Is There An Age Of Accountability For People With Severe Intellectual Disabilities?
Q: How can we discern when someone has reached the “age of accountability,” and how does this apply to people with severe intellectual disabilities?
A: Great question. I don’t think I can give a direct answer to that. I don’t know that there is any expressly given age of accountability in general. Here’s how I see it: I don’t argue for an age of accountability, but I do argue for the principle of accountability. I believe there comes a time when an individual is fully accountable before God, and before that time, they have less accountability before God. I don’t know if we can accurately say that there’s ever a time when a person has zero accountability before God, but there are certainly gradations of accountability. That’s justice, and God is just.
God is a good judge, and like any judge, He takes into consideration the accountability of the people involved. So, this applies to the principles of justice. Remember what Abraham said of the Lord, “Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?” Of course, He will! It is a simple principle of justice that there can be varying degrees of accountability, and those varying degrees matter. That’s the simple principle.
Now, how do we know when that happens in each person’s life? I don’t know. It’s very possible that there can be people who are mentally or physically impaired to such an extent that maybe they never reach a status of what we would see as “full accountability.” Well then, God knows. But I think this is something that is very difficult for us to judge from the outside, so that’s why I would say I don’t really know. Certainly, an awareness of sin and a stirring of conscience can be indications of that. I’m sorry I don’t have a better answer for you, but I don’t think that the Scriptures give us a firm marking point other than the ability to know right from wrong and to make decisions based on what’s right and what’s wrong.