@CartilageJones
"My own common sense tells me that eternal torment is unfair and absurd"

Exactly. Now apply that common sense to the whole ridiculous edifice of religion and you'll be able to break its hold on you and live free in the here and now. Hell is just a tool that religions use to keep people afraid so they'll put more money in the collection box. In Japan, the Buddhists charge huge fees to keep deceased loved ones out of hell and move them to better suburbs of heaven.

Think of the worst person you can imagine. Say Adolf Hitler or Caligula. Would you be willing to sentence them to eternal burning agony? I think you're too good for that. The whole concept defies logic, morality, and credibility.

Look at the concept of original sin. Does it make any sense that we are all born guilty? Does it make any sense that god would make a virgin pregnant so his son could grow up and get tortured to death to redeem us for a sin committed by our mythological first ancestors? Is it logical or moral that anyone who doesn't believe that story should be burned forever? It only makes sense for those seeking power and money through fear.

If that's not enough, look at the people who've profited from religion and used it to control the world throughout history. Look at ISIS. That's the real face of religion.

I came close to death a couple of years ago. I had to have open-heart surgery. As they put me under, the most comforting and peaceful thought I had was I had nothing to fear but nothing.

There's no hell, except the ones that we make here. There are no 72 virgins. No sitting on clouds playing harps. There's just this moment here and now. What more do you need?

@CartilageJones....

I am sorry you were witness to the rantings of a deluded ,irrational evangelical....... (Hawk Flint)

BUT be assured ,as Shakespeare put it ," it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing."

He presents no evidences ,no proofs ,nor rationale ..... it can be dismissed without thought.......

However.... the fears we are taught as children run deep and may not be easily out run but by way of an exercise try these.....

Use Wikipedia to look up ...Hell......
"The modern English word Hell is derived from Old English hel, helle (about 725 AD to refer to a nether world of the dead) reaching into the Anglo-Saxon pagan period, "

see it originates as a term around 725 AD...... so..was there no hell between 30 AD and 725..? also note that the fiery furnace bit is a germanic concept.......so what term preceded "hell"......well the hebrews used 2 terms......Sheol and Gehenna.

Now what do these terms refer to ?

http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13563-sheol

Sheol ...."It connotes the place where those that had died were believed to be congregated. "

see...just a gathering place for the dead.....no mention of punishment....no mention of judgement.....very like the Greeks picture of Hades....

Now we get to the fire.......
Gehenna....." Hebrew Gehinnom (Rabbinical: גהנום/גהנם), is the Jewish analogue of hell or purgatory in Christianity."

However it appears that it IS a real place....."The term is derived from a place outside ancient Jerusalem known in the Hebrew Bible as the Valley of the Son of Hinnom "

So you see.......to be in danger from "Hell" ....you would need to be a follower of the pagan Germanic religions (Thor ,Odin etc.)

or a traditional Jew who would spend the afterlife hanging round Sheol

or wandering around the valley around Jerusalem or possibly if you are a rabbinical Jew spending a year in suffering while atoning for transgressions.

in any event...not too terrifying a prospect.....

However by looking at the varying sources I think you will be able to see how this concept "evolved" over time to serve as the "stick" to "heavens" carrot ..

Finally try this.....

http://www.thehypertexts.com/no%20hell%20in%20the%20bible.htm

"If you look for "hell" in the Bible, you're in for a long, fruitless search for facts, definitions and explanations. Why? Because the Hebrew prophets never mentioned a place where human beings writhe in eternal torment, gnashing their teeth forever. Nor did the prophets ever mention even the possibility of suffering after death."

your fear will not end until you embrace it.

Our minds are vulnerable to childhood indoctrination. I recently read a new book by John C. Wathey, "The Illusion of God's Presence: The Biological Origins of Spiritual Longing". In it, Wathey, a neuroscientist, describes the strong biological origin of the innate trust that children give to their caregiver parents. That trust makes children particularly vulnerable to indoctrination. The trust is a survival trait that can be misused. Your fear is a product of a trust that children give to parents, they used it to indoctrinate you about hell, and it's difficult to overcome, but it can be done. Also, realize that parents didn't act maliciously but acted as their own parents acted and they thought they were acting in your best interests. Who wants anyone, let alone someone we love, to suffer any kind of torture especially torture that is infinite (infinite torture, now there 's a loving deity for you). In a religious culture where asking questions about the doubts we have is frowned upon, during your childhood you probably never encountered anyone who said, "That (Hell) is just bullshit calculated to keep the parishioners coming back and the priest class in charge". I was raised in a Christian bubble where questioning the pastor or the Bible was seen as rebellion, so even though my sincere questioning of the entire construct began in earnest during my teenage years, I was not rid of the indoctrination completely until I was well into my 50s, had read and studied the issue extensively and concluded that faith in an omnipotent, omniscient god who communicates secretly with prophets is the world's longest running scam. Mythology is a product of human fears and hopes. It may be that human beings are predisposed to want to depend on an all powerful protector even after we've outgrown the actual need. Gods are human constructs, the Christian God, the Muslim God, the Hindu Gods, it's all conjured up by human beings so that they can control other human beings. The scientific method is what humans use to explain things, because human minds have evolved to the extent that we have the ability to discover how to explain more and more of reality. Hell is not real. It's imaginary. Like flying horses and resurrected dead people.

according to the founder of christianity jesus believed and spoke quite about hell,since christianity is the biggest monotheist belief there is some credence to what he said.in the old testament it is the netherworld,regardless the old or new testaments address it in detail.we won`t really know until we get to the other side,i am also skeptical but always after a brief time come back to the scriptures.my experience with atheism and agnosticism has led my head spinning round and round.without the lord life for me is totally nihilism.i only have today with all its problems and discouragements at least with the lord jesus christ there is a hope that injustice here will be dealt with and a much better place exist.this is quite comforting to me i hope i can be of some help to you