It is true that there is great suffering in this world; but, there is also great joy here too. In hell there will only be suffering. It is a place of only suffering with no hope of relief. Happily, no human has to go there.

Aye..eternal damnation without hope is surely much worse.

There's something I read that fits your question quite nicely, a quote from the Australian film 'Bad Boy Bubby' that I'm starting to use quite often and widely: "You see, no one's going to help you Bubby, because there isn't anybody out there to do it. No one. We're all just complicated arrangements of atoms and subatomic particles - we don't live. But our atoms do move about in such a way as to give us identity and consciousness. We don't die; our atoms just rearrange themselves. There is no God. There can be no God; it's ridiculous to think in terms of a superior being. An inferior being, maybe, because we, we who don't even exist, we arrange our lives with more order and harmony than God ever arranged the earth. We measure; we plot; we create wonderful new things. We are the architects of our own existence. What a lunatic concept to bow down before a God who slaughters millions of innocent children, slowly and agonizingly starves them to death, beats them, tortures them, rejects them. What folly to even think that we should not insult such a God, damn him, think him out of existence. It is our duty to think God out of existence. It is our duty to insult him. Fuck you, God! Strike me down if you dare, you tyrant, you non-existent fraud! It is the duty of all human beings to think God out of existence. Then we have a future. Because then - and only then - do we take full responsibility for who we are. And that's what you must do, Bubby: think God out of existence; take responsibility for who you are."

This doesn't answer your question directly, but it illustrates the power of it. Carlton Pearson was a *huge* figure in the evangelical Charismatic Christian movement (he was a protege of Oral Roberts), until one day he asked himself (and/or God) a variant of this very question. The answer he deduced was that Hell does exist. It is here on Earth wherever people fail to live in a godly way and allow war, disease, starvation, genocide, etc. to exist. This led to Pearson basically being 'booted out' by the evangelical charismatic community, who couldn't give up their belief in an afterlife Hell. I heard an interview with him on NPR (This American Life program?) and found his spiritual journey fascinating. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlton_Pearson http://www.newdimensions.us/index.cfm . . .

my dear its logical to call loneliness, war famine ,disease and all the likes hell. In one way u would be correct . But still that is far from the real hell. I dont mean to scare you but its true. God says dont be afraid of man that can destroy the body but of me who can destroy both the body and soul in hell. Have you seen brimstone and fire burn . sure you can imagine what that will feel like. To know that it will never stop, thats devastating. you see the "earthly hell(suffereings)" ends somewhere and sometime but this one...... never ends.By the time you put off your earthsuits "the body" in death thats where your vulnerability really starts to show.In your spiritual state you can feel more pain in ways you never could describe. what qualifies any man to be assigned that place buy God is sin in all the appearance of it.Also when you refuse for reasons known to you, to receive his son as lord and saviour "being born again" john chapter 3, you sure will wind up there. let those that have had the previllage of a near death experience tell you better. God loves us and Christ came that we may have life and have it abundantly.Suffering though not what anybody praysfor, really makes us strong. some of these sufferings though are as a result of human choices. But believe me there is a hell far beyond anything we see on earth.The only escape route is JESUS. Just confess your

Hell exists only in the imagination. If you think it's christian, than it is. If you're Hindu, prepare for karma. No one ever arrived from afterlife to tell us which religion it follows.

teh imaginary hell has no proven base! the harshness on earth is real. but all is relative i have been around 80 countries in 33 years and found poor folks very happy and rich one sad be good to all and make good life with your friends be it simple

The suffering in this life is just a foretaste. Hell is all of it in excess and absolutely none of the joys or this life ... except maybe self-pitty and self-righteousness.

Good question, but remember this saying: "There are NO good days in Hell." Even in war, famine, disease, and loneliness, you have periods of relief. You have other persons to assist you to some degree or another. You may even find that those conditions come to an end. God's grace is still evident in this life among these situations. On the other hand, once in Hell, there is NEVER any relief EVER again from your suffering. There is endless, perpetual agony about your separation from the grace of God. God does not provide any relief EVER AGAIN FOR ETERNITY once you have been condemned. And no one else can assist you in the least-- for anyone else there is pre-occupied with his/her own suffering. Hell is immeasurably worse than the worst situations here in this life.

Though there are people in this world with crappy lives, others live happily. Furthermore, I believe that some humans are evil, sick bastards and deserve to suffer for eternity in hell. I don't see how a God who is into administering justice could allow a rapist, human traficker, murderer, child molester, gangster, etc to have a nice after life. As far as I'm concerned some people in this world have crappy lives because they are unfortunate, but others deserve what they have. I believe that in the next world righteous punishment and rewards will be give out. People who deserve to burn in hell will burn and the good people whether thier lives sucked or not will live forever in peace and hapiness.