There is a story I read. A missionary in the high arctic met an Inuit man and told him of Jesus and Christianity. That he was a sinner, and would go to hell unless he became a christian. When he was done the Inuit man sat quietly and then asked
""If I did not know about God and sin, would I go to hell?"
"No," the missionary told him, "not if you did not know."
"Then why," the Inuit man sadly asked "Why did you tell me?"
And I thought about that question for a long time. I prayed and prayed on it. But the more I thought the deeper my doubts ran. Someone ignorant of the gospel cannot be judged for not living up to it by a fair and loving God. But that would mean that a just and loving God would not want anyone to know of Christianity at all, because the more knew, the more would be in danger of hell. But then why would God command Christians to spread the word? It makes no sense!
But then I saw the truth.
God wants us to spread the word that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, because Jesus Christ is not the Messiah!
The true Messiah, the true Son of God was someone else. Who I do not know. I cannot know. That's the whole point!
God sent his only Son to Earth to give us the true religion and die for our sins, but anyone who knows the true faith but does not convert, or does but fails to live up to it's impossible and arbitrary standards (namely everyone) will be damned. But God does not want his children damned. So he made sure his son died for our sins alone and unnoticed without a single soul having heard his teachings. Thus we are all ignorant of the true faith, like the Inuit from the story, and have a loophole. We could not have known so we can be welcomed into Heaven anyway.
But just to be sure, God made a point of temporarily resurrecting a carpenter, and having his followers spread the false claim that he was the Messiah. That way, if by chance anyone did learn of the real one, they would think he was just some rip-off copying Jesus and pay no attention, preventing anyone from learning the truth.
So follow whatever religion you wish, or none at all. Do not worry about obeying little rules. Do not try to force your faith on anyone else. For it does not matter what you believe. As long as you try to be a good person, you will be welcomed in paradise. For in ignorance lies salvation. We have all been washed of our sins in the blood of the true lamb, for we could not know who the true lamb is and thus could not reject it.
Amen.
