Victims of Calvinism: The Mentally Handicapped

Let me tell you about Rita.
Rita had a beautiful smile. Rita always wanted to say, "Hi," to whoever she saw. Rita was a sweetheart. Rita was 46 going on four.

Rita was the first mentally handicapped person I remember knowing. I had never really noticed anything wrong with her when I was a very young child, although some adults would tell me that she was "special," or "different." But as I grew, I too noticed that Rita didn't act like all the other adults.

The same is true of Margie, a lady who attended the Sweetwater church of Christ when I was the preacher there. She always wanted to give me a hug when she came through the doors. Her smile was infectious. She has the reasoning ability of a young child.

I can't forget about Keith, either. Keith can tell you everything you ever wanted to know about sports. He can tell you statistics about players from decades ago. In fact, he was a regular call-in guest on a local sports radio show. I think he thoroughly impressed the hosts of the show, who were pretty knowledgeable themselves. He always calls me on my birthday to sing "Happy Birthday" to me with his gravelly voice. Mentally, Keith will never make it to his teenage years.

These three people have touched my life in various ways. These three people are also mentally handicapped, from birth. But when I think about these people, my heart smiles. They are so genuine; So trusting; So innocent. You and I could learn a lesson or two from them.

But are they "saved?"

I was recently invited to be on a local television show called "A Bible Answer" as a guest panelist. One of the questions assigned to me was:

"What about those who are born with a mental deficiency? Are they accountable and in need of salvation?"

The heart of the question is this: Are those people who have never had the ability to reason for themselves, yet are in their adult years, accountable for their actions and in need of salvation?

The quick answer is this: They are as safe, sinless, and as innocent as a child. Mentally, they have never left childhood. In fact, they don't need to be saved, because they have never been lost!

In 2 Samuel 12:23, David makes the following statement concerning his deceased child:

"But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me."

In David's understanding, the infant must have been in Heaven. That is, unless David thought that he himself was going to Hell (e.g., "I shall go to him,"). But that doesn't seem likely (cf. 1 Samuel 13:14).

Consider as well that Jesus uses children as positive examples because of their innocence (cf. Matthew 18:3; 19:4). Jesus says that "of such are the kingdom of Heaven." Children are not accountable for the sins of Adam, their parents, or any other person for that matter (cf. Ezekiel 18:4, 10-28). At the beginning of their lives, they are innocent.

There is a principle in this: Maturity and accountability aren't about age, but about the capability to reason, and the perception of responsibility. When you and I know right from wrong, and understand the nature of evil and sin, then we become accountable for our actions. We commit sin when we break God's laws (cf. 1 John 3:4).

A child is simply not capable of those things. Nor is someone who has been mentally handicapped from birth. They are in the same, innocent state.

But that's not really what I want to focus on. The same question got me to thinking: What does the Calvinistic viewpoint have to say about the same question?

Heaven or Hell?

Why bother to have this discussion? Well, it's because just about every Protestant denomination that exists today (which the church of Christ is NOT) has been touched in some way by the teachings of John Calvin. Ever heard of "once saved always saved?" That's Calvinism. What about "predestination?" That's Calvinism, too. Many people hold Calvinistic beliefs, and don't even realize it.

But there's a lot more to Calvinism than just the "perseverance of the saints" and "unconditional election." Calvinism has some serious problems when it comes to deceased children, and likewise, those who have been mentally handicapped from birth.

Here are the fundamental problems: Calvinism maintains that everyone is born "depraved." In other words, people don't become sinners, but rather, they are born sinners. That is a huge difference.

Furthermore, Calvinism maintains that all the saints are "predestined," i.e., those who will be saved are chosen by God (rather arbitrarily, I might add), and you or I have nothing to do with the matter. In this doctrine, it's only by the direct operation of the Holy Spirit on the believer's heart that a person can even understand the scriptures, accept Jesus, and be saved. It leaves nothing up to the individual. According to Calvinism, you couldn't be a Christian even if you wanted to, if God didn't "elect" you.

In the Calvinistic view, since babies are born as sinners, and obviously have no chance to even be "elected" by God (or understand the scriptures via the Holy Spirit's operation on their heart), it all boils down to this:

Pure Calvinism teaches that babies who die go to Hell.

That's it.

A strictly Calvinistic preacher will preach the funeral of Uncle Bob, who was a drunk, beat his three wives, and never darkened the door of a church building, and say that he's "kicking up gold dust on the streets of Heaven" because he "accepted Jesus into his heart" when he was twelve. But according to strict Calvinism, the same preacher would have to teach that a deceased infant has no chance of Heaven.

Leaves a bad taste in your mouth, doesn't it? Google it if you don't believe me.

Now some people like some of the aspects of Calvinism (for instance, "once saved always saved", since it's awfully convenient). For this reason, many with a heart will try to find a way around the "depraved" issue. They come up with all sorts of philosophies about grace by saying that we can't argue with how God decides to give his grace. But in the end, they only make God look more arbitrary about selecting those who will be saved than Calvinism did to begin with. One woman argues, "Why do dead babies get a free pass to Heaven when the rest of us don't?" Oh, the terrible places that false doctrine takes people!

The bottom line: To be consistent with the teachings of Calvin, Augustine, and Luther, one must come to the conclusion that since babies are born sinners (in the Calvinist's estimation), if they die, they go to Hell.

Where does that leave our friends who are born mentally handicapped, who likewise will never have the ability to understand the Scriptures, or anything else pertaining to personal responsibility? According to strict Calvinism, in the same boat as their infant counterparts; One that's headed right to Hell.

If you don't like it…

Many people struggle with the idea of condemnation of babies and mentally handicapped people when they don't have to. It's only the error of Calvinism that makes God seem arbitrary and unfair. For this reason, many seek to adapt the false doctrine to suit their feelings about the topic.

My suggestion is this: Instead of adapting a false doctrine to the truth, why not renounce Calvinism entirely?

Instead of painting God as an arbitrary, unjust, and unloving God, why not look at Him as He is? A just, loving, and gracious God? Consider Jeremiah 17:10:

“I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds."

That's the God I serve. How about you?

-Daniel