Originally Posted by cmac2012

I have great respect for JC. I put him right up there with Lao Tzu and Shakyamuni Buddha.

I do not feel constrained by the popularly accepted model for belief in him -- the one that holds him up as the only way to God.

Is God not a God of mercy? Does it make sense that he would send prophets, men of God, messiahs, etc. only to the ancient land of Israel? Would he leave the large masses of people in, say, India and China to stumble in darkness until the 1700 or 1800s when bibles began to find their way to those shores?

I think not. For a glimpse of how God shows mercy to people outside the realms he's often considered (by Christians) to be exclusively devoted to (according the very book I presume you revere), read the book of Jonah, especially the last chapter. A real gem, that one.