"I guess that there are many people who are saved that have never heard the name or have had any book knowledge of Jesus at all."
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I appreciate reading your posts and your willingness to look at all sides of an issue, but you are dead wrong on this one. JESUS was very clear that the only way to the FATHER was through HIM. IOW, you must know and trust in JESUS.
A person who loves is going to God the Father through Jesus, whether they realize it or not. Those who love are born of God.
Regards
I would agree that I must know and trust specifically in Jesus, but I'm not sure if that applies on an absolute level to all people of all times. For example, how could the OT righteous have KNOWN and trusted in Jesus when they had so little information about Him. They could know He was coming, but I don't think they could have "known" Him in any way that we do.
In addition, what would you say about abortion victims, the severely mentally handicapped from birth, and the "Pygmy" problem? None of these have any knowledge of any kind of Jesus, let alone trust. Are all of them doomed? If you come back and say that God makes special dispensations for those of His choosing (children and handicapped) and that for the pygmies, He still reveals Himself in some manner to the elect among them such that they can "believe", although they have no knowledge such as ours, then I would agree. And this brings us back to my original statement:
"I guess that there are many people who are saved that have never heard the name or have had any book knowledge of Jesus at all."
If "through Him" means via knowledge, belief, and trust such as ours, then all of the above types of people are lost.