By Victor Ochieng
If there is a question that goes unanswered in many panels is whether or not children go to hell. God is a loving Father and He gives each and everyone an opportunity to make a choice on whether to live by His principles or not. As for babies, it’s clear they’re not in a position to make such a choice. What’s known about them though is that they’re innocent beings.
The other thing we know is that God loves children. Talking about young ones, we’re reminded in the book of Luke 18:15-17, which says, “People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
We’re also aware of several Bible passages that refer to babies as angels, showing clearly that they’re loved by their maker.
However, the underlying question is: What happens to babies on the day of the judgment? Will they all go to hell? Will they all go to heaven? Will they be judged based on the deeds of their parents?
There is a group that believes that anyone who doesn’t get to the point of repentance cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, citing Romans 3:23 that says we’ve all sinned. Some other Bible verses also say we’re all born sinners, including a baby who’s just born. Then we also know that one has to believe to be saved (John 3:18 and Acts 16:31).
But then again, the Bible doesn’t say anywhere that those who weren’t old enough to believe or repent of their sins would automatically go to hell. Because God is just, he’d most probably allow children to go to heaven. Who knows the ways of the LORD anyway?
The Roman Catholic church initially held a universal belief that all children are innocent and would go to heaven on the last day. However, that position has since changed with many Popes having given contradicting positions on the question. Some Protestant churches believe that children below a given age all go to heaven regardless of their faith. Then Left Behind says that all children under the age of 8 will go to heaven automatically, regardless of whether their parents were Christians or not. In Catholic, the age of Reason is set at 7.
What do you say about this topic?
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