No purpose to it at all.
Why punish a soul for all eternity? Isn’t there a point where enough is enough? Are there sins that require such punishing by an all-merciful god? If people call out for god’s mercy, does he not hear them? If he does, is he so eternally cruel as to deny them for all eternity? After all, their sins were temporal, yet the punishment is eternal. It hardly makes sense.
It’s a medieval idea designed to ensure compliance and subservience.
I work in a large-ish Catholic high school in Australia, and Hell and Purgatory are never mentioned. All teaching programs are approved by the Bishop, I must add. Even the senior clergy shy away from the idea. If Hell is such an important part of theology (as in, important to avoid it), why deny it in our teaching?
As to the idea that “people choose Hell by rejecting God” (so often expressed around here)–well, I’ve seldom heard anything more ridiculous. People *choose *such a fate? Rubbish.
If Hell exists, God sends them there, actively, willingly and eternally. People are sent to hell by God’s will, not their own. Those who seek to remove God from the equation are being dishonest.
(This is not to justify a life of sin - we all stand or fall on our merits or deficiencies - but to assert my belief that a time of purification probably applies to all sinners).
