Question about Judgement

[Tankbuster]

Hey all,

Just have a quick question for those believers who believe in heaven and hell, or basically any believer at all who believes in a destination after death which depends on your behaviour in life (i.e. the majority of religious believers).
And it's an honest question, mind you. I'm not looking for a "gotcha", I just have never heard this particular point addressed.

Alright, so we know that the purpose of Earth is essentially to serve as a kind of pre-existence to either heaven or hell (whatever exactly those two might entail), and the way we behave here (the extent to which we sin, whether or not we accept and follow God's word, various other criteria depending on your exact religion,...) determines where we get to spend eternity after our finite stay here.

Now, basically my question resolves around those categories of people about whom this judgement seems impossible. Case in point, the severe mentally handicapped like those suffering from extreme cases of Down syndrome. Most religious believers accept that hereditary diseases are not necessarily God's will, they are just the result of the laws which govern the natural world and which God has sort of let free to do their thing. So, since the cause of Down syndrome is a genetic one (it's caused by getting three chromosomes of number 21), we should be able to agree that God does not directly want them to get Down syndrome; it's just a consequence of living in the natural world.

Now here's my question: how does their soul get judged? I'm assuming their soul is as pure or unpure as your average soul, and so it should get at least a somewhat fair testrun to see where it belongs for eternity. But, since Down syndrome severely impairs a person's cognitive ability, I really doubt that they are able to grasp the concept of God's message at all; in fact I imagine that some of the more extreme cases might not be able to even grasp the concept of faith. In addition, they might do some really 'immoral' things in life. They might even push a baby off the stairs or something, without knowing what they are doing.
But again, you can't really blame them, because whatever their soul wanted to do, it wasn't given the option because it was stuck with such an imperfect physical vessel.

So when Judgement Day comes, what exactly happens to them? I can see two possible answers, but I don't find either of them very satisfying and I was wondering if there's something I'm missing:
1) God essentially gives the soul another test run, this time in a more suitable body, which will not impair the soul's cognitive abilities to the point where it can't grasp God's messages. This is pretty much reincarnation.
2) God, in his all-knowingness, doesn't need to give the soul another test run, because he knows what that soul would have done, had it been given a proper body; so God can judge the soul on that basis. Now, this one is sort of valid, but it seems to set itself up for a contradiction: if God knows what a soul is going to do without putting it in a body (and he does, presumably) and he is happy to judge on that hypothetical basis alone, then he could do that for all souls. So whatever reason God has for giving all souls a test run on Earth to see if they are fit for heaven or not, the soul which got stuck in the body with 3 chromosomes number 21 apparently does not apply to these reasons, and God doesn't feel the need to judge it according to the same criteria as other souls.

So I'm wondering what's up, and if there's a theological theory which addresses this.

Would love some responses.

[Cooraan]

There are those who believe in the age of accountability. But it really has nothing to do with age accoriding to my professor. He said "Its when a person knows that their behavior or thoughts are contrary to the requirements of God."


Also Romans 4:15b " but where there is no law, there also is no violation"

Ive heard this interpreted in a few ways but most think it refers to those who have never heard or cannot comprehend the idea of the Law.

[Tankbuster]

So the idea is that everyone who cannot comprehend the law goes directly to heaven?

I figured that that was the main way God handles these things (as the case is sort of similar to, say, babies who died at very young ages or things like that), but what I don't understand is that - in the case I outlined - clearly the being mentally handicapped to the point where you cannot be accepted to abide by the law of God has nothing to do with the soul itself, it has to do with the body in which the soul was deposited.
So if all souls who happen to get stuck in bodies with Down Syndrome, how do these souls get tested in any way on whether they are pure or not?

To put it aphorically, couldn't the soul that would have become Hitler in a body with 2 21-chromosomes, get a free pass into a heaven just because he got stuck in a body with 3 21-chromosomes and have to live his time on Earth mentally handicapped?

[Cooraan]

Sin is what makes a soul impure, if they can't comprehend the law then they can't sin.

[Tankbuster]

So you're saying that if souls never went inside a physical body to begin with, they would all remain pure and God would be able to live with each and every one of them for eternity?

[Cooraan]

Uhm I guess. But I imagine that souls are born with the body.

[basics]

" Now here's my question: how does their soul get judged? "

Tankbuster,

Exactly the same as anyone else in that they must be born again to enter heaven. So you might assume as many that hold the name Christianity that this involves them making a conscious decision which you infer might not happen because of their disadvantage but this is quite wrong and the so-called Christian should know better.

It is God who justifies meaning that the revelation of Jesus Christ to the soul of any living thing is solely the work of God in all His three personalities. The Fathers draws, the Son's blood cleanses and the Spirit converts, a recipient the grateful receiver. That is the grace of God at work for there is none else that could ever do it. As long as a soul lives then that soul can be born again regardless of the brain or body.

Remember that it is the soul that sustains all that is human and it was the soul that fell from grace at the fall of man and since it will be the soul that seeks accommodation when the body dies it is to that soul that the first judgement comes, meaning is it born again or not. I think that answers your question.

[Tankbuster]

So essentially what you're saying is, basics, that despite the disabilities that they exhibit in the physical world, there is nothing wrong with the soul itself, and since being born again is an interaction directly between soul and the Holy Spirit, any disabilities that the physical body might have do not impact it?
In other words, those with 3 21-chromosomes might seem incapable of various complicated cognitive processes to us but the soul is still capable of interacting with the Holy Spirit.

Do I understand you correctly?
Also, is this a perspective unique to your particular denomination or is it more or less universal among various Churches? As I remember the concept of being "born again" is less present in, say, Catholic Orthodox branches.

Thank you very much for the answer though!

[basics]

" Do I understand you correctly? Also, is this a perspective unique to your particular denomination or is it more or less universal among various Churches? As I remember the concept of being "born again" is less present in, say, Catholic Orthodox branches."

Tankbuster,

Yes, I think you see that it is the soul that matters in affairs of God. The body becomes corrupt, or should I say more corrupt at death, so it cannot enter heaven but the souls that do will be given heavenly bodies whatever that might be yet if we look to John's vision it would appear that they will be similar to the Lord's appearance. I think it fair to say that we will be happy in them.

Since it is God who justifies then we must consider that for a recipient who has severe disabilities yet is made regenerate, he or she may well not be able to announce to the world what has happened to them yet within what they can understand they will know that something has changed in them and that can only be wonderful, why? To be aware that their destination is to be with Jesus somwhere along the line can only be marvelous especially since they will be fully composmentous, if that is the correct spelling, filling a new body into the bargain.

[Cooraan]

Yes, I know a kid who has autism who certainly professes faith in God. Wether he fully understands it all Im not sure, but I imagine even his basic understanding is enough. Much like it would be for a child.