Henry Ward Beecher  delivered a lecture in Nashville, Tennessee, his subject being,

“What Christianity Has Done to Civilise the World,” in which he said:

“What has Africa done to civilise the world?  She has never produced a sage, a philosopher, a port, not a prophet, and why not?  Because the name of Christ and the influence of Christianity are scarcely known in her dark regions.

“Millions of her children have lived and passed away without hearing the truth. 

What will become of them?   Will they be forever damned? 

" No, not if my God reigns, for they will hear the Gospel in the spirit world.

The Reverend Henry Ward Beecher        

[Emphasis added]