If the belief in hell primarily creates a mindset of fear, that we will be punished by unimaginable pain if we do not adhere to the stipulations of Jesus the Christ. The primary stipulation that we must believe in him exclusively, that any deviation from his particular world view will result in torture seems to act as a catalyst for internal justification of one's beliefs.
But this is our choice (a pretty simple one, really) but a decision we make by our own free will. It's His world anyway, He made it and everything in it, under it, and above it. So in my humble opinion, He can have whatever view He wants. He's God. If we refuse His terms, we burn forever. But if we accept His terms, we receive incredibly wonderful benefits…… the LEAST of which is ….. we DON”T burn forever!
This primary fear of hell installs itself in the mind of every new believer, and once this premise is fully accepted the believer is instantly trapped with guilt. From here the believer must stay dependant on the conditions Jesus the Christ has specified, otherwise they risk total damnation.
Yes, we should feel the guilt, that shame of knowing we did a bad thing, and that we are truly guilty of that act. Feeling guilt is a good thing! It shows we’ve been convicted by the Holy Spirit. It’s what we DO with that guilt that matters. And that’s where our free will comes into play, yet again……. We each have 2 choices:
Do we repent?.......(saying to our Creator and King that we’re sorry we screwed up and we promise to never do it again? And REALLY mean it?) If so, than normally our feeling of guilt washes away, as Messiah graciously forgives us. (But that doesn’t mean we’ll forget what we’ve done. Oh sure, we ALL got stuff that was WAY BAD that we regret every day of our life - But that regret actually gives ME strength and courage to continue NOT doing what I used to do, and to boldly stand up for the Righteousness of my King by warning others who do now what I used to do.)
Or do we rebel? Have we been convicted of something we LIKE doing? And we really DON’T want to change? Even if the Creator of the whole Universe told us NOT to? That’s why some feel “trapped.” They don’t like the conditions of the contract and want to do things their own way and not the Lord’s way. Deeeeeep, deep down they know they’re wrong and so all they can focus on is the fear of Hell. And then some might get angry. So if we’re occupied with the fear of Hell, we cannot fear the Lord. We're only able to fear one thing at a time. So if Hell is what’s on our mind, than Hell is our master. But if we focus on the Lord and start trying to please Him by learning His rules and start to do them, then God is our Master. (Not because we HAVE to, but because we WANT to. It's a heart- thing. The circumcision of our heart is the desire to obey. Our willingness to drop our ways and follow HIS ways.... "because I am so GRATEFUL that He's willing to forgive me, and He was whipped to the bone, beaten to a pulp and agonized on a cross for me because He loves me so much. I've never known a love like that before and I want IN! So, YES Lord, I will obey!")
We can only serve 1 master at a time. But again, it’s a choice.
We can say that the believer has to fully accept and surrender themselves to Jesus the Christ in order that they may avoid this ghastly place. No evidence is required to debunk this primary belief because the mind has already accepted the idea of hell, and the believer will reject all evidence that might threaten their safe passage out of burning for all eternity.
It shouldn't be about AVOIDING torture, but being FORGIVEN and getting ADOPTED into the family of God. Again, if all we can focus on is the fear of Hell, than Hell is our master. If we don't learn to fear God, then Hell is our choice. That’s the decision each of us must make. It is so VERY sad that there are many who choose to reject God's great gift of redemption. But as the saying goes, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink."
