Websurfinbird wrote:
From my understanding many (note not all) of various Christian faiths subscribe to the notion that a person who is not baptized will go to hell. Considering that many of these same folks believe that life begins at conception, would that mean that those fetuses who never make it out of the womb, whether from abortion, miscarriage or otherwise, would be doomed for damnation?
Just something I was wondering about. Thoughts?
I'm baptist (American Baptist to be specific) and while the baptism is what we do, we see it simply as a symbol, an outside expression of an inward transformation. Most American Baptists do not believe that baptism is necessary for salvation. Most baptist churches do see baptist as a prerequisite for church membership however.
I've always been taught and held the view that a person cannot be held responsible for their faith until they are at an age of cognitive recognition. This means that an infant who dies an childbirth, is aborted, or dies shortly after birth will still receive God's grace and go to heaven because they were never developed enough to make a decision. (Now, I do not believe that this same principle applies to tribes in South America who have never heard about God. Even though they were never able to make a decision because they never heard about God, they had the capacity to make that decision if the Gospel had been shared with them.)
Salvation is a gift that God gave to all through the death and resurrection of His son Jesus, and it is our choice whether or not we choose to participate in that salvation through our belief or rejection. If someone dies in childbirth or as an infant, they never had the capacity to make that choice, so I believe that they still go to heaven.
