That very question has always bothered me, as a christian, but I have come to believe that God is just in this situation. Let me explain my thinking.

It is my understanding that children who have never had a chance to grow to know the lord go to heaven to be with him. I think that God would classify this man in the wilderness with these children. I think that he considers all of us children anyways, so it makes sense to me.

On top of this, I don't feel any of us have the right to claim anyone else is not going to heaven. While as a christian I feel that the only way to heaven is through Christ, I also think that none of us can say what is in another's heart. I think God knows far better than us how to decide who belongs where, so we should focus on good thoughts and encourage eachother to find him, rather than condemning anyone.

Dogfish, when you said "follow it to the letter", that saddened me. It saddened me because it seems that your encounters with christianity have made you think it was all about following this book, this set of rules, and it isn't. I guess it has become that way for a lot of people in a lot of churches, but I strongly believe that is not how God meant it to be. Jesus said that if you follow no other commandments, follow these: Love God, and love your fellow man. Christianity is a religion based entirely on love, and far too often in today's world it is seen, and perpetuated, as a religion of rules, condemnation and even bigotry and hate.

For me, what religion could make more sense than one that's main tenant is to love? Ok, barring a religion based on fishing or drinking beer