Strange Horizons Discussion Forum: The Ten Sexiest Dystopias!, by Jeremy Adam Smith

Interesting article,but you couldn't have represented the Christian version of hell any more inaccurately than you did. The Christian version of hell is not a non stop biker bar, etc. but a vaccuum. It is a vaccuum of all that is good, enjoyable and lovable. It is a vaccuum of friendships, pleasures, love, satisfaction. This is why it is described as a place of un-ending weeping and gnashing of teeth. Teeth gnashing indicates deep regret. To put it in Matrix terms, "I wish I had taken the RED pill" type of regret.

Above all else, the Christian hell is a vaccuum of the presense of God. God is good and all that is good comes from God (we love to pervert what is good, and therefore pleasures, etc. eventually get labeled as "bad"...). In hell, awareness of goodness is removed.

Why the concept of a hell in the Christian theology? Simple, it is what people want. That is to say, "hell" is a condition that people strive to obtain every day. According to the Bible most people do all they can to distance themselves from God. Some even use religion in the process. The Bible teaches that there comes a point where we all are granted what we desire. People who want to be distant from God are eventually granted that request. It's called hell.
"In the end all get what they want. But they may not like it." Aslan, The Magician's Nephew.