I have always found it strange that if one doesn't accepts Jesus' message of love and accept him as the savior, one is condemned to eternal torture. It makes Jesus appear as a narcissist and sadist of the first order.
There are those who say to God "thy will be done" and those to whom God finally and reluctantly says "okay, thy will be done".
If you reject the creator and maintainer of the entire universe and the source of all good, how can you expect to be out of his presence and still reap the benefits of his presence?
How can you walk away from a campfire in the dead of winter and then complain about freezing to death?
Christians believe we have all, to some extent, rebelled against God. The consequence is eternal separation from God, in a place void of God's goodness, which would indeed be Hell. God loves us, but being perfect, he must also be just. Our perfect God must also set a high standard, namely perfection. And none of us are perfect.
Yet, God found a way to balance both his love and need for justice. He sent his own perfect Son to die in our place. We deserved eternal death, but Jesus stood in our place and paid that sin debt for us. We need only to ask forgiveness and accept Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf to be able to enter God’s perfect heaven.
You say “Jesus appear(s) as a narcissist and sadist of the first order,” even though Jesus' main purpose here on earth was dedicated to saving sinners.
That’s like a drowning man accusing a life ring of being unreasonable for being the only floating object around.
My understanding of not believing in Jesus is that you will not be with Jesus in the afterlife. This is considered Hell. But since you don’t believe in anything, that’s what you will get when you die. Nothing.
Its highly possible that this is true, that we will get what we really want in our afterlife. And with the scientific evidence pointing more and more to design, I’m very comfortable with my belief in God.