Re: Is a bell pepper actually a fruit (since it has seeds)?

Yes, a bell pepper is a fruit. Refer to the definition of fruit and pepper taken from Microsoft Bookshelf 98:

fruit (fr¡t) noun The ripened ovary or ovaries of a seed-bearing plant, together with accessory parts, containing the seeds and occurring in a wide variety of forms. b. An edible, usually sweet and fleshy form of such a structure. c. A part or an amount of such a plant product, served as food: fruit for dessert.

pep·per (pèp¹er) noun Any of several tropical American, cultivated forms of Capsicum frutescens or C. annuum, having podlike, many-seeded, variously colored berries. The podlike fruit of any of these plants, varying in size, shape, and degree of pungency, with the milder types including the bell pepper and pimiento, and the more pungent types including the cherry pepper.