as per AndyPL's suggestion, here's a topic to discuss the concept of "Hell" to kick off, here's my current stance on the concept. although i respect that others see this differently or in other guises i either accepted or didnt, Hell, to me these days is nothing more than a word used to describe an extreme state of suffering, that once envoked, unless change is made, would inevitably be entered into, be it either on a personal level or larger. from where i percieve, this is not in conflict with the teachings of either buddhism or christianity or comon folk religion.
I believe this idea was only created to instill fear in the simple minded, nieve people of about 2000 years ago. There may be similar states of punishment in other mythologies, but I believe they all serve the same purpose. Of course the word nowadays is thrown around to describe any situation that just plain sucks.
When speaking of the Christian hell I generally agree with TheRiz. The myth of Hell served as a way for the clerics to give their rules power. The threat of Hell motivated people to listen to the clerics when they might not have otherwise. But we should remember other religions have hells as well. In Buddhism I'm pretty sure hell is just a shitty place where you may spend a few lives if you have really bad karma. This sounds a little better to me because there is a chance of redemption: rather than being punitive and eternal, these hells are purifying. I guess I find the concept of the eternal hell disconcerting. It doesn't really seem like any loving god could advocate eternal suffering without parole. What is the point of suffering if there is no possibility for change? It just seems...malicious.
really its a state of mind. im sure there are some people who live in shitty conditions who are the happiest people on earth. depression is hell, sadness is hell, sorrow is hell. its not a place to go in any physical world. its a place to go in the mental world if you neglect your own consciousness. thats why rich folks who work all the time eat prozac and live in hell, and poor kids who eat mushrooms are happy.