nikolai_42
Well-known member
Allow me to say up front that the academic nature of my question does not indicate a coldness to this girl's condition. But if salvation is about meeting emotional needs, then we should all simply preach a social gospel and worry more about feelings than spiritual condition. I use this article only as an example of the variety of physical and mental conditions that exist - and that if salvation is a universal need with a single qualification for all humanity and the same single standard (and same One Way) for all of humanity - then the patent emotional arguments that could be used miss the necessary focus.
I'm sure this sounds like an age of accountability question, but it isn't. Not quite. It's more the question of the mentally handicapped. The thing is, this is a handicap only in the sense of diminished capacity. Maybe it doesn't make a difference, but this girl doesn't seem to grasp a lot of things. There isn't any physical condition other than her brain is much smaller than normal :
https://www.yahoo.com/parenting/girl-with-almost-no-brain-is-still-alive-at-10-165306200.html
The upshot is, though, that she can't process nearly the same amount of information as most can - nor at the relatively high level that the average individual can. The article clearly says that most of the handful of people who suffer from this condition appear to be unconscious.
Taking this to a logical extent (some might say extreme), at what point does someone have "enough brains" and understanding to comprehend the gospel? A child doesn't have the understanding is the argument for an age of accountability. They aren't responsible for what they can't grasp. This child will probably never have that level of understanding - simply because she doesn't have enough of a brain.
If we assume she is a sinner, what makes her that? If we agree that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, why should those who have diminished mental capacity (relative to the average man on the street) be exempted? The article says she knows when bad things are going on and so she can respond on at least a basic emotional and relational level.
Or is our awareness of sin come to by some other process than intellectual determination? Of course it is come to spiritually, but without a certain level of mental ability, does that register? Would it be considered offensive if another were to try and share the gospel with this girl in her early teen years (or even now, at 10)? If so, why? Of course, I accept that given the situation, it is something that should be reserved for the parents who know her best. But even then, if the parents don't know the Lord, where does that leave the girl?
I'm not asking if she is saved or not. Intentionally so. Even with us, no one has that absolute knowledge save for God. But the way in which we approach this basic apologetic subject is at least partly determined by our understanding of how individuals take in information, the role of the intellect - and by the nature of the Word of God and its interplay with our faculties (intellectual, emotional and spiritual).
I'm sure this sounds like an age of accountability question, but it isn't. Not quite. It's more the question of the mentally handicapped. The thing is, this is a handicap only in the sense of diminished capacity. Maybe it doesn't make a difference, but this girl doesn't seem to grasp a lot of things. There isn't any physical condition other than her brain is much smaller than normal :
https://www.yahoo.com/parenting/girl-with-almost-no-brain-is-still-alive-at-10-165306200.html
The upshot is, though, that she can't process nearly the same amount of information as most can - nor at the relatively high level that the average individual can. The article clearly says that most of the handful of people who suffer from this condition appear to be unconscious.
Taking this to a logical extent (some might say extreme), at what point does someone have "enough brains" and understanding to comprehend the gospel? A child doesn't have the understanding is the argument for an age of accountability. They aren't responsible for what they can't grasp. This child will probably never have that level of understanding - simply because she doesn't have enough of a brain.
If we assume she is a sinner, what makes her that? If we agree that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, why should those who have diminished mental capacity (relative to the average man on the street) be exempted? The article says she knows when bad things are going on and so she can respond on at least a basic emotional and relational level.
Or is our awareness of sin come to by some other process than intellectual determination? Of course it is come to spiritually, but without a certain level of mental ability, does that register? Would it be considered offensive if another were to try and share the gospel with this girl in her early teen years (or even now, at 10)? If so, why? Of course, I accept that given the situation, it is something that should be reserved for the parents who know her best. But even then, if the parents don't know the Lord, where does that leave the girl?
I'm not asking if she is saved or not. Intentionally so. Even with us, no one has that absolute knowledge save for God. But the way in which we approach this basic apologetic subject is at least partly determined by our understanding of how individuals take in information, the role of the intellect - and by the nature of the Word of God and its interplay with our faculties (intellectual, emotional and spiritual).
:straight:
