Society paints a picture of hell as being a place where God's wrath eternally tortures those unfortunate enough to go against Him. Due to this depiction, it is one of the deterrents from learning more about God and His doctrine, as that is a difficult way to picture a God that is as loving as His followers claim.
I believe the opposite is true. That the creation of hell was, in fact, an extension of the eternal and true love of God.
God, in His love, created each person with free will. This meant that in order for free will to be true, He needed to allow people to choose to live without Him. God's nature is shown through His creation on earth and in heaven. He is in light, companionship, fulfillment. Even those who do not believe in Him experience these, because there is no place on earth to escape the extensions of His character. In order to truly give free will, God needed to create a place where His presence would not reach, so that if mankind would so choose, they could make the choice to go where He was not.
The Bible describes hell as being a place of eternal isolation and emptiness. This is the reality of life without God. If God is love, than hell could not have love, if free will was to be to its fullest extent. If God is companionship, hell is isolation. If God is light, hell is darkness. If God is fulfillment, hell is emptiness. Hell is the absence of God, and therefore the absence of every characteristic that God is. If free will was to be to its fullest extent, than there needed to be an option to refuse God and every characteristic that He is, if that is a choice.
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