I do not believe it in that way. Rather, God knows the end from the beginning, right? He knows before we even existed whether we would believe in Christ or not. He predestined that those who believed would be conformed to the image of Christ. He predestined, as well, that those who rejected Christ would be condemned. In light of this, is it really wrong to say God pre-damns someone?
Again, since God knows before we are created whether we will end up in heaven or hell, based on our belief or unbelief, and he STILL allows us to be born knowing that some of us will not be with him in heaven, then, I can see why some people express this concept in this way.
Personally, I would not say it that way, that God predetermines who will believe and who will not. I wouldn't say that God intentionally creates some people to go to hell and they have no choice in the matter. I DO believe that God so loved THE WORLD, just like Jesus said, and that he gave his son that WHOSOEVER believes in him will have eternal life. It sounds to me like Jesus is saying that we must make the choice to trust in him and that God doesn't "pre-program" us to do so or not to do so.