Stucco,<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr>[color:"blue"]I'm not so sure that Mark 10:13-16 is being taken out of context as regards this topic.</font><hr></blockquote><p>One contextual element for this passage does not seem to have been mentioned yet in this discussion. The relevance of this element is essential to keep the conclusions we draw from the passage within proper bounds. The passage is frequently presented as a conflict between 2 parties (the disciples vs. Jesus) over the treatment afforded to a 3rd party (the infants/children), and the conclusions drawn often imply that Jesus' blessing applies indiscriminately to all children ever in existence.<br><br>The context of the passage, however, introduces a 4th party at the very outset:<blockquote>People were bringing little children to Jesus to have Him touch them, ... (Mark 10:13)</blockquote>These people bringing the babies/children, presumably parents and/or near relatives, were obviously coming in faith themselves. Consider the parallel between this incident and the bringing of the paralytic by friends whose faith Jesus recognized. In both incidents believers are bringing someone to the Savior who could not otherwise directly go to Him, whether due to infancy or infirmity.<br><br>The clear implication for the Mark 10 passage, which must be reflected in its interpretation, is that these infants/children blessed by Jesus, are clearly children of the believing, covenant community. As such, they will have already been hearing the word of God from their parents, and seeing the life-transforming power of the Gospel lived out in their parents' lives, from their earliest days!<br><br>The passage is therefore, along with reasons cited by others in this thread, most certainly not a blanket pronouncement of the innocence of all children, which the Scripture elsewhere explicitly denies.

In Christ,
Paul S