Changes

The tragic case of "crack babies"<ref>[https://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/crackcocaine/children-the-most-innocent-victims-of-crack-cocaine.html Children: the most innocent victims of crack cocaine (drugfreeworld.org)]</ref> formed in the womb and born of mothers already [[Addiction|addicted]] to "crack [[cocaine]]" is a very strong [[analogy]] to the doctrine of inherited sin. Just as these innocently addicted babies need curative medical treatment for a defect not chosen by themselves as individuals, so every individual human soul at the moment of conception is afflicted with the deadly terminal defect of original sin for which they are not personally responsible, already in "lifelong bondage" to the [[devil]].<ref>[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+2%3A14-15&version=NRSVCE Hebrews 2:14-15]; see [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+4%3A5-6&version=NRSVCE Luke 4:5-6]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+5%3A6-19&version=NRSVCE Romans 5:6-19].</ref> They are innocent, but they need salvation from the collective death of sin inherited from their parents descended in the direct lineage of Adam and Eve.<ref>See Luke 1:46-47 "''God my Savior''", and the articles [[Immaculate Conception]] and [[Theotokos]]. <br>According to Catholic doctrine''':''' from all eternity the merit of salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ alone was applied solely for his sake alone to the soul of her whom he had destined to be his mother, that the incarnation of the Word made flesh in her womb might not be taken from flesh defiled by sin but be taken from the sinless flesh of the body of his mother Mary whom God had prepared for the sake of Christ himself alone, in accordance with what is said in [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/hebrews/10-5.htm Hebrews 10:5 "a body hast thou prepared for me"] and [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Wisdom+8%3A19-20&version=NRSVCE Wisdom 8:19-20 "being good, I entered an undefiled body."]</ref>

The tragic case of "crack babies"<ref>[https://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/crackcocaine/children-the-most-innocent-victims-of-crack-cocaine.html Children: the most innocent victims of crack cocaine (drugfreeworld.org)]</ref> formed in the womb and born of mothers already [[Addiction|addicted]] to "crack [[cocaine]]" is a very strong [[analogy]] to the doctrine of inherited sin. Just as these innocently addicted babies need curative medical treatment for a defect not chosen by themselves as individuals, so every individual human soul at the moment of conception is afflicted with the deadly terminal defect of original sin for which they are not personally responsible, already in "lifelong bondage" to the [[devil]].<ref>[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+2%3A14-15&version=NRSVCE Hebrews 2:14-15]; see [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+4%3A5-6&version=NRSVCE Luke 4:5-6]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+5%3A6-19&version=NRSVCE Romans 5:6-19].</ref> They are innocent, but they need salvation from the collective death of sin inherited from their parents descended in the direct lineage of Adam and Eve.<ref>See Luke 1:46-47 "''God my Savior''", and the articles [[Immaculate Conception]] and [[Theotokos]]. <br>According to Catholic doctrine''':''' from all eternity the merit of salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ alone was applied solely for his sake alone to the soul of her whom he had destined to be his mother, that the incarnation of the Word made flesh in her womb might not be taken from flesh defiled by sin but be taken from the sinless flesh of the body of his mother Mary whom God had prepared for the sake of Christ himself alone, in accordance with what is said in [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/hebrews/10-5.htm Hebrews 10:5 "a body hast thou prepared for me"] and [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Wisdom+8%3A19-20&version=NRSVCE Wisdom 8:19-20 "being good, I entered an undefiled body."]</ref>

[[Calvinism|Calvinist]] and [[Anabaptist]] doctrines of [[predestination]] and credobaptism alone are represented by their opponents as holding a doctrine of "monstrous evil" which arbitrarily and without mercy condemns to an [[eternal]] [[hell]] all who by default do not believe, simply because they are too young to understand or, because of the accidental circumstance of a lack of any kind of opportunity to hear it, have never heard about [[the Gospel]] of salvation, and do not believe. This includes all [[Paganism|pagans]] and babies, infants, all those whom Luke 18:15 calls '''βρέφη''' ''brephe'', "an unborn or a newborn child, infant, babe, child in arms", not yet able to walk. Apologists for this view respond that this is because their opponents do not grasp the fact that because of the fall of man, the whole human race became totally depraved, and as a consequence of their totally depraved nature are deprived of the power of [[free will]], and are "by nature the children of wrath",<ref>[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+2%3A3&version=NRSVCE Ephesians 2:3]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+3%3A10-18&version=NRSVCE Romans 3:10-18].</ref>. According to this doctrine, the Sovereign God, just and compassionate and merciful, is in his justice under no obligation to save creatures who by nature have no love for him and are by their very nature destined for hell because of their depravity. But to manifest absolutely his goodness before all creation, the Sovereign Lord God has predestined for glory all those chosen souls whom he has sovereignly elected to receive the unmerited grace of salvation for the praise of his glory and honor as the absolute Lord of all creation in heaven and on earth.  

[[Calvinism|Calvinist]] and [[Anabaptist]] doctrines of [[predestination]] and credobaptism alone are represented by their opponents as holding a doctrine of "monstrous evil" which arbitrarily and without mercy condemns to an [[eternal]] [[hell]] all who by default do not believe, simply because they are too young to understand or, because of the accidental circumstance of a lack of any kind of opportunity to hear it, have never heard about [[the Gospel]] of salvation, and do not believe. This includes all [[Paganism|pagans]] and babies, infants, all those whom Luke 18:15 calls '''βρέφη''' ''brephe'', "an unborn or a newborn child, infant, babe, child in arms", not yet able to walk. Apologists for this view respond that this is because their opponents do not grasp the fact that because of the fall of man, the whole human race became totally depraved, and as a consequence of their totally depraved nature are deprived of the power of [[free will]], and are "by nature the children of wrath",<ref>[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+2%3A3&version=NRSVCE Ephesians 2:3]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+3%3A10-18&version=NRSVCE Romans 3:10-18].</ref>. According to this doctrine, the Sovereign God, just and compassionate and merciful, is in his supremely sovereign, prefect, absolute justice under no obligation to save creatures who by nature have no love for him and are by their very nature destined for hell because of their depravity. But to manifest absolutely his goodness before all creation, the Sovereign Lord God has predestined for glory all those chosen souls whom he has sovereignly elected to receive the unmerited grace of salvation for the praise of his glory and honor as the absolute Lord of all creation in heaven and on earth.  

However, according to the Bible, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." [http://biblehub.com/2_peter/3-9.htm 2 Peter 3:9], "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn that world; but that the world through him might be saved." This indicates clearly that a sovereign willingness of the part of God to '''''not''''' provide for all souls in the world, even ignorant pagans and infants, any possible opportunity for salvation, is not a doctrine supported by the Bible.<ref>See Revelation 22:17 "''whosoever will''"</ref>

However, according to the Bible, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." [http://biblehub.com/2_peter/3-9.htm 2 Peter 3:9]. "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn that world; but that the world through him might be saved." [http://biblehub.com/john/3-17.htm John 3:17]. This indicates clearly that a sovereign willingness of the part of God to '''''not''''' provide for all souls in the world, even ignorant pagans and infants, any possible opportunity for salvation, is not a doctrine supported by the Bible.<ref>See Revelation 22:17 "''whosoever will''"</ref>

Many Christians reject the arbitrary doctrine that babies who have died, who have not been baptized, and do not believe, are automatically doomed to an eternity in hell.<ref>See Revelation 20:10, 13-15; Matthew 25:41-46.</ref> Those Christians who at the same time also reject any need for infant baptism, who have been told that infants are ''[[ipso facto]]'' totally innocent of all sin, that there is an "age of innocence", and have heard cited the phrase "below the age of innocence" with reference to very young children, have searched in vain for this phrase in the Bible.<ref>A search of [[Strong's]] under the topic of [http://biblehub.com/topic/innocence.htm "innocence"] gives no examples of these phrases. <br> Online searches for the phrase "age of innocence" and "below the age of innocence" in the Bible produce no result.</ref> Their doctrinal belief that baptism of infants is utterly unnecessary, because they have accepted the belief that the Bible itself teaches that '''''all''''' babies in the womb and those infants and children "below the age of innocence" are already "covered by the saving blood of Jesus" because they are innocent of any sin, and are already saved up until the age of understanding and accountability, at which time they must choose on their own to make a decision for Christ to be saved, is not found in the New Testament. Theologians and apologists who have been challenged to defend this doctrine with support from scripture are not able to cite a single text that explicitly states that an unborn or a newborn child, infant, babe, child in arms, a child not yet able to walk, is saved by the covering blood of Christ apart from the baptism mentioned in the New Testament, [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+3%3A3-5&version=NRSVCE John 3:3-5]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+28%3A18-19&version=NRSVCE Matthew 28:18-19]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+16%3A15&version=NRSVCE Mark 16:15]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+2%3A38-39&version=NRSVCE Acts 2:38-39]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+5%3A25-27&version=NRSVCE Ephesians 5:25-27]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Peter+3%3A21&version=NRSVCE 1&nbsp;Peter 3:21]. This is simply from reading the whole text of the New Testament alone ''[[sola scriptura]]''. Such a doctrine appears to be only a "tradition of men" outside of the Bible alone. They are unwilling to consign unbaptized infants to hell, yet "as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" Romans 5:12 (KJV). It is a belief in the universal compassionate mercy of God for all mankind, coupled with a doctrinal rejection of the apostolic tradition of infant baptism received by mainstream Christianity, [[Catholic Church|Catholics]], [[Orthodox Church|Eastern and Oriental Orthodox]], and among [[Protestantism|Protestants]], several [[denomination]]s: [[Anglican Communion|Anglicans]], [[Lutheranism|Lutherans]], [[Presbyterian]]s, [[Congregationalism|Congregationalists]] and other [[Calvinism|Reformed]] denominations, [[Presbyterians]], [[Methodist]]s, some [[Church of the Nazarene|Nazarenes]], and the Moravian Church.

Many Christians reject the arbitrary doctrine that babies who have died, who have not been baptized, and do not believe, are automatically doomed to an eternity in hell.<ref>See Revelation 20:10, 13-15; Matthew 25:41-46.</ref> Those Christians who at the same time also reject any need for infant baptism, who have been told that infants are ''[[ipso facto]]'' totally innocent of all sin, that there is an "age of innocence", and have heard cited the phrase "below the age of innocence" with reference to very young children, have searched in vain for this phrase in the Bible.<ref>A search of [[Strong's]] under the topic of [http://biblehub.com/topic/innocence.htm "innocence"] gives no examples of these phrases. <br> Online searches for the phrase "age of innocence" and "below the age of innocence" in the Bible produce no result.</ref> Their doctrinal belief that baptism of infants is utterly unnecessary, because they have accepted the belief that the Bible itself teaches that '''''all''''' babies in the womb and those infants and children "below the age of innocence" are already "covered by the saving blood of Jesus" because they are innocent of any sin, and are already saved up until the age of understanding and accountability, at which time they must choose on their own to make a decision for Christ to be saved, is not found in the New Testament. Theologians and apologists who have been challenged to defend this doctrine with support from scripture are not able to cite a single text that explicitly states that an unborn or a newborn child, infant, babe, child in arms, a child not yet able to walk, is saved by the covering blood of Christ apart from the baptism mentioned in the New Testament, [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+3%3A3-5&version=NRSVCE John 3:3-5]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+28%3A18-19&version=NRSVCE Matthew 28:18-19]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+16%3A15&version=NRSVCE Mark 16:15]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+2%3A38-39&version=NRSVCE Acts 2:38-39]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+5%3A25-27&version=NRSVCE Ephesians 5:25-27]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Peter+3%3A21&version=NRSVCE 1&nbsp;Peter 3:21]. This is simply from reading the whole text of the New Testament alone ''[[sola scriptura]]''. Such a doctrine appears to be only a "tradition of men" outside of the Bible alone. They are unwilling to consign unbaptized infants to hell, yet "as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" Romans 5:12 (KJV). It is a belief in the universal compassionate mercy of God for all mankind, coupled with a doctrinal rejection of the apostolic tradition of infant baptism received by mainstream Christianity, [[Catholic Church|Catholics]], [[Orthodox Church|Eastern and Oriental Orthodox]], and among [[Protestantism|Protestants]], several [[denomination]]s: [[Anglican Communion|Anglicans]], [[Lutheranism|Lutherans]], [[Presbyterian]]s, [[Congregationalism|Congregationalists]] and other [[Calvinism|Reformed]] denominations, [[Presbyterians]], [[Methodist]]s, some [[Church of the Nazarene|Nazarenes]], and the Moravian Church.