Will Christians have a share in the world to come if they truly did not know that Judaism was true, and were brought up with Jesus their whole lives? And can that same concept be applied to atheist as well, who also did not know all the evidence to prove Judaism?
That is to say, does G-d not judge a Christian or atheist for what he or she didn't know?
And if so, for how long?
Christians, like all non-Jewish people, are assessed before G-d according to their acceptance of and keeping of the 7 universal commandments of Noah. They are enumerated in chapter 8 of Rambam’s Mishnah Torah, Laws of Kings and Their Wars.
As Rambam explains, these are to a large extent laws which can be reasoned out through normal, human intellect. As the Lubavitcher Rebbe teaches, they are the foundation of civilized society and prevent us from consuming each other like wild animals.
These seven commandments are negative (as in ‘don’t do this).
According to Torah teaching, reward for fulfillment of negative commandments is spiritual reward for the soul, not the body. And it is in this context that Rambam explains righteous non-Jews, meaning those who keep the seven laws of Noah receive a portion in the World to Come, like Jews. Like Jews, meaning similar to the Jewish portion, not identical. Because the commandments Jews must follow comprise both negative and positive commandments, their portion has both a spiritual and physical component.
It is in this context that the general conception among Christians that their ultimate reward is in Heaven, meaning not physical, is accurate.
