The bible said that only born again christians shall enter heaven. What of children that died in infancy or too little to know what religion is all about?. Children born out of christian homes but not yet old enough to decide for themselves?. Will God throw them into hell because they were not born again before death? What is the age limit required by God to hold anybody responsible for his/her evil ways?

They go back to another person's womb!

God is rational.

God is rational.

What do you mean?. Will God is rational work for a 9 year old bot that used to steal from his mum when he was alive or will God send him straight to hell because he was a thief?. What is the age limit for Gods judgment and why?

They go back to another person's womb!

How, Olodo?

Did the boy know the difference between right and wrong?
Did he have a chance of hearing the gospel, and was he mature enough to make a decision to accept or reject it?

These are some of the questions that kind of direct us to the answer. I can't think up anything straight from the bible right now.

I remember though, from back-in-the-dayz sunday school, they used to say something about the "age of accountability", when a child can choose between right and wrong. . .

RedHotChic:

How, Olodo?

Did the boy know the difference between right and wrong?
Did he have a chance of hearing the gospel, and was he mature enough to make a decision to accept or reject it?

These are some of the questions that kind of direct us to the answer. I can't think up anything straight from the bible right now.

I remember though, from back-in-the-dayz sunday school, they used to say something about the "age of accountability", when a child can choose between right and wrong. . .

True he knew it was wrong but he wasn't matured enough to know the severity of the punishment The idea of heaven and hell sounds more like a fairy tale to children and they don't usually grasp the intense nature of ETERNITY. How many of them knows what is born again? The bible itself referred to children as foolish.

RedHotChic:

True he knew it was wrong but he wasn't matured enough to know the severity of the punishment The idea of heaven and hell sounds more like a fairy tale to children and they don't usually grasp the intense nature of ETERNITY. How many of them knows what is born again? The bible itself referred to children as foolish.

So do you have your answer?

So do you have your answer?

If I have it, I wouldn't be asking.

@RedHotChic,

I hope the account of a youth who witnessed the destiny of children who died here on earth prematurely will help to answer your question.

OLAADEGBU:

Then we came to a place where there were millions and millions of children, of all ages. When they saw the Lord, all of them wanted to hug Him, to feel more of His love, because He was their passion. Jesus was the passion of each child there. We felt like crying after seeing how the Lord spoiled each one of these children, how He kissed them and held their hands.
We saw how angels got close to the Lord, bringing Him babies wrapped in linen. The Lord caressed, touched, and gave them a kiss on their foreheads and then the angels took them back with them. We asked the Lord why there were so many children there, were those children going to be sent to the Earth. The Lord sounded touched for a moment, and He said, "No, these children will not be sent to the Earth! These are the ones that were aborted on the Earth, whose parents don't want to have them. These are my children and I love them." I nodded my head, and even my voice trembled to ask the Lord such a question.
When I didn't know the Lord, the true Life that He is, I made mistakes and sinned like everybody else. Among those sins was an abortion I had. There was a moment where I had to be face to face with the Lord and ask Him, "Lord, is the baby I aborted, long ago, here?". The Lord answered, "Yes." I started walking to one of the sides and I saw a beautiful little boy. Close to his feet stood an angel. The angel was looking at the Lord, and the boy had his back facing us.
The Lord told me, "Look, there is your boy." I wanted to see him so I ran over to him, but the angel stopped me with his hand. He showed me that I had to listen to the boy first. I started to hear what the little boy was saying. He was talking and looking in the direction of the other children. He asked the angel, "Are my daddy and my mommy coming here soon?" The angel, looking at me, answered to him, "Yes, your daddy and your mommy are just about to come."
I do not know why I was given the privilege of hearing these words, but in my heart I knew that these words were the best gift that the Lord could give to me. This little one was not talking with anger, or pain, maybe knowing that we did not let him be born. He was simply waiting with the love that God had placed in his heart.

We continued walking, but I kept the image of that boy in my heart. I know that each day I have to make an effort to be able to be with him one day. I have one more reason to go there, because someone is waiting for me in the Kingdom of Heaven. The Word of God tells us in Isaiah 65:19, "I too will rejoice over Jerusalem and Will delight in My people. No more will there be heard in her the voice of weeping or the voice of crying."

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-187562.0.html

You may also read in Romans 9:15; Exodus 33:19 and you will find out that God's sovereignty over His mercy is stated.  God has made it clear that no act of grace or mercy is merited by man and that His own will was the basis of all His blessings.  For this reason I believe that all children who die prematurely before they reach the age of accountability will make heaven because of what Jesus has done. Rom.5:12-21. And this has nothing to do with the false notion of infant baptism.

to all you christain heaven and hell enthusiast, where will the people living in north korea go when they die? most of them are atheist because their government have banned religion in their country. . . .what about the billions of hindus,shirks, buddist etc  living in china, mongolia, japan, sri-lanka, thailand, nepal,bhutan, burma, maldives,bangladesh etc who have died without ever hearing the word jesus while they were alive(there are billions that have died without ever hearing the word jesus)  where will they go?. . . . . . .

to all you christain heaven and hell enthusiast, where will the people living in north korea go when they die? most of them are atheist because their government have banned religion in their country. . . .what about the billions of hindus,shirks, buddist etc living in china, mongolia, japan, sri-lanka, thailand, nepal,bhutan, burma, maldives,bangladesh etc who have died without ever hearing the word jesus while they were alive(there are billions that have died without ever hearing the word jesus) where will they go?. . . . . . .

Let me quote Oladeegbu for you:

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-187562.0.html

You may also read in Romans 9:15; Exodus 33:19 and you will find out that God's sovereignty over His mercy is stated. God has made it clear that no act of grace or mercy is merited by man and that His own will was the basis of all His blessings. For this reason I believe that all children who die prematurely before they reach the age of accountability will make heaven because of what Jesus has done. Rom.5:12-21. And this has nothing to do with the false notion of infant baptism.

  Quote from: OLAADEGBU on October 25, 2008, 02:31 PM
Then we came to a place where there were millions and millions of children, of all ages. When they saw the Lord, all of them wanted to hug Him, to feel more of His love, because He was their passion. Jesus was the passion of each child there. We felt like crying after seeing how the Lord spoiled each one of these children, how He kissed them and held their hands.
We saw how angels got close to the Lord, bringing Him babies wrapped in linen. The Lord caressed, touched, and gave them a kiss on their foreheads and then the angels took them back with them. We asked the Lord why there were so many children there, were those children going to be sent to the Earth. The Lord sounded touched for a moment, and He said, "No, these children will not be sent to the Earth! These are the ones that were aborted on the Earth, whose parents don't want to have them. These are my children and I love them." I nodded my head, and even my voice trembled to ask the Lord such a question.
When I didn't know the Lord, the true Life that He is, I made mistakes and sinned like everybody else. Among those sins was an abortion I had. There was a moment where I had to be face to face with the Lord and ask Him, "Lord, is the baby I aborted, long ago, here?". The Lord answered, "Yes." I started walking to one of the sides and I saw a beautiful little boy. Close to his feet stood an angel. The angel was looking at the Lord, and the boy had his back facing us.
The Lord told me, "Look, there is your boy." I wanted to see him so I ran over to him, but the angel stopped me with his hand. He showed me that I had to listen to the boy first. I started to hear what the little boy was saying. He was talking and looking in the direction of the other children. He asked the angel, "Are my daddy and my mommy coming here soon?" The angel, looking at me, answered to him, "Yes, your daddy and your mommy are just about to come."
I do not know why I was given the privilege of hearing these words, but in my heart I knew that these words were the best gift that the Lord could give to me. This little one was not talking with anger, or pain, maybe knowing that we did not let him be born. He was simply waiting with the love that God had placed in his heart.

We continued walking, but I kept the image of that boy in my heart. I know that each day I have to make an effort to be able to be with him one day. I have one more reason to go there, because someone is waiting for me in the Kingdom of Heaven. The Word of God tells us in Isaiah 65:19, "I too will rejoice over Jerusalem and Will delight in My people. No more will there be heard in her the voice of weeping or the voice of crying."

what is this? no be small thing. . . . Man really created god in his own image. . . . .

RedHotChic:

Let me quote Oladeegbu for you:

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-187562.0.html

You may also read in Romans 9:15; Exodus 33:19 and you will find out that God's sovereignty over His mercy is stated. God has made it clear that no act of grace or mercy is merited by man and that His own will was the basis of all His blessings. For this reason I believe that all children who die prematurely before they reach the age of accountability will make heaven because of what Jesus has done. Rom.5:12-21. And this has nothing to do with the false notion of infant baptism.

i am not talking about kids i am talking about the billions of adults who have died without ever hearing about the word jesus christ. . . i have meet some in thialand back in 2006. . . they did'nt understand what i was saying when i told them i was a christain in fact they have never heard of the word christain. . ,  . . . all of the people i meet in the village that i visited had never heard the name jesus or mohammed.  i meet one guy in bangkok who had never heard the word christain, he was the only person in bangkok who had never heard about christainity of all the people i meet in the capital(i interacted with about 20 people in the capital), most of them in the capital just know christainity as just another false religion. . . . . . and they were all buddist. . . . . .will all of them go to hell . . . . . . .for not knowing or believing in jesus?

mazaje:

i am not talking about kids i am talking about the billions of adults who have died without ever hearing about the word jesus christ. . . i have meet some in thialand back in 2006. . . they did'nt understand what i was saying when i told them i was a christain in fact they have never heard of the word christain. . , . . . all of the people i meet in the village that i visited had never heard the name jesus or mohammed. i meet one guy in bangkok who had never heard the word christain, he was the only person in bangkok who had never heard about christainity of all the people i meet in the capital(i interacted with about 20 people in the capital), most of them in the capital just know christainity as just another false religion. . . . . . and they were all buddist. . . . . .will all of them go to hell . . . . . . .for not knowing or believing in jesus?

You are certainly a troubled soul and you need help. The poster's question is loud and clear about what happens to children when they die, and here you are diverting the topic to address your concerns for the world, are you God? Deal with your own problem first before you think about what will happen to the world.

OLAADEGBU:

You are certainly a troubled soul and you need help. The poster's question is loud and clear about what happens to children when they die, and here you are diverting the topic to address your concerns for the world, are you God? Deal with your own problem first before you think about what will happen to the world.

why is it that when some body challenges the christain conventional belief, you guys start spewing your stupid talking points. . . using words like troubled soul, wicked soul, without love, in need of help and mercy, jesus loves you, god have mercy on you soul, who are you a man to question god etc. . . . so i am a troubled soul because i meet people who have never heard of jesus ohhh i am a troubled soul because i pointed out the fact that billions are alive and billions have died without ever knowing about the word jesus. . . . you guys are really insecured. . . all you do is attack without substance any idea or reasoning that makes you feel akward about you faith of comfort zone. . . the fact that the bible and the supposedly perfect god told you that only those that believe in jesus will go to heaven makes you feel good, but then the reality of only you will open your eyes and look at the world objectively is that billions are alive and billions have died without ever hearing about your jesus, that thought bring about a cognitive dissonance in your minds and instead of reasoning it out you prefer to call the person/people that point that out names. . . . .i don't know who you are but i believe i am leading a happier and more fullfilled life than you. . . . troubled is what i am not. . . .by the way what is the difference between children and adults that have never heard about jesus. . . . .

I dont know.

But i believe if a child dies before they

are old enough to understand,there is

an "age of accountability" doctrine which

allows them escape being sent to hell, much

like the idea that you turn into an adult when

youre 18,and youre held legally responsible

for your actions.

@poster

I don't have an idea what xtianity has to answer your question

as for Islaam

ALL chilldren who dies before they reach the age of reckoning go unhindered to Paradise. The prophet of Allah made that clear. They are in fact described as being in the company of the Father of Faith - Abraham.

@poster

I don't have an idea what xtianity has to answer your question

as for Islaam

ALL chilldren who dies before they reach the age of reckoning go unhindered to Paradise. The prophet of Allah made that clear. They are in fact described as being in the company of the Father of Faith - Abraham.

What is the age of reckoning in Islam?

RedHotChic:

What is the age of reckoning in Islam?

the age when a child is old enough to carry swords, guns ,explosives and arms while fighting and killing all the infidels and enemies of allah the greatest and most merciful to the glory and honour of his name. . allahhu akbarr. . . . . .there is no god but allah and mohammed is his prophet. . . . .

The questions raised by the poster are essentail in understanding the spiritual journey of human beings. The poster presume that a child that  died at birth is incarnating on  earth for the first time. If that is tha case, such a child can not go to hell since he has not commited any sin, but neither can he go to heaven since he has not the oppurtunity to learn and live according to the will of God. Ignorance is not a substitute for obedience to the will of God. Thus to say that such a child will go to heaven or hell is like giving a pass or fail grade to a student who never sat for the exam and did not even attend the course. Indeed most people will show a moral outrage if their son or daugher or themselves is graded for an exam he never attended the course, never registered for the course and never sat for the exam. To pass or fail a student who never registered for a course nor sat for an exam is pure INJUSTICE which most people can easily recognise. In a similar way, it will be injustice for a child that died after birth to be sent to heaven or hell because in each instance he or she have not been given the opportunity to pass or fail the spiritual exam which is living in the sense of the will of God. If one of the attributes of God is justice, then it will be unjust not to give the spirit of such a child the opportunity to pass or fail according to the will of God. Since God cannot be unjust, it then follows that the spirit of such a child had already had opportunities before this present unsuccessful incarnation in the flesh or will have a new opportunity of fresh incarnation in the fresh. In both cases, re-incarnation is involved. Re-incarnation rightly understood will solve what often seems enigmatic and inexplicable.

the age when a child is old enough to carry swords, guns ,explosives and arms while fighting and killing all the infidels and enemies of allah the greatest and most merciful to the glory and honour of his name. . allahhu akbarr. . . . . .there is no god but allah and mohammed is his prophet. .

m_nwankwo:

The questions raised by the poster are essentail in understanding the spiritual journey of human beings. The poster presume that a child that died at birth is incarnating on earth for the first time. If that is tha case, such a child can not go to hell since he has not commited any sin, but neither can he go to heaven since he has not the oppurtunity to learn and live according to the will of God. Ignorance is not a substitute for obedience to the will of God. Thus to say that such a child will go to heaven or hell is like giving a pass or fail grade to a student who never sat for the exam and did not even attend the course. Indeed most people will show a moral outrage if their son or daugher or themselves is graded for an exam he never attended the course, never registered for the course and never sat for the exam. To pass or fail a student who never registered for a course nor sat for an exam is pure INJUSTICE which most people can easily recognise. In a similar way, it will be injustice for a child that died after birth to be sent to heaven or hell because in each instance he or she have not been given the opportunity to pass or fail the spiritual exam which is living in the sense of the will of God. If one of the attributes of God is justice, then it will be unjust not to give the spirit of such a child the opportunity to pass or fail according to the will of God. Since God cannot be unjust, it then follows that the spirit of such a child had already had opportunities before this present unsuccessful incarnation in the flesh or will have a new opportunity of fresh incarnation in the fresh. In both cases, re-incarnation is involved. Re-incarnation rightly understood will solve what often seems enigmatic and inexplicable.

Great analogy but christianity does not believe in reincarnation. If reincarnation is true, why wouldn't the very child that had no opportunity to live a fulfilled life come back and do so for the purpose of getting the necessary certifications into heaven?

RedHotChic:

Great analogy but christianity does not believe in reincarnation. If reincarnation is true, why wouldn't the very child that had no opportunity to live a fulfilled life come back and do so for the purpose of getting the necessary certifications into heaven?

I am aware that many christian groups do not believe in reincarnation. Thus I am not justifying my conviction in re-incarnation with the bible.  Sure, a fufilled life is recognition and obedience to the will of God. Only when a spirit attains that does it possess the spiritual maturity to return to heaven. Thus as strange as it may sound, a new born child is only new with respect to the body but the spirit has already had numerous re-incarnations. The spirit already carries the experiences from previous incarnations. That is why some are born in poverty, others in royalty, some with disease resistant genes, others with infection prone genes, some are born blind, others with 20-20 vision, some succeed without effort while others fail inspite of much hardwork etc. Our circumstances in this present existence is but a snapshot of our harvest from previous and present incarnation. However if one can survey his entire existence, not just the present one, he os she will find clear reasons for whatever is his or her present circumstances.

i am not talking about kids i am talking about the billions of adults who have died without ever hearing about the word jesus christ. . . i have meet some in thialand back in 2006. . . they did'nt understand what i was saying when i told them i was a christain in fact they have never heard of the word christain. . , . . . all of the people i meet in the village that i visited had never heard the name jesus or mohammed. i meet one guy in bangkok who had never heard the word christain, he was the only person in bangkok who had never heard about christainity of all the people i meet in the capital(i interacted with about 20 people in the capital), most of them in the capital just know christainity as just another false religion. . . . . . and they were all buddist. . . . . .will all of them go to hell . . . . . . .for not knowing or believing in jesus?

I am not the giver of God's grace but I do know that God gives graces to those who are not Christians, after all it is by God's grace that one becomes Christian.
If these people have not heard about Christ, God is not going to punish them for ignorance. You mentioned that there are people in North Korea that are not allowed to believe in God, no one can tell you if you should believe or not in God. Even if it is signed in law. One may not be allowwed to worship and profess their faith in public but they cannot stop one from believing.
God can grant graces to muslims too, a lot of them are muslims because that's what they were raised to believe. But if the gospel has been preached to them and they said no to the gospel then they are accountable. But for those that haven't heard the gospel and there are billions then they are not accountable at their death.
There are atheists who are good people and God can grant them grace, it is not up to us to decide.

As for children. Parents are responsible for their children up until the age of reason. Now for christian families, it is beneficial for the child to be baptised into the christian faith. Our baptism separates us from others. But as the child gets older to the age of reason then the child should profess his/her own faith.

For those who speak that child baptism is false, Christ asked us to bring the little ones to him, so who are you to call Christ false for wanting the little ones to come to him, who are you to prevent the little ones from coming to him?
If a child is born into a christian home, but never baptised, grows older and decides to become a muslim, was the child ever a christian?
No, the child was never a christian, there is no difference between that child and a muslim child that was born to a muslim family, neither one was baptised in Christ. They are both muslims, so the former was never a christian.

@poster

I don't have an idea what xtianity has to answer your question

as for Islaam

ALL chilldren who dies before they reach the age of reckoning go unhindered to Paradise. The prophet of Allah made that clear. They are in fact described as being in the company of the Father of Faith - Abraham

While your post might be refreshing, however the question was not asked of you. You are not a christian and therefore should not have ventured into answering this question about islam. the question was for christians.

Now if it wasn't a question then your opinion on islam would have been welcomed, but this was specifically a question. be resepctful and don't respond.

~Lady~:

I am not the giver of God's grace but I do know that God gives graces to those who are not Christians, after all it is by God's grace that one becomes Christian.
If these people have not heard about Christ, God is not going to punish them for ignorance. You mentioned that there are people in North Korea that are not allowed to believe in God, no one can tell you if you should believe or not in God. Even if it is signed in law. One may not be allowwed to worship and profess their faith in public but they cannot stop one from believing.
God can grant graces to muslims too, a lot of them are muslims because that's what they were raised to believe. But if the gospel has been preached to them and they said no to the gospel then they are accountable. But for those that haven't heard the gospel and there are billions then they are not accountable at their death.
There are atheists who are good people and God can grant them grace, it is not up to us to decide.

As for children. Parents are responsible for their children up until the age of reason. Now for christian families, it is beneficial for the child to be baptised into the christian faith. Our baptism separates us from others. But as the child gets older to the age of reason then the child should profess his/her own faith.

For those who speak that child baptism is false, Christ asked us to bring the little ones to him, so who are you to call Christ false for wanting the little ones to come to him, who are you to prevent the little ones from coming to him?
If a child is born into a christian home, but never baptised, grows older and decides to become a muslim, was the child ever a christian?
No, the child was never a christian, there is no difference between that child and a muslim child that was born to a muslim family, neither one was baptised in Christ. They are both muslims, so the former was never a christian.

i know so many christains that will not agree with you on this. . . . .some might even accuse you of misleading people while others will call you a heretic. . . .

I am not the giver of God's grace but I do know that God gives graces to those who are not Christians, after all it is by God's grace that one becomes Christian.
If these people have not heard about Christ, God is not going to punish them for ignorance. You mentioned that there are people in North Korea that are not allowed to believe in God, no one can tell you if you should believe or not in God. Even if it is signed in law. One may not be allowwed to worship and profess their faith in public but they cannot stop one from believing.
God can grant graces to muslims too, a lot of them are muslims because that's what they were raised to believe. But if the gospel has been preached to them and they said no to the gospel then they are accountable. But for those that haven't heard the gospel and there are billions then they are not accountable at their death.
There are atheists who are good people and God can grant them grace, it is not up to us to decide.

But they've heard the gospel yet decides to ignore it. Should God tamper justice with mercy on that count?

As for children. Parents are responsible for their children up until the age of reason. Now for christian families, it is beneficial for the child to be baptised into the christian faith. Our baptism separates us from others. But as the child gets older to the age of reason then the child should profess his/her own faith.

What is this age of reason, if I may ask? 10? 12? 15?

For those who speak that child baptism is false, Christ asked us to bring the little ones to him, so who are you to call Christ false for wanting the little ones to come to him, who are you to prevent the little ones from coming to him?
If a child is born into a christian home, but never baptised, grows older and decides to become a muslim, was the child ever a christian?
No, the child was never a christian, there is no difference between that child and a muslim child that was born to a muslim family, neither one was baptised in Christ. They are both muslims, so the former was never a christian.

Will God's judgment be based on your religion or your lifestyle?

i know so many christains that will not agree with you on this. . . . .some might even accuse you of misleading people while others will call you a heretic. . . .

and that's fine with me. you certainly know that i am catholic and that because of that i am called a heretic. i'm sure you've been following the threads about catholics, and those other christians who wish to call us heretics. believe me we do not mind being called whateer, it won't stop the truth.

my only challende to them is that they tell me what in my statements are wrong and why? simply quoting the bible and not interpreting it does no good for anyone. they have to back it up with logic, God gave us a brain for a reason, they should use it.

by the way, I am sorry that person called you a lost soul. There is tomorrow and it is pregnant.

But they've heard the gospel yet decides to ignore it. Should God tamper justice with mercy on that count?

not all of them, that's why i said for those who have heard the gospel and ignored it, they will be held accountable, or did you not read the entire post?

What is this age of reason, if I may ask? 10? 12? 15?

i don't think one may be able to put a cap on it, people develop differently. but generally it is around age 7.

Will God's judgment be based on your religion or your lifestyle?

God's judgment is based on God and your decisions. You can call yorself a christian, yet you are the most judgemental, hypocritical person that ever did live.

You can go to church and say you have faith, however if you do not put your faith into practice what good is it. The way you live yourlife is extremely important.

Most of all, let's not be the judge, we do not know what is in one's heart, and we do not know if one will ask for forgiveness at the moment of death. That is why judgment is not left up to us.

But most of us, mostly christians are so proud, and are the quickest to judge.

m_nwankwo:

The questions raised by the poster are essentail in understanding the spiritual journey of human beings. The poster presume that a child that died at birth is incarnating on earth for the first time. If that is tha case, such a child can not go to hell since he has not commited any sin, but neither can he go to heaven since he has not the oppurtunity to learn and live according to the will of God. Ignorance is not a substitute for obedience to the will of God. Thus to say that such a child will go to heaven or hell is like giving a pass or fail grade to a student who never sat for the exam and did not even attend the course. Indeed most people will show a moral outrage if their son or daugher or themselves is graded for an exam he never attended the course, never registered for the course and never sat for the exam. To pass or fail a student who never registered for a course nor sat for an exam is pure INJUSTICE which most people can easily recognise. In a similar way, it will be injustice for a child that died after birth to be sent to heaven or hell because in each instance he or she have not been given the opportunity to pass or fail the spiritual exam which is living in the sense of the will of God. If one of the attributes of God is justice, then it will be unjust not to give the spirit of such a child the opportunity to pass or fail according to the will of God. Since God cannot be unjust, it then follows that the spirit of such a child had already had opportunities before this present unsuccessful incarnation in the flesh or will have a new opportunity of fresh incarnation in the fresh. In both cases, re-incarnation is involved. Re-incarnation rightly understood will solve what often seems enigmatic and inexplicable.

Thanks for this analogy; this is the only reasonable answer for the dead children

If you say they get automatic ticket to heaven, that still make God unjust because it would have been better for some to die as a child and go to heaven than to die poor as adult who neither enjoyed life but will suffer eternity in hell for not accepting Christ whom he probably knew nothing about


The only reasonable answer if for them to retake i.e come back again in flesh and be subjected to life experience like others

m_nwankwo:

I am aware that many christian groups do not believe in reincarnation. Thus I am not justifying my conviction in re-incarnation with the bible. Sure, a fufilled life is recognition and obedience to the will of God. Only when a spirit attains that does it possess the spiritual maturity to return to heaven. Thus as strange as it may sound, a new born child is only new with respect to the body but the spirit has already had numerous re-incarnations. The spirit already carries the experiences from previous incarnations. That is why some are born in poverty, others in royalty, some with disease resistant genes, others with infection prone genes, some are born blind, others with 20-20 vision, some succeed without effort while others fail inspite of much hardwork etc. Our circumstances in this present existence is but a snapshot of our harvest from previous and present incarnation. However if one can survey his entire existence, not just the present one, he os she will find clear reasons for whatever is his or her present circumstances.

Some passages seem to suggest possibility of reincarnation in the bible, but this doctrine might have been silenced so one can put best in this present life seeing it as the only and last opportunity while providing no answer to some other interesting questions

i don't think one may be able to put a cap on it, people develop differently. but generally it is around age 7.

A 7 yr old understands the reality of hell fire and heaven; the difference between vice and virtue but what he wouldn't understand is the gravity of the punishment. i don't even think a 16 year old will understand how serious eternity is.

A 7 yr old understands the reality of hell fire and heaven; the difference between vice and virtue but what he wouldn't understand is the gravity of the punishment. i don't even think a 16 year old will understand how serious eternity is.

well looking at how some christians behave today 40 year olds and mums and dads don't understand the seriousness of eternity, if htey did dem for don fear since.

that is why there can't be a cap. But when it comes to reasoning in this world, age 7 usually does it. the average child should be able to do some form of reasoning, if not get them checked by the doc.