The Jesus I believe in would not reject the love of a retarted person simply because their parents chose to raise her in a church that didn't teach the right things about Jesus to the people who might have been smart enough to know the difference.
kind of makes them responsible for the sins of thier parents. Even Boettner admits Scripture is silent on the issue of parental culpability
It shouldn't surprise you that what we see here is not consistent with Calvinism per se - excepting of course one or two.
"Most Calvinistic theologians have held that those who die in infancy are saved. The Scriptures seem to teach plainly enough that the children of believers are saved; but they are silent or practically so in regard to those of the heathens. The Westminster Confession does not pass judgment on the children of heathens who die before coming to years of accountability. Where the Scriptures are silent, the Confession, too, preserves silence. Our outstanding theologians, however, mindful of the fact that God's "tender mercies are over all His works," and depending on His mercy widened as broadly as possible, have entertained a charitable hope that since these infants have never committed any actual sin themselves, their inherited sin would be pardoned and they would be saved on wholly evangelical principles.
Such, for instance, was the position held by Charles Hodge, W. G. T. Shedd, and B. B. Warfield. Concerning those who die in infancy, Dr. Warfield says: "Their destiny is determined irrespective of their choice, by an unconditional decree of God, suspended for its execution on no act"
Boettner at least allows for thier salvation -
Jean - are you asserting a profoundly retarded mormon is somehow different spiritually than an infant?
Is it any surprise that, as a general rule, the more hyper-Calvinistic a denominstion is, the smaller it is. The PRC, CRC, and Orthodox Presbyterian Church are three of the smallest protestant denominations in the country. Rather than question why they are not growing in numbers, they have a false sense of pride in those low numbers; claim that few people are willing to accept the real truth of the Bible, at least as they proclaim it. Based on swarm Calvinism, one should not be surprised at the low growth or declining numbers. Smacks of elitism, if you ask me.