If you are a christian, how can a baby in utero be 'innocent'?

Question

Christian doctrine states that when a baby is born, it must be baptised free of original sin. So accroding to christian doctrine, the only 'innocent' children out there are the ones who have been born and have been baptised. what say you?

I dare say those who choose inflammatory language are just as guilty of playing down the importance of this debate.

this question is about the religious right's attempt to flame the controversy with specific language. it is nothing to do with abortion, or the right for a woman to choose. That is already established law of the land...no need to debate that. Nor is this about determining when life begins, nor is it about legalese. it is about the religious right's attempts to fan the flames of an already emotional issue. that's all.

catholics invented christianity! But I've heard that argument before, flawed though it may be

Answer 1

Yes this is true with respect to the Christian doctrine of Original Sin. However, I think pro-lifers are using the term “innocent” not as statement of the status of the baby’s soul so much as a term to evoke sympathy for the listener. Unborn infants, according to Christian theology, are not innocent with respect to the spirit, but they are innocent with regards to the fact they have not willfully infringed upon anyone else’s rights.

This does not change the abortion debate in the slightest though. The pro-life doctrine, and the Christian position in general, does not deem human life worthy because it is innocent. Life, from a Christian framework, is precious and worth preserving because it is a gift from God and a reflection of God himself, even though that image of God maybe imperfect. After all if innocent life is the only life worth saving, than the doctrine of substitutive atonement makes no sense, because Christ’s death and resurrection was geared towards redeeming the guilty, not the morally unblemished.

An equivalent way of making the case is that you would save your mother, father, brother, or sister from a potentially fatal head on collision with a truck regardless if they offended you in the past because their love, and their very existence is far more important to you than any sin they have made against you. In a true moral doctrine, the preservation of life trumps all other concerns.

Answer 2

This is not so much an answer as it is a correction to your thinking of Christianity. Christian doctrine doesn't say that a baby has to be baptised free of original sin. I know the Catholic church says a baby has to be baptized, but the Catholic religion is not really Christianity because it does not follow the Bible or Jesus' commandments. In Christianity, baptism does not save a person, but it should be done after accepting Jesus Christ as your Saviour. The baptism is just a symbol of your commitment. It is also a symbol of your sin being washed away and also of the death and resurrection of Christ which you now share in.

Answer 3

The child has committed no sin and being born is not a sin (unless the baby has done something wrong and is condemned to death all in the name of a right) We all have choices to make and according to the Bible we can choose right or wrong. The weak argument for abortion that babies are not "innocent" is a misunderstanding of scripture. We are all born innocent, it is the choices that we make which makes us guilty.

Answer 4

The question of salvation for the unborn arises from an interpretation of Christ's solemn declaration to Nicodemus that "no one can enter into God's kingdom without being begotten of water and the Spirit" (John 3:5). The necessity of baptism is further supported by Christ's statement, "The man who believes in it [the good news] and accepts baptism will be saved; the man who refuses to believe will be condemned" (Mark 16:16). Note, however, that condemnation is pronounced for those who **refuse** to believe. Nothing is said regarding those who have not had the opportunity to believe. We are also told that no one will be judged guilty simply because of his or her ignorance (John 9:41).

Answer 5

We all have the burden of original sin . Religious innocence and secular innocence are two different things with two different meanings and implications . Innocence under our constitution differs from innocence in the eyes of God .

EDIT*- Although I feel the same as the guy above me, I refrained from taking it there . But that doesn't mean that I didn't glean the same conclusion that 'Turboweeg' did . So, I'll ask you, was this an attempt to justify abortion ? Cause if it was, it was sick !!

Answer 6

What Christian doctrine is this? Where in the Bible does it say children "must" be baptised of original sin? The Bible states that children are protected under the grace of God until an "age of understanding".

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee.
Jeremiah 1:5

Answer 7

You're playing with semantics, and making light of the killing of a human life. It's not cute; it's quite macabre, actually.

While we all are born with "original sin", we are still born innocent of having committed sin.

To justify the killing of a human life, solely for convenience, based on semantics is an unworthy action, to the point of being contemptible.

Answer 8

Then no infant in the nursery is innocent either. They aren't baptized yet.

Would the same logic apply until the baptism?

Search the name Peter Singer. He might say yes!

PS Here is a cite:

http://www.princeton.edu/~psinger/

Answer 9

Not all Christian doctrine teaches baptism of infants, for one thing. As far as "original sin," it is not unto death.

Judaism had sins of ommission and commission. Sins of ommission were not punished by death.

EDIT: Posting a theological question, in Politics, and not accepting the answer is as inflammatory as it gets

Answer 10

What did IT do to be guilty?
Why should liberals be able to kill a guilty child and condemn it to hell before we can baptize it and send it on the road to heaven?