CHRISTIANS: Many of you say that at death all babies & children go to heaven. On what do you base this idea?

Question

^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^

Is this from the Bible or not?

Catholics recently put forth a document that eliminated "limbo" and said that "there is reason to hope" that all children get to go to heaven, regardless of their baptism status.

Protestants usually don't give much credit to Catholic theology, but is this basically the premise? A "reason to hope" with no certainty of what your God is doing with children who die?

^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^

Answer 1

a positive .... comforting one

Answer 2

There is only one reference to a physical baby in the afterlife, and that's where David talks about a child that he had that died at an early age, and the only thing he said about it was that he could go to his child. He didn't say whether he would go to heaven or hell, just that babies go somewhere.

A baby is born with a sin nature. Is that itself a sin? I don't know. But rationally, a baby doesn't have the potential to consciously sin. Scripturally, if you have not sinned, you are perfect and worthy of heaven. Romans 3:23 "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." The word "all" in the bible is heavily debated on its meaning. What I believe doesn't matter in the end. I can only boil everything down to the facts and let those sediments settle in the water, hoping something might mix together.

Answer 3

Interesting question and an interesting dilema for those who believe in a traditional hell only doctrine.

The bible doesn't really talk about it. This is the same scenario with people who die never hearing the gospel or knowing anything about Jesus.

In both cases I really do believe people will be judged according to what they do in life. This is spoken of in Revelation some. So as children, not being old enough to really know what they're doing, I'm sure God will use common sense.

Revelation 20:12 - 13

12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.

13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.

Answer 4

Some men teach that infants need to be baptized. The purpose of baptism, however, is to remove sin by the blood of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38; 22:16; Revelation 1:5).

Do babies have sin? NO! One needs to understand that sin, as defined by the Bible is the breaking of God’s law (1 John 3:4). Infants are not capable of breaking the laws of God or understanding the difference between good and evil.

Can a child inherit sin from its parents? NO! Ezekiel 18:20 makes it clear that, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.” From the passages above, one can see that babies do not have sin and therefore, do not need to be baptized.

Since a baby is sinless and actually does not know right from wrong, they will go to heaven. Sin is what separates us from God and those without sin are not separated from God.

Answer 5

I dont think I base my thought on anything other than I need to feel that way. I don't believe that God would intentionally put a child in limbo who didn't live long enough to be baptised. Yes, there is original sin with Catholicism, but in my mind a baby has no period of time that they can get baptised if they die out of the womb or a very short time after birth. Maybe it's not based on fact, but I can't see a loving God doing anything else.

Answer 6

There has been a lot of debate about this issue. As I understand it, the basic upshot of most of the argumentation is that officially.
1) Unbaptized children, good non-Christians, and pets do NOT rise again at the rapture.
2) People are sentimental and refuse to face the idea of heaven without their ____ (insert name of unbaptized child or other sentimental reason).
3) Many people turn a blind eye and convince themselves that it will all work out in the end, or actually bend dogma to fit their sentiments.

Answer 7

The age of accountability. There is an innocence in a child that he loses around 13. Some earlier, some later. At that point he questions his own mortality and becomes more aware of the injustices around him. In many ancient cultures this is the coming of age. When boys become men etc. Until then, the christians believe that it is the parents responsibility to ask forgiveness for the child. Just as it is their responsibility to raise the child, to mold and shape the child into a christian man.

Answer 8

If a baby isn't baptized it is not their fault, they can't make the decision. Nor do they know what sin is. They may have been conceived in sin, but as an infant they do not know what sin is and cannot be held accountable. Of course they go to Heaven!
I'm not Catholic so I really couldn't tell you what is in their Bible. It is somewhat different.

Answer 9

Deuteronomy 1:39 and Isaiah 7:16 indicate that there is an age at which children are too young to be accountable for making choices between good and evil.

Moreover, your little ones who you said would become a prey, and your sons, who this day have no knowledge of good or evil, shall enter there, and I will give it to them and they shall possess it. (Deuteronomy 1:39)

For before the boy will know enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will be forsaken. (Isaiah 7:16)

In 2 Samuel 12:23 David said that his infant son had gone ahead of him into heaven.

But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me." (2 Samuel 12:23)

Answer 10

We base this on salvation. when a child of a young age like younger than 8 or babies don;'t know the difference between heaven and hell so they can't make the right choice and our loving lord and savior does this for them. It is known that every child is born sinful but they arent aware of it so they cant make the conscious choice to get their life right . but the parents that are saved from sin take them to church and teach them the bible and do devotion every nite they will soon know. Makes me wonder are u saved??????????????

Answer 11

they just assume it isn't in the bible in fact the bible is quite clear about who gets into Heaven and who doesn't: John 3:3: "...no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
John 3:15: "...everyone who believes in him [Jesus] may have eternal life."
John 14:6: "Jesus answered: 'NO ONE comes to the Father except through me'"
Children, from conception, are sinners. And scripture says that an unsaved sinner cannot enter heaven. In God’s word this is immutable and unchangeable. Our emotions do not enter the equation. Read scripture and see the true state of babies – God does not see the age of a person who dies. He only sees their state. Children are sinners from conception therefore, they do not go to heaven. No one goes to heaven without Christ and the bible gives no exceptions at all.