As it happens, SF writer Ted Chaing did a story called "Hell Is the Absence of God" with that very premise. It was published in the _Starlight 3_ anthology editied by Patrick Neilsen Hayden for Tor Books, and is up for a 2002 Nebula Award.
In Chaing's story, God is very much known to exist, and his angels appear and miracles occur. Hell is a place where God can't be perceived, and the damned are in Hell precisely because they can no longer reach God.
The kicker in the story is that whether you wind up in Heaven or Hell seems completely arbitrary, and unconnected with anything you might do or not do while alive. As another character in the story puts it: "If you want to love God, love God. But _don't_ do it because he's just, merciful and loving, because he's _not_. He's cruel, arbitrary, and capricious!"
Those who want to read it can get it as a free download in electronic form, along with other Nebula Nominees, from Fictionwise, at http://www.fictionwise.com/nebula2002.htm.
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Dennis |
