Holy Innocents
Against Double Death: Pleading from Scripture
When you said (John 3:5), Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God, you were speaking to an old man, a Rabbi, about seeing and entering the Kingdom of God in his life. You would not say to an aborted child, You must be born again: How can the unborn be born again?
When you said of little ones (Matthew 18:10), That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven, you did not say, If they are baptized. You would not say to the aborted, Your angels behold the face of my Father, but not you: you wretched victims “will eternally enjoy a state of perfect natural happiness with no severer penalty than eternal exclusion from the beatific vision”—“you are excluded for want of the ‘seal’ of baptism from the ‘honor’ of seeing God face to face, but since you are not personally wicked you are free from positive punishment; you will be perfectly happy being deprived forever of the vision of God; true, in a sense, you are in Hell, but this does not necessarily mean anything more than that you are excluded eternally from the vision of God: you are damned: you have failed to reach your supernatural destiny, and this viewed objectively is a true penalty; but this does not deny the possibility of your perfect subjective happiness.” (Limbo)
When you rebuked your disciples and said (Matthew 19:13-14), Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven, you did not say, If they are baptized.
When your apostle Paul said (Romans 5:12), Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned, he did not say, The unborn sin.
When your apostle Paul said (Romans 8:22), The whole creation groaneth, and (Romans 8,26) The Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings, he did not say, Only baptized creation.
When your apostle Paul said (1 Corinthians 7:14), For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy, he did not say, Provided they are baptized.
When your apostle Paul said (Colossians 1:20) that you who made all things reconciled all things, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of your cross, he did not say, Provided they are baptized.
John 4:2
(Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)
When you said (John 3:5), Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God, you were speaking to an old man, a Rabbi, about seeing and entering the Kingdom of God in his life. You would not say to an aborted child, You must be born again: How can the unborn be born again?
When you said of little ones (Matthew 18:10), That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven, you did not say, If they are baptized. You would not say to the aborted, Your angels behold the face of my Father, but not you: you wretched victims “will eternally enjoy a state of perfect natural happiness with no severer penalty than eternal exclusion from the beatific vision”—“you are excluded for want of the ‘seal’ of baptism from the ‘honor’ of seeing God face to face, but since you are not personally wicked you are free from positive punishment; you will be perfectly happy being deprived forever of the vision of God; true, in a sense, you are in Hell, but this does not necessarily mean anything more than that you are excluded eternally from the vision of God: you are damned: you have failed to reach your supernatural destiny, and this viewed objectively is a true penalty; but this does not deny the possibility of your perfect subjective happiness.” (Limbo)
When you rebuked your disciples and said (Matthew 19:13-14), Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven, you did not say, If they are baptized.
When your apostle Paul said (Romans 5:12), Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned, he did not say, The unborn sin.
When your apostle Paul said (Romans 8:22), The whole creation groaneth, and (Romans 8,26) The Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings, he did not say, Only baptized creation.
When your apostle Paul said (1 Corinthians 7:14), For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy, he did not say, Provided they are baptized.
When your apostle Paul said (Colossians 1:20) that you who made all things reconciled all things, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of your cross, he did not say, Provided they are baptized.
John 4:2
(Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)
posted by Leo Wong at 6:00 AM +
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