Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The "age of accountability" is not a biblical concept at all.
That wording may not be found in the Bible, but when the Bible tells us to repent of our sins and accept Jesus Christ's sacrifice for us, it must be assuming that there is an age prior to which this commandment is impossible to obey. For instance, what "sins" is a 1-year-old capable of committing in the first place? How would a 1-year-old go about repenting, and what could a 1-year-old possibly be able to understand about the Atonement of Christ? In that regard, I think we're expected to use our common sense in realizing that there has to be an age at which a person is, in fact, mentally capable of doing things he will be held "accountable" for. And that would be the age of accountability -- whether it's spelled out in the Bible or not.
That wording may not be found in the Bible, but when the Bible tells us to repent of our sins and accept Jesus Christ's sacrifice for us, it must be assuming that there is an age prior to which this commandment is impossible to obey. For instance, what "sins" is a 1-year-old capable of committing in the first place? How would a 1-year-old go about repenting, and what could a 1-year-old possibly be able to understand about the Atonement of Christ? In that regard, I think we're expected to use our common sense in realizing that there has to be an age at which a person is, in fact, mentally capable of doing things he will be held "accountable" for. And that would be the age of accountability -- whether it's spelled out in the Bible or not.
Common sense is against the rules in theology. Augustine is considered to be the greatest theologian of the western world and yet his construction of soteriology trapped every soul into condemnation from conception.
God knows the sins they WOULD HAVE committed had they become a full grown sinner and such nonsense as that.
This is why we Universalist know that we must test the spirit of every theology. Infant damnation cannot be who God is despite the technicalities of theology. If that is the case why think that is true of someone of any age based on theological technicalities?
Your denial that Satan has no interest in ritualistically & demonically seeking to violate God's most innocent and helpless representatives here on earth, children,
.
Since you clearly are a believer in Satan, perhaps you can explain to me what he could conceivably get out of such interference since we know his ultimate fate. What's the point of his self-defeating efforts?
Well, that's a matter of opinion. According to the theology I believe, it was God who gave us common sense, and He expects us to use it.
Quote:
Augustine is considered to be the greatest theologian of the western world and yet his construction of soteriology trapped every soul into condemnation from conception.
God knows the sins they WOULD HAVE committed had they become a full grown sinner and such nonsense as that.
Agreed. My beliefs are not in line with Augustine's any more than yours are.
Quote:
This is why we Universalist know that we must test the spirit of every theology. Infant damnation cannot be who God is despite the technicalities of theology. If that is the case why think that is true of someone of any age based on theological technicalities?
I'm not sure what it is you're even getting at or why you're trying to convince me that I'm wrong. I don't believe that infants who die are damned, and I am essentially a universalist myself. There's just more depth to my theology than you might presume, and I don't believe the Bible contains a clear-cut answer to every question we might come up with.
Well, that's a matter of opinion. According to the theology I believe, it was God who gave us common sense, and He expects us to use it.
Agreed. My beliefs are not in line with Augustine's any more than yours are.
I'm not sure what it is you're even getting at or why you're trying to convince me that I'm wrong. I don't believe that infants who die are damned, and I am essentially a universalist myself. There's just more depth to my theology than you might presume, and I don't believe the Bible contains a clear-cut answer to every question we might come up with.
You could be an Episcopalian, Katzpur, both with your last sentence and your words close to our saying, "Jesus came into the world to take away our sins, not our God-given ability to reason."
I've repeated something similar before, even though you and I don't share the same theology. Going beyond the limits of the Bible makes for a deeper theology.
Those who do not have the capacity to believe in the son have no sin.
John 16:7-11
Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me;
about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer;
about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.
I was raised in a staunchly-Catholic household and educated in a Catholic school system in the 50s and 60s - when hell was real and indulgences of various stripes were available if you danced the correct dance.
We were taught the age of accountability - to know right from wrong, good from evil - was seven (7).
At seven, I knew quite a lot of things: how to hook a worm under a bobber to entice a fish, how to read, how to unhook a fish and safely release it, how to make my sister scream, a teacher sigh...
But I couldn't understand how a loving god-thing could burn a person forever because they made a mistake -- when, if you had a room-temperature IQ and read a few bible stories, you'd soon gloom that the OT god-thing was none-too-bright his own self. In fact, he was a dunderhead of epic -- shall we say "mythic" proportions.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
