Something that bothers me...

[linsivvi]

your right , he didn't exactly stand up and say that, but if you do not "belive in the father and son" or what not, how can you love them, its kinda hard and those who don't love them (requires beliveing) will go to hell according to that, so it is the belief if not the foundational message. Just to clear that up.

 

[EricBess]

Jesus's message was beyond that. He never said that anyone would be condemned because they weren't christian. There are many people who never had the chance to know of the Father and the Son, let alone believe in them. Granted, prophets from nearly all time periods have prophesied of Christ, but there were plenty of time periods and locations in the world where they simply didn't reach everyone.

Bottom line is that people aren't going to be condemned based on whether or not they had a chance to accept Christ here on earth. There are a lot of people that claim not to believe in God because of what they see in the world. That does not make them bad people. We'll each be judged according to our personal experiences and circumstances. I think that attitude if fairly clear in Christ's ministries.