What do Christians believe happen to aborted babies' souls?

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

Mucho

Guest
Oct 20, 2001
8,231
2
0
Originally posted by: NatePo717
Originally posted by: pontifex

lol, this only goes to show that religion is a farce. how can you change the rules on what happens to the dead? lol

Didn't you know that the Pope and God hold weekly meetings on stuff like this?

LOL best laugh all day
 

JS80

Lifer
Oct 24, 2005
26,271
7
81
Originally posted by: Wreckem
Originally posted by: pontifex
Originally posted by: joshsquall
Originally posted by: mercanucaribe
Serious question. I do know that Catholics believe they go to limbo like unbaptized babies, and from there can go to heaven... but what do other denominations believe?

Also, what is the basis for the belief that a baby has a soul at conception? And what is the basis for the belief among some (most?) non Christians that life starts at birth?

Incorrect. This doctrine was abolished within the past few months by the new Pope.

lol, this only goes to show that religion is a farce. how can you change the rules on what happens to the dead? lol

Because The Pope is said to be divinely ordained.

This is why there are Protestants. And this is why England and France waged war.
 

JS80

Lifer
Oct 24, 2005
26,271
7
81
Originally posted by: iamaelephant
I thought the whole Original Sin thing means they go to hell :confused:

I think it's more like people are born to sin, but obviously if a baby dies he doesn't have any opportunity to sin, hence is free and clear.
 

dxkj

Lifer
Feb 17, 2001
11,772
2
81
You would think a fetus would be boring to talk to in heaven. When does their personality develop?
 

thepd7

Diamond Member
Jan 2, 2005
9,423
0
0
I believe, like one other person pointed out in the thread, that there is an age of accountability where one begins to know good from evil, not just right from wrong. This is not the same for all people, it can vary greatly but it is the point where a child realizes good from evil.

For instance, a kid knows that not cleaning his/her room is wrong because he/she knows Mom will spank him/her if they don't clean it. But a child who understands good/evil realizes that the reason it is wrong is because its disobeying your parents, which is one of God's commandments.

Any child that dies (fetus too) before the age of accountability goes to heaven.
 

her209

No Lifer
Oct 11, 2000
56,336
11
0
Originally posted by: scott
Originally posted by: aidanjm
at what point does the soul enter the fetus?
at the instant the sperm penetrates the ovum, at the instant of fertilization
What happens if the fertilized egg doesn't plant?
 

Coolone

Senior member
Aug 18, 2001
983
0
0
Originally posted by: mercanucaribe
Serious question. I do know that Catholics believe they go to limbo like unbaptized babies, and from there can go to heaven... but what do other denominations believe?

Also, what is the basis for the belief that a baby has a soul at conception? And what is the basis for the belief among some (most?) non Christians that life starts at birth?

I'll give the LDS perspective here. *throws on ultra-coated flame suit*

Honestly, we dont know when exactly the soul enters the body. We believe that if a child dies before the age of 8(also including the time before they were born), they are not accountable for any sins committed and will gain eternal glory. To consider that a child would be in some state that isnt "heaven" before they knew right and wrong would be unfair to them, and that is not what we consider to be the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
 

her209

No Lifer
Oct 11, 2000
56,336
11
0
What happens if there are twins and one baby takes more than its share of the food thereby causing the other one to die?

What if the baby kills the mother during birth?
 

Coolone

Senior member
Aug 18, 2001
983
0
0
Originally posted by: her209
What happens if there are twins and one baby takes more than its share of the food thereby causing the other one to die?

What if the baby kills the mother during birth?

These are things that are unfortunate. Its not like the twin or the baby committed murder, the scenarios you bring up are just naturally occurring tragedies that happen in life.
 

phisrow

Golden Member
Sep 6, 2004
1,399
0
0
It would seem like original sin makes it a pretty open and shut case.

Mark 16:16 KJV: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." Other variants substantially similar.

If one holds that ensoulment occurs before the capacity for belief, it would appear to put every child in considerable risk of automatic damnation during their prenatal and early postnatal years. Given the high proportion of zygotes that fail to implant and are naturally expelled, this is a rather cheerless policy.
 

amicold

Platinum Member
Feb 7, 2005
2,656
1
81
Originally posted by: Wreckem
Originally posted by: pontifex
Originally posted by: joshsquall
Originally posted by: mercanucaribe
Serious question. I do know that Catholics believe they go to limbo like unbaptized babies, and from there can go to heaven... but what do other denominations believe?

Also, what is the basis for the belief that a baby has a soul at conception? And what is the basis for the belief among some (most?) non Christians that life starts at birth?

Incorrect. This doctrine was abolished within the past few months by the new Pope.

lol, this only goes to show that religion is a farce. how can you change the rules on what happens to the dead? lol

Because The Pope is said to be divinely ordained.

Well then what happens to the ones that already passed through and didn't make it? Damn Pope.
 

TehMac

Diamond Member
Aug 18, 2006
9,976
3
71
Originally posted by: JS80
Originally posted by: iamaelephant
I thought the whole Original Sin thing means they go to hell :confused:

I think it's more like people are born to sin, but obviously if a baby dies he doesn't have any opportunity to sin, hence is free and clear.

Many Protestants believe this:"Even though I was but in my mother's womb, I was [and am] a sinner"

Luther's Catechism.
So it really is a crapshoot. Your best bet is to not worry, thank God that you weren't ehmm...aborted, and live life to its full potential. Life is a gift from God, like computers. Be glad you were gifted enough to be able to afford one so you could ask unsolvable questions on ATOT.