Why is Hell such a bad place?

Question

I understand God punishing people because they don't believe in Him, but why eternally? Isn't that cruel and unusual punishment?

Of course, this is only for people who believe in Hell. Some people do not believe in Hell - but I'm talking to Bible-believing Christians.

Answer 1

Hell or hades is mankinds common grave. Hell (graves) will soon be gone forever. Jesus will resurrect all the dead who are in hell (the grave) and these will be given the wonderful opportunity to come to know the true God. That is why the book of Revelation tells us that Jesus has the keys to hell. He will use those symbolic "keys" to empty all the memorial tombs.

PSALM 139:8--"If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there." ( no torture shown here)
PROVERBS 15:24--"The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath." (even the wise are in hell (grave) and are able to depart from it.)
JONAH 2:2--"And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice." (the fish would have been Jonah's grave (hell) had God not rescued him)
AMOS 9:2--"Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down" (kinda hard to "dig" into fire)

Satan loves it when God is made out to be a cruel, unloving and heartless God. That is why many stop believing in him.
The hellfire doctrine is one of the many tools the devil uses to turn people away from worshipping God.

Answer 2

I used to be a Fundy (am not an athiest) and I remember the theology well. It goes like this...God gives people a chance to believe in life. But denying christ is such an awful crime that it must be punished eternally. Also, God cannot be in the presence of sin, so sinners have to be elsewhere from him (but why a place of torment then?).
IMO, it *is* cruel and barbaric. There is no justification for it. That's why I walked away from my faith. I just couldn't make eternal punishment gel with a loving god, and in the end, neither was real for me.

Answer 3

Heaven and hell are not neither good nor bad because of the places where they exist but more because of the people that occupy those places. Consider a prison. What makes a prison an undesirable place. Is it because of the piece of ground where that prison is located or is it more because of the attitudes of the people who inhabit that location.

I think
1. People who go to hell go there because they themselves could live up to the Glory that God offers. As much as anything, they will choose hell for themselves.

2. Hell will be exactly what people who live there make of it. The basic definition of hell is the eternal separation of God and Man. Hell will not be the same thing to everyone and I don't know that it will be as bad as described in the Bible for everyone. I don't think, for example, that people who are generally good people but just refuse to believe in God will choose to associate with truly evil people whose lives were filled with committing murders, selling drugs to children, and torturing other people.

I assume that because God is Just that he will not thrust all to the same lake of fire and brimstone that some deserve. I don't think that all sins are equal and therefore not all punishments are equal.

I think that the most important thing that people need to realize is that if they fail to achieve Heaven as their final glory then it is they themselves who have done it. People need to be more afraid of themselves than they need to fear God. God has created a plan whereby ALL people MAY come to Him and be saved through Jesus Christ. But it is our own choice. He will not force us to accept, or believe, or do the things necessary to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

So, to sum up your question, Why is Hell such a bad place? Because of the people who go there.

Answer 4

Well, I'm not certain that I quite fit your Bible-believing category, but I am a faithful Christian. Still, I haven't really thought much about Hell. I know all about the "absence of God/God's love/light" and the pain and suffering because of those who turned away from Christ's path.

I can't speak for many (obviously), but my faith tells me that we are all God's children, brought to life and cherished by "our father." We disappoint, we hurt, we live, learn, love. Through each turn, even if we should abandon our father, we are not abandoned by him. Never, ever. And for that, I am truly thankful.

I don't believe in Hell -- though I'm willing to hedge my bets if I get enough proof to the contrary :-)

Answer 5

You are getting the Bible confused with the USA Constitution with your cruel and unusual punishment issue. The Bible doesn't say anything against cruel and unusual punishment. Don't worry about it no one is going to suffer in Hell Fire.

Answer 6

Hell is only the grave. The Hebrew She'ohl' and it's Greek equivalent Hai'des means the common grave of mankind. That's why Jesus when he died in the scriptures it tells us that he went to Hell for three days. Jesus went to the grave. Acts 2:25-27 King James version.
Please look up these words for yourself and you will learn the truth. Hell is just a scare tactic taught by False Religions today.
Job prayed in JOB 14:13 to go to hell. Job prayed to go to the grave because he was in so much pain. Why would he pray to go to a worse place where Religions today say that you burn forever in a fire?

Answer 7

The Scripture says in reference to God (through Jesus Christ), "I am the Alpha (beginning) and the Omega (ending), the first and the last." It means He is eternal and everything about Him reigns eternally. Therefore the rejection of Him and the forthcoming punishment in Hell has to be eternal as well, for as Abraham said to the rich man in Hell, "There is a great gulf fixed between us. You cannot cross over to us, nor may we cross over to you." Scripture also says, "What communion hath light (Heaven) with darkness (Hell)? What concord (relationship) hath Christ with Belial (false idols/sin)?" We have to "close the gulf" between us and Heaven through obedience of God's Word and living a pious life.

Answer 8

First - this is just my take on your question. We'll know on the Last Day and not before...
I believe that everyone gets another chance when Jesus returns, just as those who died before Jesus was crucified were visited by Him before the resurrection (he descended in Hell) when He preached the Gospel to them and those who believed were released. So when He comes again, those "captives" in Hell will get to choose for the last time. God did not create us to suffer in eternity, and I personally believe that NOONE will be able to deny Jesus when He comes next, so EVERYONE will get to go to Heaven.

Answer 9

God is love. God gave man freedom of choice, free will; therefore God does not punish people for not believing in him whether eternally or otherwise...He destroys them once and for all.
There is no Hell and I believe, read and study the bible.

Answer 10

hell indeed is a horrible place but so is rejecting Christ, when He died for us and then rose again...think about it, NO ONE would ever do that for us and yet He did it and then people still have the nerve to take His name in vain after such love that He showed us. He give us the choice to accept Him and then live eternally with Him in Heaven or to reject Him and have the consequences of eternal hell...He does not send us there, we send ourselves there by making the wrong choice...I hope this helps