" If the bible is essential, almost all of God’s creation never had a chance."

You create a false dilemma Bill. Your theory is bogus because you reason this way, "If we can't know everything there is to know, we need not know anything to be saved."

While the bible is the ultimate revelation of truth Paul along with the OT that tells us "the heavens declare the glory of God....."

A relative understanding of truth is sufficient to create accountability even in the context of salvation. So we are judged on various levels of understanding, but just because we can't and don't know everything does not release us from the necessity to respond to truth even with our limited understanding.

And we have an obligation to "seek knowledge" of the mind of God so that "seek and ye shall find" is a moral condition and obligation to be saved.

Man is saved to responsible freedom, not the irresponsible freedom you advocate that the devil sold to many in heaven.

Universalism is bogus.