Matthew 25:40 “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Proverbs 19:17 He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.

Proverbs 14:31 He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.

The Jesus I worship expresses concern for those “who don’t know what they are doing” and he will be judge of their fate – not you or I. In fact the more knowledge we have the more we are accountable for. But also the more knowledge we have of God and his ways the more like him we can become as he can save us from the empty way of life lived by those in this perverse and selfish world.
Peace, Tom Donlon
Hagerstown, MD

But it just seems that you are not satisfied with the answers offered, not that no satisfactory answers exist. I have dealt with these issues in my article, so won’t repeat myself here. Other points could be offered, such as: God may well know how a person would have responded to the Gospel had he or she heard it, so he can judge a person on that basis. Also, God will judge people according to the light that they have, not what they don’t have.

Paul makes it clear in Romans 1&2 that there is enough information and evidence available as to God’s existence, but we choose to reject it. And it is clear from Scripture that those who sincerely seek for God will indeed find him. He responds to diligent seekers, not casual inquirers.

I and millions of others believe that the Christian worldview offers a fully rational and reasonable explanation of things. The question is, how does your worldview stack up?

And as I said in the article, it can be asked whether people who raise such concerns are genuinely interested in the fate of those who have not heard, or are simply using it as a convenient excuse. The truth is, you have heard the gospel (both here and elsewhere). So the real question is this: what are you going to do with it? Will you reject the message of the gospel, or accept it? The choice is yours.

Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch

Many Christians simply look at it as a minor point which can be mulled over when they have a moment. This is because they already have a faith in their religion. The problem for many people who do not find Christianity a satisfactory explanation is that from a logical point of view the destination (heaven/hell) of persons who have never heard of Christianity is a defining point. Certainly for me – it simply prevents me from having such a belief.

The explanation that God expects us to spread the word as a reason for the vast swathes of the human race that do not adhere to Christianity is a nonsense, although it is clear that people want to believe it. It cannot be right that a loving and rational god wished a person in 300AD in Antioch to traverse the oceans, find South America and persuade its inhabitants that Christ existed so that their souls could be saved. By the time he had invented the technology to do so, 1200 years had passed and how many people had lived and died? Does that make sense as a rational argument – of course not.

Other explanations I have encountered revolve around a general revelation of god or an adherence to a moral code. Neither of these are satisfactory, as if they are true, then based on the inability of humans to transfer/interpret the same information to each other, then even in communities with big Christian sections God could logically be expected to judge non-Christians on the basis of their moral code.

I have yet to come across a satisfactory explanation and continue to wait…

Simon Baggs

The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood,
but the speech of the upright rescues them.
Proverbs 12:6

Your brother in Christ,
Derek Royer – Oklahoma

Chris, sorry, it was more of a personal observation than an absolute fact (it may be true or it may not be, but I don’t have the data to absolutely support it). I have travelled quite a bit and I’m yet to meet someone who has never had any belief in a religious deity. That’s what I find so interesting about atheism- from what I have observed, it is a learned thing.

(BTW Chris, I’ve heard many atheists argue that “people are religious just because they were raised in religious homes or brainwashed”- regardless of the number of devout atheists who turned to theism later in life. I guess you just read my comment the same way that I read that absurd idea.)

Amanda Fairweather

It seems that belief in God, or longing for the transcendent, or desire for the supernatural, is a universal trait amongst humans. It appears in most, if not all, human cultures throughout history. The most likely and rational explanation for this universal longing for the transcendent is that there is something indeed which transcends mere physical existence.

As C.S. Lewis put it in Mere Christianity, “Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for these desires exists. A baby feels hunger; well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim; well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire; well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”

Of course reductionists (atheists, philosophical naturalists, etc.) have to come up with all kinds of convoluted and distorted theories to try to explain away this universal experience. Thus Dean Hamer writes a book in 2004 entitled The God Gene and says we are hardwired to believe. Of course there is no God, but we all have a god gene in us nonetheless. Presumably then there is also an atheist gene as well. And this by the same fellow who earlier tried to convince us that there is a gay gene.

Sorry, but I just don’t have enough faith to be an atheist. They have to come up with such weird and exotic theorising, which any Joe Six-pack can see is patent nonsense.

Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch

Yes Bronwyn should know these things, as she admits to a Christian upbringing. Christ’s atoning death is of course retroactive, even though the Old Testament believers had a different object of faith, based on earlier revelations of God. All people will be judged on the light they have, or the revelation they receive. As Hebrews 1:1-2 puts it, “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.”

As I have mentioned before, those who are really concerned about those who have not heard should respond to the light that they now have, and then pass it on to others, instead of using such concerns as an excuse to reject the knowledge they now have of Christ, and his work on their behalf.

Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch

“Something that has always interested me: atheism is learned. People seem to be born with a predisposition towards believing in some kind of God; disbelief tends to be a learned thing”

I have read a lot of things on this site, but this would have to be *the* most ludicrous. How on earth does one even measure that people are born with such a predisposition?

Chris Mayer

From what I can see one of the main parts of God’s ultimate plan is to have a family. This family is to be made up of (for want of a better terminology) those who are found in the body of Christ. Of course becoming a follower of Christ can only ever be a voluntary and conscious decision be each individual. If we take the Bible at it’s word where it says that the will of God is that ALL should be saved (but most wont be) then I think is safe to assume that out of all the possible universes that God ‘could have’ created, this is the one where the MOST people would freely choose to follow him. It ‘might’ be the case that those who have never heard of Christ would never have repented anyway? I’m pretty sure it’s also the case that all those who cry out for truth will be heard and answered by God (I have enough anecdotal evidence to be convinced of this).

The other thing to note is that maybe we humans are not as ’special’ as we like to think we are and that God is only concerned with those who are a part of the Church (not the visible Church). of course as we cannot not tell who they are and in fact the Bible forbids us to even speculate on the subject we should treat all people equally regardless of race, religion and sexual orientation.

And while Bill mentioned the Churches failure to communicate the Gospel to those around us it should also be noted that we are to be ‘living letters’, or in other words stop talking and start walking. This discrepancy in the lives of Christians who speak a thing and yet live a completely different thing is the main objection to ‘Christianity’ that I ever hear. Of course living it means understanding it but then since the Bible has been replaced with ‘The Purpose Driven Life’, ‘Experiencing God’ and inward nudges and feelings what hope do we have?

Cheers, Paul Wilson