Children/infants and sin...?

[jesusmademe]

What are some ways that one talks about whether children or infants can sin or not?
If sins were simply just actions then we would say that children/infants can’t sin as they don’t have the psychological maturity yet to choose their actions but sin is deep in the “heart” of all of us. Even an infants has a “heart”.
Are we just to state that sinning is only possible if you have the psychological maturity and reduce it to only a psychological thing? I suppose not.
This is a serious question from a guy wanting to become a Catholic. If infants can’t sin they will automatically go to Heaven if they die. And thus baptism would be unimportant for infants. Then you would only need baptism in order to partake of all the other sacraments.
Something ain’t right here.
What to make of this?

 

[1Lord1Faith]

Are we just to state that sinning is only possible if you have the psychological maturity and reduce it to only a psychological thing?

Here you seem to be referring to the culpability of the sin, which is based on intent, ignorance, and maybe some other “psychological” stuff. The sin itself is usually an action, an inaction; or it can be a clear, pre-meditated intent to sin.

I wouldn’t reduce baptism to just a ceremony. But even if it were to be reduced to a ceremony, the implications of carrying out that ceremony have real spiritual and material consequences. The ceremony signifies, to the public and to the parents, that a commitment has been made.

Beyond ceremony, the Church teaches that, “Baptism seals the Christian with the indelible spiritual mark…” that cannot be erased by sin. So there is something supernatural there.

 

[semper_catholicus]

No, Altman would still be important for infants, becuase they would still have original sin. One with original sin only cannot enter heaven.

 

[jesusmademe]

So only baptised children enters Heaven? If you die only 1year old there will be no Heaven unless you were baptised???
This is bassically saying that infants cannot choose God or somnthing else before God. Only after pstychological maturity do we have a choice. Now, we are arguing thst mortal sin is very much a psychological thing. But I hope this is untrue. I sin in my heart and then choose something that I say is more important than God. An infant cannot choose money over God as they don’t know about money yet. But then we say that the statement: “sin is in thge heart” ain’t exactly flawless.
Without psychological mnaturity you cannot sin???

 

[Evan]

The Church teaches that IF a 1 year old is Baptized he goes to heaven. Jesus gave this instruction. IF not baptized, we don’t have any information, it is recommended that you baptism your children asap.

The CCC leaves unbaptized children to the mercy of God.