Listening to Jesus contemporaneously and denying

[KevinK]

Suppose you are living contemporaneously with Jesus and come across Jesus several times while he is teaching and preaching to various groups of people. You stop and listen to him a number of times. He is God and His oral presentations are the best possible. (Nobody could be more effective in recruiting followers in terms of the content, delivery, etc. of their talks). Despite this, you are a faithful Jew and just cannot buy the ideas Jesus is selling because they are so at odds with your current beliefs and you don’t find him credible. This would not seem a case of invincible ignorance. Would your denial of Jesus now condemn you to Hell? Was it God’s expectation that every person who heard Jesus in person would immediately become a follower?

 

[Start]

Jesus was also performing miracles so that lends credibility to what He says.

 

[Hereiam]

Despite this, you are a faithful Jew and just cannot buy the ideas Jesus is selling because they are so at odds with your current beliefs and you don’t find him credible. This would not seem a case of invincible ignorance. Would your denial of Jesus now condemn you to Hell?

No. Part of invincible ignorance is that you have not accepted the message. However, once you have heard it, and accept it, there is no going back.

We all know that acceptance of the message takes a different amount of time from individual to individual…it took me 56 years…but in those years before accepting the Truth, I was not condemned.

 

[KevinK]

but in those years before accepting the Truth, I was not condemned.

What if you died during this period of non-acceptance?

 

[Gorgias]

Despite this, you are a faithful Jew and just cannot buy the ideas Jesus is selling because they are so at odds with your current beliefs and you don’t find him credible. This would not seem a case of invincible ignorance.

Actually, that’s exactly what invincible ignorance means! Hearing it, but being unable to believe it (through no fault of your own) is invincible ignorance!

What if you died during this period of non-acceptance?

Then, being invincibly ignorant, it would not be held against him as a mortal sin.