Reading The Bible.

[WhiteKnuckle]

Just curious,, to add to the discussion

Matthew 18:1
At the same time came the disciples to Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 2 And Jesus called a little child to him, and set him in the middle of them, 3 And said, Truly I say to you, Except you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever shall receive one such little child in my name receives me. 6 But whoever shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Matthew 18:10
Take heed that you despise not one of these little ones; for I say to you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. 11 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.

Matthew 19:14
Then were there brought to him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come to me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. 15 And he laid his hands on them, and departed there.

Obviously I see a dual message here.
One, we should humble ourselves like children, believing everything and becomming innocent, trusting and loving etc.....

On the other hand, I see that Children are innocent and blameless.

This isn't to say that munchkins don't sin, obviously they do. But, it seems as to be based on what they've been shown and seen and think in their minds. As far as they can undrstand.

But, lookng at that, Munchkins aren't willfully ignorant. Their little minds are open to everything to learn, and grow. For the most part each and everyone of them desires only to do good to love, and to trust and to be loved. They do this without conditions.

A good example: Ever yell at your kids, then turn around and realize you over reacted and say, "I'm sorry" What do they say?
They look at you and sincerely say, "That's okay!"

Anyway to me, It seems they're in no danger of any form of damnation.............

 

[fivesense]

I understand your perspective on this and see how you reason this out and where you are coming from but I still fail to see any good scriptural basis to support it.
The scriptures do not contain life or power to bring about spiritual life in anyone.So the scriptures are not the Living Word but they are a testimony of the Living Word Jesus the Christ and son of God. The scriptures are given to encourage us to seek life from the One who is Life and base our faith on our experiences with Him. To base our faith on the scriptures is to base your faith on someone else's experience with Him and IMO this rarely leads to anyone to experiencing the Christ. Look at the pharisees, they had base their faith and trust in the scriptures and rejected the Christ who was standing right in front of them.

Now the other topic of how God will relate to young children I agree we don't know from the scriptures specifically how God will deal with these or those, but if we respond from the encouragement that the scriptures lend we will relate to Father, build a direct and intimate relationship with Him and through our experiences with Him we can know how He will deal with these people.

IMO if we limit God's communication with us to the scriptures then we misunderstand the intent of the wonderful gift of the scriptures. There is a huge difference between knowing someone and knowing about someone.

Very comforting and upholding the need to keep God as God.
fivesense

I think this is a brilliant explanation.

Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, [Saying], Blessed [are] they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed [is] the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Ro 4:6-8
fivesense

hi fivesense,

i think you may have misunderstood me. What you've stated here is exactly what I was saying regarding those who dont have the capability of learning about God either because they are too young or to handicapped.

I dont believe in eternal torment, im aware that hell is simply the common grave and its where we go when we die.

Im 100% convinced that Gods mercy will be on such ones which is why I stated in my previous post that God 'will not hold such ones to account for thier sin'

Thank you Pegg for your offer of conciliation. I accept it with pleasure. I was not at odds with you, as you point out, just misunderstood. I affirm your faith and trust in the living God.

fivesense

Just curious,, to add to the discussion

Obviously I see a dual message here.
One, we should humble ourselves like children, believing everything and becomming innocent, trusting and loving etc.....
On the other hand, I see that Children are innocent and blameless.
This isn't to say that munchkins don't sin, obviously they do. But, it seems as to be based on what they've been shown and seen and think in their minds. As far as they can undrstand.
But, lookng at that, Munchkins aren't willfully ignorant. Their little minds are open to everything to learn, and grow. For the most part each and everyone of them desires only to do good to love, and to trust and to be loved. They do this without conditions.
A good example: Ever yell at your kids, then turn around and realize you over reacted and say, "I'm sorry" What do they say?
They look at you and sincerely say, "That's okay!"

Anyway to me, It seems they're in no danger of any form of damnation.............

Your example Whiteknuckle hit home hard. Looking into their face at that point, having obtained forgiveness unconditionally from them, and the "let's forget the whole thing" mind they move forward in, is all about the heart of God, isn't it. Thanks.

fivesense