If your definition of hell is a torture chamber, you would have a valid point. But hell isn’t a torture chamber, it’s a torment chamber. Torture is what someone else does to you. Torment is what you do to yourself.
Jesus referred to hell as a place of fire, which normally would produce light (Mark 9:48) but also a place of ‘outer darkness’ (Mt 22:13). It seems reasonable that these words are figurative, not literal. Hell is better understood by what is not there (2Thess 1:9).
Hell is a place without God. A place without Him is a place without relationships, love, joy, peace, contentment, beauty, fulfillment, laughter, affection, etc., etc. and everything that is called good. It is a place of eternal aloneness. People choose their eternal destiny in this life. When they die, God honors their choice. People in hell don’t want to be in God’s presence, so they will be separated from Him forever. There is not a verse in the Bible where people want to escape from hell. C.S.Lewis has said that the gates of hell are locked from the inside.
Do people in hell enjoy it – absolutely not! But for them, the one place worse than hell, would be in heaven, where God is. In a different sort of way, hell is God’s merciful alternative to heaven for people who refuse to spend eternity with God. God didn’t prepare hell for humans, but for Satan and his demons (Mt 25:41). Those who don’t follow God are following the Devil. They will wind up in the place God created for the Devil. If you’re not following God, you are following the Devil. My class, “Heaven and Hell” has a more detailed description of hell.
Scripture makes it clear that God “does not want anyone to be condemned, but wants everyone to repent” (2 Peter 3:9). But He will not force us to love Him. Forced love is rape and God is not a divine rapist. So actually, God doesn’t send people to hell, they make a free choice to reject Him. This free choice of ours opens up consequences that can be extremely negative. A person who has chosen a self-centered life would not tolerate heaven.
Book references:
“That’s Just Your Interpretation” by Dr. Paul Copen, page 101
“The Case for Faith” by Lee Strobel, page 169
“How to Talk to a Skeptic” by Donald J. Johnson, page 105