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.
Hmmm... This seems to leave the door wide open to universalism. Not that I'm opposed to that, mind you.
Whenever I see "The Arminian believes" or "Arminians say" or anything like this in one of your posts, I can be pretty sure that what comes next is not what I believe. Maybe I'm not Arminian. Or more likely, you have no idea what Arminians believe outside of Cavlinist tract writing.