on hell

there are many different views on the subject of hell.
A plethora of theologians argue and debate constantly over this subject. Will people be punished forever? Or will they be punished for an alloted time, then annihilated? Other questions rise to the surface as well: How does a loving God live with Himself while people are suffering eternally? Surely, after some time, he would restore these people or grant them the favor of abolishing their souls forever. Isn't the concept of hell completely incongruent with a loving God anyway? What is hell like for the damned? What sort of punishment is being administered to its inhabitants? Is it a emotional/mental retribution? Does it involved excruciating physical pain? Or is it all three? Are the degrees of punishment contingent upon the degree of evil in the person being punished? Is it a "lake of fire"? Is there a dude with horns and a pitch-fork laughing the whole time?

The greek word used for hell is "gehenna" in the New Testament. "Gehenna" is the Christian rendering of "Ge Hinnon", literally "Valley of Hinnom". In the Old Testament, the word used is "Gai Ben-Hinnom", which refers to a real valley in Jerusalem. This valley is located outside the city, and it is basically a garbage dump where waste is burned. Stemming from this idea, many think that hell well be a place outside the city of God, where the filth of humanity dwells. This presents problems too: How could God and His people (his holy, loving people) be rejoicing while others (including loved ones) are being tortured outside?

as you can see, there is a lot of questions pertaining to the subject of hell.
I won't attempt to answer what only God can fully answer.
But here is what I think are the underlying foundations of hell:

1. Hell is a place of isolation.

One could even use this metaphorically and say: "Hell is the absence of God; God-isolation". The earth as we know it is not devoid of the presence of God. The natural processes that God instilled are still running. God is still working/sustaining life despite spiritual opposition from unknown forces and internal opposition in the hearts of mankind. Even though at certain times in history, we have seen glimpses of it (i.e. the Holocaust), the world has not experienced the complete abandonment of God's presence. For God to completely turn his back on the world is something so horrible, so horrifying that it is reserved only for the enemies of God in the afterlife. (Ironically, we see in the Gospels how Christ experienced the complete abandonment of God when he was dying on the cross. He cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Indeed, Jesus was punished as an enemy of God. In the crucifixion, Jesus of Nazareth becomes the first living person in history to fully experience Hell). Humanity as we know it, could not withstand the magnitude of that catastrophe. Could you imagine what it would be like for the Creator of life to abandon the creation that is sustained by His very breath? Nothing in this world is more unnatural and appalling than that.

2. On this earth we have experienced/caught glimpses of hell itself.

Some people are so isolated and alone that they are already experiencing a pinch of hell in this life. Perhaps that is why Mother Theresa said, "The most terrible poverty is loneliness and the feeling of being unloved". We see hell reflected in the darkest of evils on earth as well: genocide, rape, abortion (controversy alert!), suicide bombings, etc. We see hell in dead babies and starving, pot-bellied children. We see hell in tsunamis that kill thousands upon thousands. We see hell in victims of sexual abuse. We see hell when we look deeply into the eyes of a sex-trafficked girl.
Some people, are so caught up in their personal hate, their life of sin, that they have ceased to become evil . . . they are evil; an "object of wrath" . . . they are the people whose natures have become utterly evil. These people are so consumed that there is no turning back for them, mainly because they have lost all notions of goodness. To love would be unnatural for them, conflicting with their nature.

3. God did not create hell.

we did. from the first moment an opportunity arose, humanity as a collective whole has been sinning. We are naturally inclined to resist God's will, thereby imposing our own. Perhaps that is all hell is. A place where those who reject God's way finally get their way. A place where the loving God sorrowfully gives people what they really want.

And to our everlasting shame, it is a place that must exist because in the end, we have chosen not God. And the only alternative to not having God is a existence of isolation. If God is the creator of reality, than those who chose other than Him have chosen nothingness . . . a void of nonexistence.