How does religion explain infant deaths?
We read about the deaths of babies and children as a result of wars, diseases, or simply human cruelty. What did they do to recieve such a tragic fate? Is there an explanation for this in any religion?
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@Renkon
There are many facets to the answer here. We want to be careful not to blame God. After all, the Bible says that God is perfect and without sin at all. He cannot sin. He is incapable of sinning or he could not call himself God, so it would be unfair to blame God for what man did.
When God put the first two people in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve, there was no sin. God had warned Adam and Eve not to eat from the Tree of knowledge or they would die. For in that day, their eyes would be open to know the difference between Good and Evil and be like God, and if they would then eat from the Tree of Life, they would have forever been locked in their sins forever. God warned them but they didn't listen. Satan came along and told them oh you won't die if you eat from that tree, and he lied to them and they believed him and so they ate from the Tree of knowledge and then they realized they had sinned against God. It was only then that their eyes was open to know the difference between Good and Evil. Had they listened to God, they would have never sinned. But remember that God didn't make us to be robots. It shows you what human beings do, given the choice, and they sinned. That was their choice, not God's. He warned them not to eat from the Tree of knowledge, but they did so along with choices comes responsibility and consequences. When they sinned against their Creator, they were responsible for answering to him for their sins. Sin automatically bring separation and death, spiritually, from God and that's what God did not want. They could not enter Heaven with sin on their heels so they were cast out of the garden of Eden, never to return again lest they would eat from the Tree of Life and live forever in their sins. By sinning, they took themselves out of fellowship with a Holy God and so they had to repent. However, sin now, was a part of their nature. It was in their blood, and so their offspring inherited the same. Given the choice, we have proven that we will sin against God, as well. We see it everywhere in this world. We have to pay for our sins, not for Adam and Eve's. We too make sinful choices at times. God made this world perfect for us. It was not He that ruined it. He did not create nor make Adam and Eve choose wrongly. God still loved Adam and Eve with all his heart and soul, however God Is So holy he had to turn his face away from them. Now mankind had to find a way back to God, to re-establish a relationship and fellowship with Him again, so that his sins could be forgiven. Having sin themselves, they could not forgive their own sins. It takes a pure and holy sacrifice to do that and that's where Jesus came in and volunteered to pay for our sins on the cross. Because without a blood sacrifice, sins cannot be forgiven in the spiritual world....
Hebrews 9:22 in the Bible states, "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins". In the Old Covenant, sacrificial blood was necessary to sanctify almost everything, including the forgiveness of sins. However, the author of Hebrews is reminding his audience that Christ's death is necessary, and that his blood is more purifying than the blood of animals. The blood of animals worked up until Jesus died on the cross as the ultimate and perfect sacrifice. But animals blood is not pure like Jesus's. Jesus didn't have to come and save us from Eternal separation because of our sins. He could have just left us in this state but he loved us too much and therefore died to pay for our sins so that we could have a way to go to heaven. Otherwise we would have all went to hell. Jesus was the only one worthy enough to die for our sins because he was perfect and he was pure and holy. So anyone who comes to Jesus and asks him to forgive them of their sins, he promises to forgive us and bring us back into fellowship and good standing with our father in Heaven and that's exactly what he does, if we will allow him to.
Someone mentioned original sin here. So an infant isn't affected by original sin? When does original sin come into play in a person's life?
There are many facets to the answer here. We want to be careful not to blame God. After all, the Bible says that God is perfect and without sin at all. He cannot sin. He is incapable of sinning or he could not call himself God, so it would be unfair to blame God for what man did.
When God put the first two people in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve, there was no sin. God had warned Adam and Eve not to eat from the Tree of knowledge or they would die. For in that day, their eyes would be open to know the difference between Good and Evil and be like God, and if they would then eat from the Tree of Life, they would have forever been locked in their sins forever. God warned them but they didn't listen. Satan came along and told them oh you won't die if you eat from that tree, and he lied to them and they believed him and so they ate from the Tree of knowledge and then they realized they had sinned against God. It was only then that their eyes was open to know the difference between Good and Evil. Had they listened to God, they would have never sinned. But remember that God didn't make us to be robots. It shows you what human beings do, given the choice, and they sinned. That was their choice, not God's. He warned them not to eat from the Tree of knowledge, but they did so along with choices comes responsibility and consequences. When they sinned against their Creator, they were responsible for answering to him for their sins. Sin automatically bring separation and death, spiritually, from God and that's what God did not want. They could not enter Heaven with sin on their heels so they were cast out of the garden of Eden, never to return again lest they would eat from the Tree of Life and live forever in their sins. By sinning, they took themselves out of fellowship with a Holy God and so they had to repent. However, sin now, was a part of their nature. It was in their blood, and so their offspring inherited the same. Given the choice, we have proven that we will sin against God, as well. We see it everywhere in this world. We have to pay for our sins, not for Adam and Eve's. We too make sinful choices at times. God made this world perfect for us. It was not He that ruined it. He did not create nor make Adam and Eve choose wrongly. God still loved Adam and Eve with all his heart and soul, however God Is So holy he had to turn his face away from them. Now mankind had to find a way back to God, to re-establish a relationship and fellowship with Him again, so that his sins could be forgiven. Having sin themselves, they could not forgive their own sins. It takes a pure and holy sacrifice to do that and that's where Jesus came in and volunteered to pay for our sins on the cross. Because without a blood sacrifice, sins cannot be forgiven in the spiritual world....
Hebrews 9:22 in the Bible states, "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins". In the Old Covenant, sacrificial blood was necessary to sanctify almost everything, including the forgiveness of sins. However, the author of Hebrews is reminding his audience that Christ's death is necessary, and that his blood is more purifying than the blood of animals. The blood of animals worked up until Jesus died on the cross as the ultimate and perfect sacrifice. But animals blood is not pure like Jesus's. Jesus didn't have to come and save us from Eternal separation because of our sins. He could have just left us in this state but he loved us too much and therefore died to pay for our sins so that we could have a way to go to heaven. Otherwise we would have all went to hell. Jesus was the only one worthy enough to die for our sins because he was perfect and he was pure and holy. So anyone who comes to Jesus and asks him to forgive them of their sins, he promises to forgive us and bring us back into fellowship and good standing with our father in Heaven and that's exactly what he does, if we will allow him to.