The Spiritual Condition of Infants

Adam Harwood, Paige Patterson

According to the Augustinian-Calvinist view, all people inherit from the first Adam both a sinful nature and his guilt. The result is that all infants are subject to the judgment of God against their nature before they knowingly commit any sinful actions. But is this the clear teaching of Scripture? Adam Harwood examines ten relevant biblical texts and the writings of sixteen theologians in order to clarify the spiritual condition of infants. Although no passage explicitly states the piritual condition of infants, each text makes contributions by addressing the doctrines of man, sin, the church, salvation. If this biblical-historical analysis exposes the traditional Augustinian-Calvinist view to be inadequate, then is it possible to construct an alternate view? Such a view should remain faithful to the biblical emphasis on humankind's connection to Adam and his sin but also recognize...