I personally think that wanting a hell and to believe you are going to heaven appeals to the "I'm so special" thought that gives people warm and fuzzy feelings. Then if you add a community of people who also believe that you will go there too the elation would increase even more and reinforce your belief.
I said I was never going to argue in Free Your Mind again, and I won't. But this is a very important subject to me, so I wanted to input.
The Christians I know do not feel "special" because we believe we are going to Heaven. We feel grateful, because we know that it was Christ's death on the cross that provides the tickets, not our own works. But then again, none of us are Calvinists; none of us believe that God predestines some people to Heaven and some to Hell.
Also, we do not "want" there to be a hell. We believe there is a hell, but it grieves us to think of anyone going there.
But hell is not a place that God "sends" anyone to. According to the Bible, in fact, hell was created not for man, but for "the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41). However, people will go there who are not forgiven because their spirit is sinful, not clean. Sinful spirits cannot live in Heaven because light and darkness cannot abide together, and God cannot abide in the presence of sin. To have a clean spirit, one must be "born again", as Jesus said to Nicodemus. How to be born again? As Jesus said "believe upon him whom the Father hath sent".
But having that understanding doesn't make me feel better about people going to hell.
Please allow me to reveal some personal history. I myself am well off compared to many parts of the world. I have a roof over my head, am relatively healthy, and I have never gone a day without food in my belly (except for a 1 day fast, which I will never purposely do again, ha ha), But I am a very sensitive person toward other people who do go through those things, and about 4 years ago, I went through a long period of severe depression over things like that which I cannot control. A large part of my depression was the idea of hell, and that no matter how many people I told about Christ, I can't force anyone to accept him. People have free will, and that bothered me. I was severely depressed. I remember times when I stood in the shower falling to my knees and weeping my heart out, feeling as if my tears outnumbered the drops of water.
During this time period, I prayed to God, cried out to him for understanding of hell and reconciling it with the "God Is Love" exclamation of the Book Of John. I studied the subject thoroughly, hoping for evidence that the scriptures have been mistranslated and that spirits who have not been forgiven will just cease to exist when the body dies. I wanted there to be no hell. But I also wanted to find truth, no matter what it was. Sadly, I must report that I didn't find the evidence I sought, and therefore I conclude that hell does exist.
However, James 1:5 says "If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking". I believe that God has answered my prayers starting 3.5 years years ago and has been giving me the wisdom I sought.
But what happened to me? Am I still as depreseed over the issue of hell as I was?
I have a vivid recollection of one particular night that started my healing in that area. I lay in bed one night, thinking and worrying over hell. I remember specifically thinking "If I were God, I would zap one last revelation into people's conscious the split second before they died, maybe a visitation from Christ saying "I
am the Savior, as you have heard. Put your faith in me, before it's too late." As soon as that thought was thought, I remember another though, that I attribute to God:
"Don't you think I love the lost even more than you do? I gave you the love you have for them. Don't you think I do everything possible to convince them of my love for them?"
At that moment, I felt peace wash over me, like a tidal wave. In the days, weeks, months, years that have followed, I believe God has granted me the following truths about hell. Note that none of these are "special exclusive revelations". Support for all of these can be found in the Bible.
(1) That God is perfectly able to deliver such death bed revelations to people. I believe he does. I do not necessarily believe he does to people who have spent their entire life actively rejecting the Gospel. But if he does, that's A-OK with me!
(2) When it comes to presenting the Gospel to people, God is not dependent on me nor is he limited by my human methods. God works in mysterious ways of which I don't understand. He is able to get the message out to those who grew up heavily influenced by other religions and belief systems. And he doesn't need my voice or the voice of anyone else to deliver that message. He doesn't leave anyone without ample opportunity. He loves us all and wants us all to come to him. 2 Peter 3:9:
"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
(3) God leaves no stone unturned in saving people from the hell that an unclean/sinful spirit brings.
(4) And here's one that some Christians might not agree with. Because the Bible says that "he who seeks the truth will find it", I believe that anyone who is truly interested in God's will, righteousness (for righteousness' own sake, not ulterior motives) will indeed find Christ, and therefore, having that tender heart will put their faith in him and be saved.
There you have it, my input. I won't argue these points, as there is no possibility that I will change, believing that study of scripture and the revelation of God has given them to me.
I hope he softens his opinions on that. 
