Terry Mitchell

Is the 'Age of Accountability' Doctrine Biblical?



Posted: Tuesday, September 23, 2008

by
http://commenterry.blogs.com

Many protestant denominations, including Southern Baptists, teach the ‘age of accountability' doctrine. Simply put, this doctrine holds that children are not responsible for their own sins until they reach some nebulous age of accountability that only God is aware of. Supposedly, this is the point at which an individual child begins to understand the difference between right and wrong along with how to receive forgiveness for his or her sins and salvation for the soul.
 
After that point, they are held accountable for their own sins. And if they die after this line has been crossed without having been saved, they, like any adult in that condition, will be doomed to eternal punishment. However, any child dying before reaching the age of accountability automatically goes to heaven because he or she is said to be in a state of innocence.   
However, this doctrine cannot be found anywhere in the Holy Bible. It does not say what kind of afterlife, if any, awaits innocent children who die. Therefore, we do not really know the answer. Unfortunately, many deeply religious people, especially those of the fundamentalist persuasion, feel that saying you don't know something about your religion is somehow an indication of weak theology. Therefore, this doctrine was fabricated as an effort to answer the question about the fate of those who die as innocent babies and children.

My other problem with this doctrine is that contradicts one of the most fundamental tenets of Christianity – that belief in Christ is the only path to salvation. Most of those who hold to the doctrine of the age of accountability also claim to adhere to this "one way" salvation model. What they don't seem to realize is that the idea that innocents automatically go to heaven identifies a second way to be saved – one which does not necessitate the belief in Christ.

I'll stick with what the Bible actually teaches and admit that there are some things that I'll never know during my journey through this life. That's far better than subscribing to desperate attempts to explain the unknown
 
Terry Mitchell is a software engineer, freelance writer, amateur political analyst, and blogger from Virginia, USA. He posts a least one article a day to his blog - http://commenterry.blogs.com - on subjects such as current events, politics, technology, society and culture, religion, health and well-being, self improvement, personal finance, trivia, and sports. Terry is also the owner and operator of a website that is dedicated to allowing U.S. citizens to find all types of insurance at reasonable prices.  
 
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