Sunday, March 7, 2010
Babies and Limbo

I received this question from a friend of mine and I was hoping that others could offer their input on this issue in the comments section.  I have written on the Limbo of the Infants previously which I highly recommend reading [read it now]!

I was listening to Traditional Catholic Radio and they said that unbaptized babies go to Limbo and if we didn't believe that then the consequences would be accepting ecumenism because if unbaptized babies go to heaven so also could unbaptized Muslims. I have a problem with this in that these babies committed no sins whereas these other people have committed sins and are therefore punished for the sins that they commit. Can you perhaps shed some light on this? I am trying to reason through it and right now it doesn't make sense.

God Bless

4 comment(s):

del_button March 7, 2010 at 12:54 PM
Jeff Miller said...

Of course unbaptized Muslims or anybody else can go to Heaven. The Church has long had a teaching on invincible ignorance.

"Lack of knowledge, either of fact or law, for which a person is not morally responsible. This may be due to the difficulty of the object of the knowledge, or scarcity of evidence, or insufficient time or talent in the person, or any other factor for which he is not culpable. (Etym. Latin in, not + vincibilis, easily overcome: invincibilis."

It is those who know the Church is true and deny her that have no chance of salvation while they hold that view. The Church's dogmatic teaching that there is no salvation outside of the Catholic Church points to the fact that anybody who is saved is saved through Christ's Church even if they did not believe in her. They do not gain Heaven in any way by their false theological beliefs. Though within the reality of the Church it becomes so much easier to obtain salvation because of the sacraments. While members of other religions can still obtain Heaven, it is no certainty that they will.

Traditional Catholic Radio does not seem so Traditional by promoting the theological speculation of Limbo as Dogma.

del_button March 7, 2010 at 1:29 PM
Cassidy said...

I have a very hard idea accepting that children who die without baptism don't go to Heaven. As the mother of 7 miscarried children who never had a chance to even take a breath, never mind being held or baptized, I don't believe God would do anything other than take them into Heaven.

I personally see a very big difference between the death of a child who was not baptized for whatever reason and the death of an adult who either knew the truth and ignored it or never bothered to look for the truth to begin with. I don't believe God would punish a child because of something completely outside of their control.

del_button March 9, 2010 at 10:54 AM
Matthew said...

A message that a reader sent me that I think is worth posting here:

-------

I tried to post my reasons why I believe unbaptized children go to heaven and NOT to Limbo but I guess I don't know how to post to blogs -- i merely read the blogs and usually do not have any comments.

Here are my reasons why the children go to Heaven

Matthew – Chapter 18 – 1 through 5

At that time the disciples approached Jesus and said, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, "Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.
"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

Matthew – Chapter 19 – 13 through 16

Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked them, but Jesus said, "Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
After he placed his hands on them, he went away.

del_button April 8, 2010 at 11:54 AM
Anonymous said...

I think that people are missing the point here.
If unbaptized children go to heaven, what is the purpose of Baptism? There are several reasons for
Baptism, THE REMOVAL OF ORIGINAL SIN being one of them. An unbaptized baby is guilty of original sin, though not of freely chosen sin. A
Muslim, in order to get to heaven must convert to the Catholic Faith, period. Invincible ignorance cannot excuse someone who has opportunity to learn the truth and who does not use it.

Shawn
salbert.tripod.com

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