tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7615787.post4519246818839637388..comments2023-08-26T09:34:18.163-05:00Comments on Dead Theologians: Original Sin, Pastoral Care, and the Courage to Speak TruthJared Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18445783451815077626noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7615787.post-85424264148339426262011-01-14T14:07:14.206-06:002011-01-14T14:07:14.206-06:00Ah...I didn't realize it had a different origi...Ah...I didn't realize it had a different original audience. Well written all the same. Thanks for the provocation of thought.Matthew Bradleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01843783322118909078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7615787.post-65911022222967195572011-01-12T11:06:22.805-06:002011-01-12T11:06:22.805-06:00Matt-
On Covenant I would agree. Covenant realiti...Matt-<br /><br />On Covenant I would agree. Covenant realities are my unspoken assumption. Notice I always say "the children of believers." That is because David's son is in the covenant. Jesus welcomed children whose parents were believers and in the covenant. Thus, the picture is of Christ welcoming covenant children. Both those pictures have an unspoken covenant theology under-girding them. <br /><br />I didn't mention covenant because I originally wrote this for a non-Reformed audience that I would have to interpret that theology to, and perhaps they would have been hung up on it. Perhaps I should have made that more explicit here.Jared Nelsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18445783451815077626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7615787.post-77635548408917084302011-01-12T09:08:20.973-06:002011-01-12T09:08:20.973-06:00PS - Covenant is why David had assurance about his...PS - Covenant is why David had assurance about his child and why Christ welcomed the little children.Matthew Bradleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01843783322118909078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7615787.post-71059722590474996662011-01-12T09:07:50.680-06:002011-01-12T09:07:50.680-06:00Well said, Jared.
I think you are missing a key c...Well said, Jared.<br /><br />I think you are missing a key component, however: Covenant.<br /><br />It is true that all people are deserving of judgment, and so God is just in damning even infants. <br /><br />It is also true that elect infants will certainly not be damned, and the Spirit works in the appointed time to regenerate each person.<br /><br />So some will be saved and some won't. This is where I had to stop until I encountered covenant theology. Paul tells us in 1 Cor 7 that the children of a believing parent is holy. We treat our covenant children as though they are regenerate until they prove otherwise through apostasy (me genoito!). <br /><br />So, while I am hesitant to argue dogmatically in particular instances, I think it is appropriate for me to give believers a strong sense of assurance that their dead infant is with Christ. The infant was a member of the covenant and never even had the opportunity to abandon the faith.<br /><br />For unbelieving parents, I will have to cast about and find some meager comfort for them in another place. Their child may have been elect, but I can have no way of knowing this, and therefore cannot assure them that it is true.<br /><br />I've actually been working on a post for my blog on this very subject (it came up with a parishioner recently). I'll let you know when it's posted.<br /><br />Also, I'm not sure if you're aware, but I moved my blog:<br /><br />cureofsouls.wordpress.com<br /><br />Later!Matthew Bradleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01843783322118909078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7615787.post-20478114479704173762011-01-12T08:48:38.337-06:002011-01-12T08:48:38.337-06:00"the Spirit, who worketh when, and where, and..."the Spirit, who worketh when, and where, and how he pleaseth" I like this phrase alot.<br /><br />I would say infants like mentally disabled people are saved through their baptism, or their parents desire for it. <br /><br />Either way, as the Westminster divines rightly said, it is up to the Spirit who he will regenerate.Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02752373297874435269noreply@blogger.com