The Damnation of Infants

There are those of the more hyper side of calvinism who actually hold to the idea that infants who die are sent to hell. This is a classic example of a paradigm driven interpretation of the scriptures. They suppose that since all are born sinners and since an infant cannot believe they are cast into hell as one of God's nonelect. It's sort of strange how that Calvinists taut the sovereignty of God and then at the same time try to confine him to a box of their own design. The idea of God damning infants is a repugnant doctrine, and anyone who teaches such nonsense does not understand the love of God whatsoever, and they certainly do not understand God's feeling toward children.

What God Says About Children

"And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein." (Luke 18:15-17)


"At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish." (Matthew 18:1-14)

In these two passages we see Jesus teachings about children. He said of children "...of such is the kingdom of God." indicating that the kingdom is made up of children. He said that we must humble ourselves as these children in order to "...enter the kingdom of heaven..." He said that it was not the will of the Father "...that one of these little ones should perish."

Further, if infants who die are damned it would make some of the teachings in the Bible make no sense.

"Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me! I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave." (Job 10:18-19)

"If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life's good things, and he also has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he." (ESV) (Ecclesiastes 6:3)

If infants who die are damned then Job's and Solomon's assertion would be ridiculous. How would dying at birth be something that Job longed for? How would a still born baby be superior to a man who lives a long time and does not enjoy the good of this life?

The hyper Calvinist wishes to maintain the paradigm at all costs, even the cost of the damnation of babies. They say that God is holy, just, righteous and sovereign, and then present a God Who is none of these things, but rather the author of sin and corruption. The God of the Bible is holy, just, righteous and sovereign because He is not the Author of sin and corruption.

What Others Have Said About Infant Damnation

“I have never, at any time in my life, said, believed, or imagined that any infant, under any circumstances, would be cast into hell. I have always believed in the salvation of all infants, and I intensely detest the opinions which your opponent dared attribute to me. I do not believe that on this earth, there is a single professing Christian holding the damnation of infants; or if there be, he must be insane, or utterly ignorant of Christianity.” Ian H. Murray, Letters of Charles Haddon Spurgeon: Selected with Notes by Iain H. Murray (London: Banner of Truth, 1992), 150.

"Among the gross falsehoods that have been uttered against the Calvinist proper is the wicked calumny that we hold the damnation of little infants. A baser lie was never uttered. There may have existed somewhere in some corner of the earth a miscreant...a criminal...who would dare to say that there were infants in hell but I have never met with him nor have I met with a man who ever saw such a person. We say with regard to infants, Scripture saith but little and therefore where Scripture is confessedly scant it is for no man to determine dogmatically but I think I speak for the entire body, or certainly with exceedingly few exceptions and those are known to me when I say we hold that all infants who die are elect of God and are therefore saved. And we look to this as being the means by which Christ shall see of the travail of his soul to a great degree and we do sometimes hope that thus the multitude of the saved shall be made to exceed the multitude of the lost. Whatever views our friends may hold upon the point, they are not necessarily connected with Calvinistic doctrine. I believe that the Lord Jesus who said 'of such is the Kingdom of Heaven' doth daily and constantly receive into His loving arms those tender ones who are only shown and then snatched away to heaven." – C.H. Spurgeon

The damnation of infants is a repugnant, despicable doctrine put forth by those who neither understand nor possess the love of God.