I do believe it is a good example as you say; in that it should be obvious that a baby will go to Heaven. Of course it’s not that simple in the Catholic Church, it’s more a matter of because you’re not sure you Baptize the baby. That’s great until Baptism isn’t an option and the parents have to accept that their baby may not be in Heaven; which to me is not only illogical, but unbiblical.
If Jesus says Heaven belongs to children, I accept it; I don’t try and complicate things.
Well, Dronald, I know it may seem obvious to you, but I’m sure others would disagree with your reading of the text. Look at the passage in Matthew.
Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence. (Matthew 19:13-15)
There is more than one thing that could be said about this passage. I will say two. First, when Christ says that “of such is the kingdom of heaven” First, we do not have claim to heaven merely by being born. We are born in sin (Psalm 51:5) and “by nature children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3). The passage is about not about children in general, but about particular children who were brought to Christ (after which he laid hands on them). This would support the practice of baptizing infants, in which they are brought to Christ so that he may impart his blessing on them. Second, if we were to interpret him to be saying, “the kingdom of heaven is of * children,” that would not mean that he is speaking of children universally, but only of a subset of children. For instance, if there were a place that said, “heaven belongs to men,” that would not necessarily mean that all mean go to heaven, but only that heaven belongs to individuals of that kind. From the context of the passage, it would seem to be the children brought to Christ.
You might also compare with Peter’s sermon from Acts 2. He says,
Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. (Acts 2:38-29)
Peter says that the promise “is unto * you, and to your children.” That doesn’t mean that everyone and all their children were necessarily saved. It was conditioned on repentance and baptism, and the audience did not have hold of it then and there immediately upon hearing those words.
It would seem to be at odds with Christ’s words elsewhere to suppose that infants were automatically saved. For instance, he says that everyone must be born again (by which he refers to baptism). It is not enough to be born once.
I am curious Dronald, do you believe in original sin? If so, what exactly do you believe that entails?**
My responses will generally be in line with Ben, Jon, Stilldreamin, etc. I’m a Missouri Synod Lutheran (LCMS). ‘Evangelical Catholic’ is what the Reformers considered themselves. The Lutheran label came later.
