I guess it depends on whether you believe in the bible and what it contains. There are multiple scriptures that discuss Hell - eternal. You either believe the bible in its entirety or you don't. You can't take scriptures you agree with and reject those you don't.
God does not want ANYONE to perish. He wants ALL to CHOOSE HIM who is love and eternal life and all that is good. Those who end up in Hell CHOOSE to REJECT Him and in doing so effectively choose Hell.
Frankly anywhere where God is not, is Hell.
That's the Evangelical party line. We need a dose of reality.
What is the world daily death rate?
According to the CIA World Factbook (the source of this particular statistic) the crude death rate world wide is 8.37 per 1000 per year. … So, the yearly death rate is 843,673.30. Daily that number becomes
2,309.59.
Has the whole world been reached with the gospel yet? (and then the end will come)
It seems not.
How many in the 2,300+ deaths per day have never so much as even heard the name of Christ? Some of them from families we know personally. When they look to us for hope, what can we tell them? (reread your own post)
If there is any possibility that we got it wrong about the forever burning hell, wouldn't you want to consider, or at least understand why that might not be so? Or is your belief system dependent on a forever burning hell with no hope of escape?
Tentmaker – Jesus Christ, the savior of all men, especially those who believe. I Tim. 4:10
All three positions were represented in the early church. Damnationism, Annihilationism and Universalism. However, the Damnationists gave us our translation of the Bible. What are the chances that it was biased to their doctrine? Compare these three translations. One from the Damnationists and two from Universalists. All three are Bibles, none the less.
Matthew 25:46 King James Version
And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Matthew 25:46 Young's Literal Translation
And these shall go away to punishment age-during, but the righteous to life age-during.'
Matthew 25:46 Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, these, shall go away, into, age-abiding, correction, but, the righteous, into, age-abiding, life.