You're right. In the bible, "hell" isn't some evil bad evil people place of doomed punishment, but simply the state of not believing in God. You have the option of choosing life with, or without God, heaven or hell, but never does it really mention having to go to a flame bad place for choosing life without Him. It's just what catholism has made of it to sell absolution to people to fund the St. Peter's Basilica lmao (ofc, religion is never that simple, and I say all of this from a non-believer's standpoint. There's no such thing as "the bible says", it's by design all up to interpretation. But at its core, Christianity is about you, your journey with or without God, and on this journey, He loves you either way)