God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)
All those dying in infancy, as well as those so mentally incapacitated that they are incapable of making an informed choice, are among the elect of God chosen by Him for salvation before the world began. The evidence for this view is scant, but significant.
1. In Romans 1:20 Paul describes people who are recipients of general revelation as being, “without excuse.” Does this imply that those who are not recipients of general revelation (i.e., infants) are therefore not accountable to God or subject to wrath? In other words, those who die in infancy have an “;excuse” in that they neither receive general revelation nor have the capacity to respond to it.
2. There are texts which appear to assert or imply that infants do not know good or evil and hence lack the capacity to make morally informed and thus responsible choices. According to Deuteronomy 1:39 they are said to “have no knowledge of good or evil.”
3. The story of David's son in 2 Samuel 12:15-23 (esp. v. 23)… What does it mean when David says “I shall go to him?” If this is merely a reference to the grave or death, in the sense that David, too, shall one day die and be buried, one wonders why he would say something so patently obvious! Also, it appears that David draws some measure of comfort from knowing that he will 'go to him.' It is the reason why David resumes the normal routine of life. It appears to be the reason David ceases from the outward display of grief. It appears to be a truth from which David derives comfort and encouragement. How could any of this be true if David will simply die like his son? It would, therefore, appear that David believed he would be reunited with his deceased infant.
4. There is consistent testimony of Scripture that people are judged on the basis of sins voluntary and consciously committed in the body. See 2 Corinthians 5:10; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Revelation 20:11-12. In other words, eternal judgment is always based on conscious rejection of divine revelation (whether in creation, conscience, or Christ) and willful disobedience. Are infants capable of either? There is no explicit account in Scripture of any other judgment based on any other grounds. Thus, those dying in infancy are saved because they do not (cannot) satisfy the conditions for divine judgment.
5. We have what would appear to be clear biblical evidence that at least some infants are regenerate in the womb, such that if they had died in their infancy they would be saved. This at least provides a theoretical basis for considering whether the same may be true of all who die in infancy. These texts include Jeremiah 1:5; Luke 1:15.
6. Some have appealed to Matthew 19:13-15 (Mark 10:13-16; Luke 18:15-17) where Jesus declares, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Is Jesus simply saying that if one wishes to be saved he/she must be as trusting as children, i.e., devoid of skepticism and arrogance? In other words, is Jesus merely describing the kind of people who enter the kingdom? Or is he saying that these very children were recipients of saving grace?
7. Given our understanding of the character of God as presented in Scripture, does He appear as the kind of God who would eternally condemn infants on no other ground than that of Adam's transgression? Admittedly, this is a subjective (and perhaps sentimental) question. But it deserves an answer, nonetheless.
Sam Storms
Alexander Walters’ "French Canadian Chili"
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CATEGORY
CUISINE
TAG
YIELD
Meats, Grains
Canadian
1
Servings
INGREDIENTS
1
Clove garlic; minced
2
Onions; chopped
2
lb
Lean ground beef
2
Each: red; green and yellow peppers, chopped
1
Jalapeno pepper; seeded and chopped
1
Container (10 oz) white mushrooms; chopped
5
Garden tomatoes; chopped
5
Plum tomatoes; chopped
2
cn
(6 oz) tomato paste
2
cn
(28 oz) stewed tomatoes
1
Jar; (16 oz) garden style tomato sauce
2
tb
Dried oregano
2
tb
Dried thyme
1
tb
Celery salt
Ground pepper
4
cn
Red kidney beans; drained
INSTRUCTIONS
First, pour some vegetable oil a large skillet. Then add the garlic and
onion, letting them saute until they're translucent. Then add the ground
beef and brown it.
Add all the peppers, jalapenos included, plus the mushrooms to the post,
continue cooking the vegetables until they soften a bit (2-3 minutes). To a
large pot, add all the canned tomato paste, the canned stewed tomatoes and
the chopped fresh plum and garden tomatoes.
Combine browned meat/peppers mixture with tomato mixture in large pot. Add
the oregano, thyme, celery salt and pepper.
Let entire mixture simmer for 20-25 minutes.
After it's simmered, add the beans and simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes
until the sauce is the consistency of a thick gravy.
Alexander Walters is the handsomely sexy actor who plays Mark Kasnoff on
CBS's, "As The World Turns." Originally from Toronto, Canada, Walters went
to college in Montreal where, during a stint as a bartender, he was
discovered by a modeling agent. His modeling career bought him to New York
and the rest, as they say, is history!
Posted to recipelu-digest Volume 01 Number 472 by "bunny"
<layla696@ix.netcom.com> on Jan 7, 1998
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