From a Christian perspective, where do children go when they die (read details)?

Question

If they die before converting to Christianity, do they then go to hell? A lot of children have a basic idea of right and wrong and a lot of people believe we are born in sin.

What about all the Native Americans that lived during Jesus' time? How about all of the nations of the world that lived during Jesus' time?

What happens to them? Do they go to hell too?

I'm a universalist myself:

http://www.romancatholicism.org/universal-salvation.htm
http://www.tentmaker.org/

I believe that ALL will be saved in some for or another. Seems more in line with Jesus' teachings to me. Then again, the fear of hell has kept the numbers high and the tithe box full in the past...

Your thoughts?

By the nations of the world I mean those who die never hearing the Gospel.

Answer 1

If you're never heard the Gospel, how can you be held accountable? And with children, at what point are they fully aware of sin? I can't imagine God sending children below the age of 5 or 6 to hell. Remember it's all about free will. This is based on having the information and ability to choose between various options.

The thing to keep in mind is that God is infinitely merciful and just. He knows us by what He finds in our hearts and we will be judged accordingly.

Answer 2

We are in the group that says they must reach the age that they are accountable for their actions as far as children go. As for the Native Americans this scripture tells us that if a Gentile (anyone other then a Jew or Israelite) does the works of the law according to his conscience then he would be justified. So, if people tried to do good things because of conscience sake before the gospel was preached to them then they can be accepted.

Answer 3

Nobody goes to Hell, just because they have not heard of God. In that case judgement is based on whether they sinned badly against what they did actually believe in and how good they were as a person.

Sin basically occurs at two levels.
1 when you do something against what you believe. In this case, you sin against yourself and you sin in the eyes of the Being that the belief focuses on, because you knowingly chose to do it.

2 using Atheists as an example. They do not believe in God, so they cannot really sin, except against something else that they may believe, if anything. They are not judged on whether they have sinned or not, but more on "Well you don't want me, so I don't want you either. There's the fiery exit"

Answer 4

My religion teaches the age of accountability - once you are old enough to know the difference between right and wrong, that there are consequences for your actions - generally around 12-13 years old.

On the second coming those who are "dead in Christ arise first" - this would refer to those believers who lived during Jesus time. Jesus told His disciples He would not return until the gospel had been published in every nation - which to me at least is a reasonable explanation: nobody will be able to cry ignorance!

Answer 5

Perhaps there is a small version of heaven, kind of like the kid's table at Thanksgiving, where they stay until they are big enough to get into the real heaven. At the pearly gates, there is a plywood cut out of a clown (Saint ClowneyFace) with a sign that says, "you must be this tall to enter" and the hand which designates the height is currently set at 4'3".

Answer 6

I believe, and my church teaches, that children who die will be saved in the Celestial kingdom (Heaven).

People who lived but never had an opportunity to hear about Jesus will be taught about him after death. But, that is not all. Jesus clearly taught that baptism was essential to salvation. We have temples where people are baptized in behalf of those who have passed on who never had the opportunity. Those who are dead have the right to accept or reject the baptisms performed for them in the temple.

You mentioned those people who lived in the Americas during Jesus's time. We believe that God loved those people just as he did those people who lived in the old world. Those people had prophets sent to them from God to teach and direct them. We believe that after Jesus died on the cross that he went to those people in the Americas and taught them. The record of those people and the prophets that God sent to them as well as Jesus's visit are in the Book of Mormon.

Answer 7

this sounds crazy, but when i was a kid i went to a vacation bible school (this isn't the crazy part).

i was told that if a baby dies it will go to hell because it never had a chance to get saved...i went home told my mom about what i had learned, and she freaked.

she said that babies, or all children, were as good as god wanted them to be. the bible says you have to be as a child to enter the kingdom of god. i never went back to that church.

i don't really believe in the christian heaven...i never did. i think that we come here to learn, and once we've learned everything we need to know we move on...to the summer lands, to home, or whatever you wish to call it.

interesting question. i once asked a christian if people wouldn't be better off never hearing about christ if they go to heaven if they've never heard. i got a stunned "but you have to tell everyone". they couldn't explain why though.

bright blessings to you

Answer 8

2 Very, appropriate motives! a million) Oh come on anybody is accustomed to the certainty that Islam and the Qur’an is an insignificant a million,4 hundred 300 and sixty 5 days previous badly re written version of the two,000 300 and sixty 5 days previous Christian faith! on a similar time as imitation is declared to be the sincerest sort of flattery no imitation can ever be greater useful than the unique and all of us understand this is fake! 2) The very actual violence that is going suitable returned to a dispute over who had religious authority over the Muslim community after the loss of existence of the prophet Muhammad in what's pronounced as the “fitna” which interprets as temptation or trial and brought about all the discord interior of Muslim community. Shi’ite Muslims believe that authority develop into vested in his kin; the Sunnis seem to the sayings and movements of Muhammad besides because of the fact the Koran. the intense sectarian violence has been introduced approximately via Al-Qaeda Which on a similar time as being solely Sunni intentionally set Shi’ites and Sunnis to kill one yet another in Iraq. regrettably greater muslims die via muslim palms each and each month than have been killed via the invading forces interior the conflict! Hamas additionally kills far greater muslims than the Israelies ever have! an user-friendly of over thirty 5 muslims each and every week have been being killed via muslims yet interior the previous few years it has many times been over one hundred each and every week! no remember if it somewhat is a Danish caricature, e book of fiction , a snippet of action picture or another excuse, Muslims hit the streets around the globe rioting, looting, burning and uttering loss of existence threats! almost all the muslim countries are seeing muslims attack muslims destroying properties, companies, infrastructer and concentrated on women persons and childrens extremely exhibiting the extremists might desire to truly be attempting to tutor muslims into primitives living in caves and dirt huts so as that they could be controlled greater unquestionably!

Answer 9

Children who have not reached the "age of accountability " (knowing moral right from wrong) go straight to Heaven

Answer 10

all of life awaits the rapture.
now whether that happens at each persons end of the world or if it waits for all I havent a clue,from years of reading various interpretations and thoughts most believe it happens to everything at once,just as creation came into being per se.