You wrote to BuckeyeTexan,
In my example of the Thai and the Egyptian, I was assuming that both had heard the gospel, but remained with their own faiths.
I'll begin by saying that anyone who hears the Word, and the Word is God who came into the world in the Person of Christ, and does not accept the Word but rather stays in their ignorance will be damned to hell. It may seem cruel, but when you consider that God has given his only begotten Son as a blood sacrifice so that anyone who believes and confesses that He is Lord will be saved, it is not cruel but more than fair. Who else would take a life of a loved one so that another can be forgiven, but a very loving and very uncruel God.
SupplySider, when you consider that the scenario you offer has already taken place in the form of the Jews, it should all make perfect sense to you. The Jews were the Egyptians and Thai's in your scenario. They knew who God was, and they even looked forward to the Messiah. Yet, when He came in person, they rejected Him and stayed in their faith, which in essence is the written law of Moses.
The same as the Egyptians and Thai's in your scenario who heard the good news (the Gospel) and rejected it by staying true to their faith, which is in essence staying loyal to a false god over the true God. The Jews stayed true to God, but by not accepting Him when He came in person they rejected the true God.(In their case they not just rejected Him, but they murdered Him. And how blessed we are that they did). So regardless of how good and pure the world thought they were, they destined themselves to burn in the lake of fire which is the second death.
Jesus tells us that, He is the Way, the Truth, and the Light, and that no one can enter the presence of God except through Him. With out turning away from your old ways, which includes your old faith, and follow Christ, you will be led to hell by a lie, because only the truth will get you into heaven, and the Truth is Christ.
Now if they lived their whole life and never heard of the name of Jesus, and thus were never given the chance to accept His sacrifice and be saved, then we can fall back on the fact that God speaks to men's hearts. After all, no one told Abraham about the true God. It was God Himself who spoke to Abraham who was still known as Abram. Remember Abram's father, Tarah, was a follower of false gods according to Joshua 24:2, and according to the Rabbinic literature, Midrash Rabbah, Terah was an idol maker who made a living by selling odols of false gods. However, his own son Abram, had a heart for the True God, and God spoke to him.
In the same manner, God speaks to all men's hearts, it is up to us to listen. Like Job, who live before or at the same time as Abram, but in a different land. Lot knew the true God and was saved because he was a good man in the eyes of God. If the Thai's and Egyptians you speak of never heard of the name of Christ they would have been better off. Once you hear and reject the news their is no excuse.
Through Isaiah, God tells us,
For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones. Isaiah 57:15
It is the same thing that we learn about in Ecclesiastes
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11
Allow me to offer an excellent book for you to read that would help understand the way God has spoken to men's hearts throughout history, long before the name of Christ or His Gospel was introduced to them. It is titled, "Eternity in Their Hearts", by Don Richardson. It has 28 case histories of places around the world where men were introduced to God long before any man came by to speak to them about Him.
The book jumps right into the incredible story behind Paul's discovery of that "altar to an unknown God" in Athens that is written about in the book of Acts. (Acts 17:16-17:34) it has many very eye opening examples of God speaking the the hearts of men in native tribes all over the world, who have themselves erected honored places of refuge and even a "scapeboat" instead of a "scapegoat". These ancient tribal festivals, superstitions, and even many of their everyday habits have been used by missionaries to reach the natives in a way to help them understand and accept the true God and the Gospel of Christ.
Sorry for such a long reply to your inquiry, but I felt the need to share with you that which God spoke to my heart.
May God bless you and yours,
OneVike (Chuck Wolk)