Heaven and Hell # 329
329. Children in Heaven
Some people believe that only children born in the church get into heaven, not children born outside the church. They say this is because children born in the church are baptized and are introduced into the faith of the church by this baptism. They do not realize that no one gets either heaven or faith by baptism. Baptism serves only as a sign and reminder that we need to be reborn, and that people born in the church can be reborn because the Word is there, the Word that contains the divine truths that make regeneration possible. The church is where the Lord, who is the source of rebirth, is known. 1
May it be known, therefore, that every child who dies, no matter where he or she was born, within the church or outside it, of devout or irreverent parents, is accepted by the Lord after death, brought up in heaven, taught according to the divine design and filled with affections for what is good and through them with direct knowledge of the truth; and then, being continually perfected in intelligence and wisdom, all such individuals are led into heaven and become angels.
Anyone who thinks rationally can realize that no one is born for hell - everyone is born for heaven. We ourselves are to blame if we arrive in hell, but children are not yet liable for any blame.
Poznámky pod čarou:
1. [Swedenborg's footnote] Baptism means regeneration by the Lord by means of truths of faith from the Word: 4255, 5120, 9089 [9088?], 10239, 10386-10388, 10392. Baptism is a sign that a person belongs to the church where the Lord, the source of rebirth, is acknowledged: 10386-10388. Baptism does not give either faith or salvation, but bears witness to the fact that the people who will be accepted [into heaven] will be the ones who have been reborn: 10391.
