I'd like to hear from Christians - do you believe Hell is a literal place or symbolic?

I think we are currently experiencing hell, living in this morally void society. I will now be attacked by the hounds of hell (atheists and libs) for even responding to this question.

my personal belief system is this.....hell is literal....BUT the description of hell is symbolic....it is not eternal torture but eternal non-existance.....

(At least Americans can spell and don't shout inappropriately.) I was always taught there was no literal hell or devil. It didn't really have a symbolic meaning either. The church I grew up in really and truly believed in the devil and hell. My mom told me to just ignore all that stuff. I'm thankful she did.

I believe hell is literal.

If it wasn't 'real', then god wouldn't have written about it in the bible, i really fear for people who aren't 'saved', as God is a loving god, but also a god to be feared, i certainly wouldn't wan't to be on the 'receiving end of his 'wrath' :)

Our pastor tells us 'we are in the very last day's', of the "return of Christ for his people", as this earth will be 'no longer', (destroyed) the reason why god is taking his time is not bcse he doen't want anyone to perish and all to be "saved", for god, as the bible say's, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is but a day, we are always to be ready 'as i will come like a theif in the night'.

Firstly,you have not defined what Christians are?Furthermore,It is my considered opinion that if it means
trying to conduct one's affairs,in accordamce with the
principles that the man referred to as Jesus presented to the world,then it would not be necessary to be a Christian,to respond to your question.Therefore,I must state that I am not affiliated with any religious denomination,but I have a KIng James Rd Letter Edition
of the Bible,and am familar with main stories and much of
what Jesus was reported to have said and done,and what I am about to say is objective,and not clouded by
any religious dogma or doctrine,but is based on what I have heard and read about the entity referred to as God.
This God is supposed to be all of the following:Eternal
(without beginning or ending),Infinite (without limitations),Immortal (was never born,can never die),
Invisible,Incorporeal (Spirit),Omnipotent (All Powerful,the
Only Power),Omniscient(All Knowing,the fount of all
knowledge),and Omnipresent(there is nowhere that it is not).Therefore,if this God is all the aforementioned,then its existence can not be proven,or disproven.However,
assuming God does exist,and is Omnipresent,the only
presence,then there can not be God,and any presence
unlike God,then hell can not exist,except as a human concept.Moreover,if God is Infinite,that is without limitations,or boundaries,then there could not be that which is Infinite,and something else (hell),because then
God would not be Infinite.I am aware that what I saying
will be difficult for many people digest,especially fundamentalist Christians,but that is because they
accept the contents of the Bible as being the literal Word of God,which is illogical,because of the obvious contradictions,inconsistencies,and incontinuityWhich would be inconsistant with an Omniscient God,and
equally important,since God is supposed to be Infinite,then the Word of God being Infinite,could not be
contained in all the books that have ever been printed,let alone one book the Bible.I apolgize for this
protracted response to your question.

I agree with invisiblewife. To me, Hell is not pits of fire and pitchforks, but rather being cast out of God's grace. Remember, in Dante's Inferno, Hell was cold; what is colder to a Christian than being forever disowned by God?

In Christianity and Islam, Hell is traditionally depicted as fiery and painful, inflicting guilt and suffering.[1] Some other traditions, however, portray Hell as cold and gloomy. Hell is often portrayed as populated with demons, who torment the damned. Many are ruled by a death god, such as Nergal, the Hindu Yama, or the Christian Satan.
Buddhism teaches that there are five (sometimes six) realms of rebirth, which can then be further subdivided into degrees of agony or pleasure. Of these realms, the hell realms, or Naraka, is the lowest realm of rebirth. Of the hell realms, the worst is Avīci or "endless suffering". The Buddha's disciple, Devadatta, who tried to kill the Buddha on three occasions, as well as create a schism in the monastic order, is said to have been reborn in the Avici Hell.
The sacred Gathas mention a “House of the Lie″ for those “that are of an evil dominion, of evil deeds, evil words, evil Self, and evil thought, Liars.”[11] However, the only Zoroastrian text that describes hell in detail is the Book of Arda Viraf.[12] It depicts particular punishments for particular sins -- for instance, being trampled by cattle as punishment for neglecting the needs of work animals.

To learn more about other religions/beliefs who believe in a Hell go to-

-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell#Buddhism

I always believed hell to be symbolic. not that i;m sure, but it's how i feel. I believe God is too good to even create something like that. Earth could be hell a whole lot of times. Death comes with peace, so i guess, there wouldn't be "hell"... but i guess, we would pay the price of whatever we have done in this life.

HA HA ...AN AMERICAN BALD EAGLE REGURATING OSAMA BIN LADENS CALL FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF THE GREAT SATAN.....I LOVE AMERICANS AND THERE LACK OF IRONY.

i believe that hell is symbolic. it is natural for humans to pick two things, to balance out. i do believe heaven is a real place, however i do not think it is how the bible explains it. i believe the bible uses strictly symbolism. i have never tried to read it personally, but from the stories i do know they make perfect sense if looked at in a symbolic way. after all, it IS a story

I'm not a christian but good question.
Do I win?

Doesn't exist....we are living it!

both,and i'll try to explain why as biefly as possible i think it's a literal place because there have been too many stories about encounters with it for it not to be real. i also think it is sybolic of what a life lived without fellowship with God is like.

It is literal.

The Bible says that Hell is a literal place created for Satan and his demons. It is a place of eternal damnation. Where those who are put there will suffer forever......

If you're going to ask questions, you should always seek answers from their origin, in this case, The Bible....

I believe hell is literal. The Bible describes it as there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.....sounds pretty miserable to me.

Hell is not literally filled with fire and demons. What it is not being able to progress further and not being in God's presence. There are different degrees, or levels, that God has set up for his children (because we are literally his children, not just creations he 'poofed'). If you are able to obtain the highest degree you have the opportunity to become like God. Essential you will become a God yourself. Lower degrees do not have this opportunity, their eternal progress is limited. That is what hell is. Knowing you could have become more, but not be able to.

As for all those who do not believe in Jesus Christ, whether it be because they are of a different religion or because they have never heard of his teachings, God is merciful and will give every opportunity to his children to attain that highest degree. Even after death there is a time before judgment day when all those who want to hear will be taught. And if they except, then they will also have the highest degree of glory.

I'm not Christian but to quote a genius from a Stephen King book called Storm of the Century - as Andre Linoge would say: Hell is Repetition. I tend to believe that, the ultimate punishment would be being forced to repeat my life over and over and over again.