I am very excited to share that my review of Brian Recker’s Hell Bent: How the Fear of Hell Holds Christians Back from a Spirituality of Love was published on Reading Religion this past week and can be found here. I am gutted that Reading Religion is coming to an end this month, but I am grateful that they have provided me with the opportunity to share my thoughts on this intriguing and, at times, frustrating book.
At some point in the future, I would like to revisit the second section of this book, “Deconstructing Hell.” I think Recker does a good job of pointing out some common misconceptions about the so-called “Biblical” view of hell, and I also heavily gravitate towards Christian universalism. But I have mixed feelings about some of his conclusions regarding hell. Though the evangelical view of hell (e.g., as a place of eternal, fiery postmortem torment for non-Christians) may not fully correspond with the Bible, the authors of the New Testament nonetheless seem to envision some sort of negative eschatological outcome for those deemed “wicked,” even if they do not agree on the exact details, timing, or duration. I don’t see a compelling reason to read passages commonly interpreted as referring to hell (e.g., Matthew 25:31-46; Luke 16:19-31) solely as metaphors for the earthly consequences of our actions. Both can be true: our actions (not just our beliefs!) will have consequences in this world as well as in the world to come.
That said, I am sympathetic to Recker’s arguments overall, and I do think this book is a good starting point for those seeking to re-examine and deconstruct their Christian faith, especially for those who were traumatized by the kind of hellish rhetoric that Recker pushes against.
Crossing the Chasm 