In reading Williams' Descent into Hell, I was struck with how similar his portrayal of Hell was to Lewis's in The Problem of Pain. For many people Hell is equivalent with the "underworld," somewhere with great suffering and "nashing of teeth," or an unceasing pit of fire. Neither Williams nor Lewis paint a picture of a literal place with little demons running around stoking the fires under screaming unbelievers for the entertainment of the "Father of Lies." (Forgive me if that was a disturbing and excessively graphic sentence.) I don't know the origins of such views or the demographics of what denominations endorse them. I only know that I have no certainty of what Hell is or is like. It seems to stand to reason that saying sinners get cast into a "lake of fire" is a much better scare tactic than saying they travel into "nothingness." However, I think we underestimate the horror of such emptiness.
This perspective, which is somewhat new to myself, makes me contemplate all the more how much of Hell is created by the person descending into it and if Hell can exist purely within the mind. We could have the debate over whether physical or mental/emotional suffering is more painful, but I'd rather skip that just now. I don't think it needs to be compared when we can all agree that mental and emotional anguish is indeed very uncomfortable. We've all heard melancholy lyrics about being alone in a crowded room. Although cliche, it's true that one does not need to be in a physically uncomfortable setting to be in the midst of great inner torment. So why do we assume that we must have a realm of horrific and literal torture for a "true" Hell. I'm not dismissing this possibility, perhaps Hell is a combination of the worst of the two aspects. However, in light of the great suffering that occurs only within the mind for Wentworth, one must wonder if we truly need the demons and fire for Hell to fulfill its (supposed) purpose.
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