What if Hell Hath No Fury?

We had a Franciscan at church a couple weeks ago, a very good speaker, who talked a bit about how a lot of saints in their writings have come forward with their belief in universal salvation ... ie, no one goes to hell. Which got me thinking, is there a hell? Would I behave differently if there wasn't?

I am pretty sure that I would behave exactly the same, out of the quest to get into heaven. But is every good thing I do therefore because I actually expect something good in return? Not now, but in the afterlife? Is this tit-for-tat ideology really what my faith means to me? Doesn't it make all actions seem selfish in the grand scheme of things?

It is even weirder to think about if I'd behave differently if there was no heaven. I still think I would strive to be a good person, out of wanting to turn earth into a heaven of sorts: if everyone is kind and loves everyone else, life on earth is just better for everyone, especially if that's all we get.

And while I was pondering this, a friend of mine sent me a web site to this muslim writer who writes out against radical islam and on her web page is this quote:

I carry a torch in one hand
And a bucket of water with the other
With these things, I will set fire to Heaven
And put out the flames of Hell
So that no one worship God
Out of fear of Hell
Or greed of Heaven.

- Rabia, Sufi Muslim

It's weird how sometimes you suddenly hear several times in one week about some thing or concept that you've never even thought about or heard of before. All of these things at once got me thinking about if heaven and hell exist, and it got me thinking about how extremists use heaven and hell to manipulate people into doing what they want (or what these groups think that God wants). I think I heard somewhere that suicide bombers are told that dying for their god in such a way gurantees their eternal reward. And didn't past Popes promise salvation to all those who died during the Crusades? It makes me wonder if things would be better if there was no hell or heaven, in the sense of your afterlife being punishment in flames or a reward that is greater than what you can find on earth.

Is there really a hell? Would it matter if there wasn't?

If you need for there to be justice, where bad people go to a bad place after death, this seems like a selfish wish. Better to hope that no one is truely bad, and that bad actions can be redeemed.

Is there really a heaven? Would it matter if there wasn't?

Probably the latter two questions will inflame people more than the first two. But why do people need for there to be a heaven? Could it be a selfish idea to want to extend your existence and be rewarded for your good actions? Isn't it also a bit of a selfish need to want to be reunited with your loved ones in the afterlife? If you found out there was no heaven, would you honestly want to go back and change your whole life around to be more self-serving, when your good actions made life better for others and also made you feel good about yourself at the time?

If there is a heaven or a hell, I imagine it to be a sort of dream where you replay your life over and over in your head, and feel joy or regret for your actions. Kind of like how people say "wow, I saw my whole life flash before my eyes" when they have a near death experience. Except that the flash lasts forever. I'm definitely no authority, though, this is just my imagination.

p.s. I place no claim that these views truely reflect any real catholic ideologies or necessarily my personal viewpoint in absolute terms, they are merely my mind's meanderings.