Hell might not be eternal

[Nobody]

Hell as a star? So,then when it goes supernova that's mercy?

Well our star won't do that - far too small on its own - so mercy doesn't really apply, at least on those lines. Mind you, all this red giant stuff is a huge retcon anyway, as Atlas recognises. There's no way anyone can get such an interpretation just from reading the text, only by taking what we have discovered independently from any supposedly holy books and plugging that information into them. If we're going to go down that road, I could be equally justified in saying that hell is a black hole, or some future antimatter experiment gone wrong. I'm guessing it's something to do with tribbles.

Re: that.
I've actually read something that says as much. i.e. Hell is a black hole.

I think people who feel they are personally worthy of such an eternal punishment, being that as believers they've already proved they're fond of self-deprecating rituals, will accept anything that promises they'll suffer for being what they most dislike about themselves in life forever once they're dead.

How else could Heaven have been sold so convincingly to the peasant class over 2000 years ago? Suffer now, but when you're dead you'll be a better person and want for nothing. If you only believe.