Age of accountability

This article is about the concept in Christian theology. For other uses, see Age of criminal responsibility.

In Christian theology, the age of accountability (also called the age of discretion) is the age at which children are deemed to be accountable for their beliefs and actions.

Specific ages

Some groups set a specific age. According to the Canon law of the Catholic Church, before the age of seven, a child "is considered not responsible for oneself", but after that "is presumed to have the use of reason."^[1] In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the age of accountability is considered to be eight.^[2] Other people put the age of accountability at 12 (since that was the age at which Jesus began to demonstrate his understanding of right and wrong) or 13 (the age of the Jewish Bar Mitzvah).^[3]

Other groups accept the concept an age of accountability but avoid putting a specific number on it. John MacArthur suggests that "the Lord in His wisdom didn't identify a specific moment. God knows when each soul is accountable."^[4]

Criticism

Still others reject the concept altogether. Ligon Duncan argues that although there is an "age of discretion", the age of accountability is conception – that is, "there is no time in a human being’s life when he or she is not accountable to God." Duncan suggests that^[5]

The idea of an age of accountability arose in the 19th century and the 20th century amongst non-Calvinistic Protestants who were attempting to address the issue of infant mortality and explain on the basis of Arminianism and freewill why all children who had been unable to exercise their own unaided faith by freewill didn't go to hell.

Implications

Infant salvation

The age of accountability thus has implications for the salvation of infants. Theologians like John MacArthur argue that any child who dies before the age of accountability is saved.^[4]

Stephen Wellum connects belief in an age of accountability with the rejection of inherited guilt:^[6]

Most Christian traditions teach that children enter the world fallen due to Adam’s sin, but some argue children are not guilty before God until they knowingly disobey God’s commands. If the child dies before reaching that age, he or she receives salvation based on Christ's finished work. Once the child knowingly sins, however, they become accountable for their actions and have reached the age of accountability. At that point, salvation comes through conscious, active repentance and faith in Christ.

Sacraments

The age of accountability also has implications for believer's baptism. Baptists believe that people should only be baptized after the age of accountability. Similarly, traditions that practise infant baptism usually wait until a person has undergone confirmation before he or she can partake of the Eucharist, and this is connected to the age of discretion.

See also

• Person (Catholic canon law)

References

1. Code of Canon Law, can. 97 §2
2. "Lesson 27: The Age of Accountability". Primary 3 Manual. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
3. Hooker, Ashley (26 January 2022). "What Is the Age of Accountability?". Crosswalk.com. Salem Web Network. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
4. MacArthur, John. "The Age of Accountability". Grace To You. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
5. Duncan, Ligon (5 May 2020). "Is there an age of accountability?". Reformed Theological Seminary. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
6. Wellum, Stephen (1 October 2018). "Does the Bible Teach an Age of Accountability?". The Gospel Coalition. Retrieved 2 November 2023. Emphasis original.