Is it cruel to tell someone that unless they follow Jesus, they will go to hell?

It is cruel and unwise to tell anyone that he or she is going to hell. That is a judgement only God can make. Even the ultimate destination of Judas Iscariot is uncertain. Who knows what transpired between God and him in the last few moments of his life?

In order to answer the above question knowledgeably, one must reflect on the nature of God.

God is perfect. He is the sum and total of every virtue. Among other things, God is all-good, all-knowing, all-powerful and all-just. Through His chosen people, the Jews, He sent His only Son to teach us about Himself and save sinners from hell.

Christians are fortunate people. Most of us have known Jesus from earliest childhood.

Consider for a moment, those people who never had an opportunity to hear about Jesus, who never saw a Bible or who were never reached by missionaries. I am referring to indigenous peoples of every land, and to other early and remote societies in Africa as well as other non-Christian societies.

Would an all-just God send these souls to hell because they did not follow Jesus, about whom they had never heard? Of course not. If He were to do so, He could no longer be thought of as being all-just.

However, every society instinctively realizes that there must be a Transcendent Being, Someone who created the earth and the stars and who is involved in the affairs of humans. Native North Americans worshipped the Great Spirit, Muslims adore Allah, the Jewish people called God Yahweh, Buddhists venerate Buddha.

Jesus Himself did not make faithfulness to him, in his human form, a criteria for attaining heaven. He designated love as the ultimate virtue.

When a scribe asked Him which commandment was the greatest of all, He answered,

" Hear O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these." Christians believe in the Blessed Trinity. There is three Divine Persons in one God. God the Father is God, God the Holy Spirit is God, and God the Son (Jesus) is God. Therefore, anyone who worships God, and tries to obey His commands is, in reality, worshipping and obeying Jesus, as part of the Trinity.

Jesus was referring to this truth at the Last Supper:

Philip said to him, " Lord, show us the Father and we will be satisfied." Jesus said to him, " Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father." John 14: 8-9

Because of the doctrine of the Trinity, we believe that whoever worships God, by whatever name they know Him, and does their best to follow His will, is worshipping Jesus as one of the Persons of God. These may be called "Anonymous Christians". If they remain faithful to their conscience, which is the Holy Spirit speaking within, they will probably get to heaven.

They may, in fact, fare better than those who learn about Jesus, are baptized, read the Bible, and later reject Him and His teachings of their own free will. As mentioned above, God, Who is all-loving is also all-merciful.