If their name was there it was there.. from before the foundation of the world.
Calvinists do not believe there is an age of 'accountably ' (as scripture never teaches such a thing...it is a throw back to RC doctrine and baptismal regeneration)
We believe that it is God that does all the work in salvation , so just as John leapt in the womb at the presence of Christ , Gods grace does not rely on age to acknowledge Him .
The majority of Calvinists ( like Calvin that lost a young child) believe that God saves all children that die. Not because they 'deserves' it based on innocence , but based like all of our salvation on His mercy and grace.
I am of the school that believes we can not ever know what God does until we stand in His presence. At that time no matter how he handles the death of a child , we will see it with as just and right
'Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?' Gen. 18:25.
You might try wading through my post of Erickson's idea in post #3022. The Reader's Digest version is at the moment in which we realize we have a propensity to sin and we affirm that propensity to sin not only as natural but "ok", it is then that we participate in the original sin of Adam. Does that make sense?
What happens to the child under the age of accountability...
That's a real conundrum for those who believe we must "accept" God's offer of salvation.
But it's the same supposed problem shared by the bushman in Africa, the imbecile, the infant, the young child who dies too early, IF salvation is predicated on one's conscious "acceptance" of God's grace.
It's clear if a man has no legs, he cannot respond by walking to the altar call. If he has no arms, he cannot crawl to answer the altar call. If he's blind, he cannot see it. If deaf, he cannot hear it. If sick, he cannot rise to greet it. If lost, he cannot find his way to it. If too young, he cannot leap from the cradle and run to it.
If fallen and dead in sin, no man can come to faith in Jesus Christ unless he is lifted and brought to the altar by God's grace alone.
So none of us knows to whom God will give eyes to see, and ears to hear, and legs to run and hearts to love the Word.
The Arminian believes that God's call must be "accepted" in order to activate God's grace. If this were true, all of the above would be damned, and their names would never have been in the Book of Life in the first place.
But a Calvinist believes that within this perplexity, within this vast area between our awareness and God's eternal purpose, there's room for those whom God chooses to bring to Him in ways we don't understand -- because salvation is of the Lord. It is dependent on NOTHING but His good pleasure and purpose, known to Him from before the foundation of the world.
Thus: 1) we have a reasonable hunch that others who display a righteous faith in Jesus Christ are most likely among the elect, because "faith in Christ is the evidence of God's choosing, not the cause of it;" 2) we have a secure knowledge of our own salvation because God has graciously provided us with the comfort of the Holy Spirit who encourages and confirms our faith in Jesus Christ; and 3) we have a hopeful, loving, righteous belief that because salvation is of the Lord, those whom God wants, are already His.
John Calvin lost a child in infancy. He knew the pain and fear that comes with contemplating eternity without your child. Calvin concluded, through Scripture and devotion, that this was one of those questions whose perfect answer on earth eludes us.
But he drew comfort by knowing that in heaven, there is only joy. And this joy must surely include reunion with ALL our loved ones.
It's a very good question.