[RJT]

Paul was not a contemporary of Jesus. I am not sure if you know that. He lived after Jesus was crucified.

At any rate, Jesus does say “Blessed are those that have believed and have not seen” to
Thomas. Thus the “doubting Thomas” phrase that we use today.

Sure, it is good to believe on its own. But with today’s science it is indeed difficult to take the leap of faith so easily. We need to “logically” deduce Christianity on it the “facts”.

Getting back to your question if David would pass through the Pearly Gates or not. I do agree with Brady and Max that once you get on the path Of Christianity you then still have to take the leap of faith. The big hurdle is the intellect. After one realizes that, it is not a matter of intellect but choice, then the plunge is the easy part. (Not so easy that I, personally, have left the cliff, but I am getting there.)

Again, that is for further discussion. Once we are at the cliff then we can discuss the rest. There are all kinds of ramifications at this point - e.g. those who have heard and did not believe, those who have never heard the Word of God, those who died before having a chance to accept God’s word, etc.