell, but the vast majority of human beings were created and burn for no other purpose but to be tortured eternally in hell.

Are you saying that Calvinists are not Christians?

"We may rest assured that God would never have suffered any infants to be slain except those who were already damned and predestined for eternal death. - John Calvin (rationalizing the slaughter of infants in the Old Testament]

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According to the Christians (the forefathers of your own religion), the answer is "Limbo". Here's a reference: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09256a.htm

I don't know if part of the protest which spawned your own religion agrees or disagrees with "Limbo", however.

Perhaps you should consider asking the girls where babies were before they became alive. The illusion of the question concerns the word "go". And it might be well to use a little bit of Newton's Calculus in this understanding. There is a concept of the "limit" in Calculus, such that a limit is approachable only, and may never be actually reached.

Consider the question carefully asked in English using the words "go when". Now consider all of the possibilities where these two words apply. There will certainly be babies that die just after they receive their first breath, true? There will be babies that die just after the soul enters the body, true? Taking this idea to the "limit", you should be able to dispense with the word "go" altogether since the closer your consideration of possibilities gets to the moment ("when") the soul enters the body the more you realize that it is "where" it was before hand. Does a soul enter the body in an instant atomic action; i.e. is there ever a time where part of the soul is incarnate while the soul is still entering but hasn't yet completely entered? What would happen to a soul if the body dies DURING entry? Would it not remain where it was?

So the answer to the question is a question itself. Ask the girls where the soul was before it had lived.

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What a load of clap-trap! Of course we inherit the results of sin from our parents, our load of genetic faults and diseases, our participation in human society, even the results of their poor diet or drug-taking, but original sin? It is a concept well past its use-by date, if it ever had a useful role. I prefer Matthew Fox's Original Blessing.

The death of a baby has always to be a tragedy, but Jesus was pretty straighforward when he told the disciples to let the little children come to him. I cannot imagine that he would ever say anything else.

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