When a Baby Dies, by Ronald Nash.
Most Christians believe that infants that die (either born or preborn) go to heaven. I believe that is true. I also believe there is wrong theology to get to the right conclusion.
It is vital (as Nash writes) that this discussion not fall into abstraction - a mere theological topic to be pounded to death. There are very real people with very real pain who are searching for very true answers.
The hurting ones want real, Biblical answers and this book will help us find them.
In the second part of the book, Nash looks at the teaching that all babies go to heaven because everybody will eventually go to heaven.
This heresy is called "universalism" - the belief that all humans will be reconciled with God for eternity; that there is no eternal damnation. Everybody will go to heaven, because God is Love and a loving God would not condemn anybody to hell.
What does the Bible say?
Matthew 7:13-14: Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
John 3:17-18: For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
Revelation 20:11-15: Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Conclusion: comforting those who have lost babies cannot include the teaching that all babies go to heaven because of universalism.
Danika
That looks like a very interesting book!
Merry Christmas!
Gattina
I wish it were true, but the problem is "where is the heaven" ? Since we go to the Moon there is no heaven anymore for the scientifics. Maybe there is a spiritual heaven.
Ellen
Gattina, if it helps, here is an article that may help.
It says that science has proven that there may be many dimensions in space that inhabit the same area that we do. Heaven (and hell) may be right here with us, only in a different dimension that we cannot see or feel.