For infant baptism, the UOJ doesn't count because they say one has to grasp it, so by baptizing the baby they believe God gives the baby faith and so now the baby would become a member of the church (just like the Catholics say) and would have faith. They even have a ceremony where the sponsors or parents give testimony and renounce the Devil on the baby's behalf. Strange.Neto wrote:This is a good question. Does missionary work condemn some to hell, or of those who still reject salvation after hearing the message of the Gospel in an understandable way (in their language and in culturally significant context), does it possibly send them to a more severe punishment than they would have endured if they had never heard? To the latter, I would say yes, it does. Their greater knowledge makes them more culpable.GaryK wrote:I come out at pretty much the same place as it relates to children not needing to be saved until they reach the 'age of accountability'. But, a question I always come up against when carrying this thinking a bit further is - what about adults who have never heard of Jesus or have never comprehended their own rebellion against God? Have they reached the 'age of accountability'? And if they haven't, why bother to tell them about Jesus?Neto wrote:
I would find this rather puzzling as well, because I would think that if the Lutherans believed that way, they would not also practice infant baptism. My understanding of this sort of 'blanket forgiveness of sin' is that it is correct when applied to what some call 'original sin'. That is, we are 'born in sin', but no one will suffer (in terms of eternal punishment) for sin they did not themselves commit. So children do not need to be 'saved' until they reach an age at which they realize their own rebellion against God (commonly referred to as the 'age of accountability'). The early anabaptists (and if one wants to refer to the Dutch as a separate group, the 'baptism-minded') clearly based their belief of "believer's baptism" on this understanding of Scripture. (I understand Romans 5 in this vein.) (A fellow Bible translator believes that the children of 'pagans' are NOT saved if they die in childhood, only the children of believers, because of the text that talks about the children being sanctified by their parents. But I do not understand it this way personally. None the less, it is imperative that those of us who know the way to God tell those who have never heard.)
I'm not sure if you have the mentally limited person in mind - that is where this question also often comes up. What does the 'age of accountability' mean in that case? I'm glad that God is the one to decide this, but I have noticed that people with this limitation seem to exhibit the same kind of response to God as we see in children as 'child-like faith'. But regarding those who are mentally capable of understanding, I would say that while a person MUST know about Jesus the Christ in order to have saving faith, he or she does not need to know specifically about God or Jesus in order to realize his or her own sinfulness. An illustration of consciousness of sin in the pre-Christian beliefs of the Banawa (the Amazon tribe with whom we lived) is the strict rules their culture had in place to protect marriage - men not being allowed to look at or speak to women not closely related to them. This type of morality is common in the cultures of the world. I think it is evidence of the law of God written on the human 'heart', or as the Banawa put it, the 'inner part of the voice', which we back-translate as 'innermost'. (It is the seat of emotion and thought.)
I figure those who are mentally retarded simply never reach the age of accountability and so are considered with the children. Those who are believing adults, if they get brain damage and can no longer understand, I would think that God would judge them based on their state before they were mentally incapacitated. As for adults who have not specifically heard the Gospel, seems that they have no excuse as Romans 1:20 says, "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse."
