Hell Bent

How the Fear of Hell Holds Christians Back from a Spirituality of Love

By: Brian Recker

Narrated by: Brian Recker

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

A former evangelical pastor explains why we can stop worrying about hell and start focusing on love

"If you’ve ever struggled with...the idea of eternal conscious torment, Hell Bent is for you.”—Pete Enns

There is a black hole at the center of Christian spirituality: the doctrine of hell. No matter how hard we try to believe in a loving God, the fear of eternal torment always lurks at the back of our minds, warping our sense of what love means. Worse still, many churches act as if the point of Christianity is not to follow Jesus but to secure a get-out-of-hell-free card—and to “save” everyone you know by converting them to your religion. For many of us, the whole story of Christianity has punishment at the very center. But does the Bible really say we’re going to hell if we don’t do or believe the “right” things?

In this taboo-shattering book, former evangelical pastor Brian Recker takes an honest look at scripture and reveals what has been true all along: Hell isn’t real, and God’s universal love is radically inclusive, in this life and the next. By removing punishment from Christianity's center, Recker boldly reimagines the core questions of faith, such as why Jesus lived and died, and what it means to be “saved.” It’s time to rediscover spirituality as Jesus taught it: loving God, and loving our neighbors as ourselves. Whether you’re Christian, exvangelical, or anywhere along a deconstruction journey, Hell Bent is the perfect resource to help you replace fear and church hurt with healing and peace.

A Fresh Take

This was a helpful read as I work through my own deconstruction journey. It's impactful to hear things that back how I've felt for years, and not from a place of guilt or shame. Seeing god as a loving being for all people is a new perspective for me.

Answered Questions

In this book, Brian addresses many contradictions the church creates concerning the Bible, individual faith, leading of the Holy Spirit, and of course- hell. I appreciate his honesty and openness and encouragement. This book would be (in my opinion) a good suggestion to people suffering from church hurt or who may have left the church (and or their own faith) for whatever reason. If anything, Brian gives attention to many things for mulling. I greatly appreciate his perspective and found this book (as well as Brian’s outlook on Hell) very interesting.

Good News: No He’ll

I’m a recovering evangelical/fundamentalist so his delivery still sounds like a youth pastor giving a sermon to a youth group. A little too preachy in cadence but when you get past that, the author gives relieving insight from the toxic and destructive doctrine of hell. The book is filled with his personal stories of being a pastors kid and attending seminary school which is very relatable even though I didn’t grow up in church. But dysfunction is dysfunction and listening to this audio book helped me feel like I wasn’t alone. He also has the ability to put into words what I’ve thought about the church’s teaching of hell. This has already brought about healing after a couple days of reading. It’s very affirming and reassuring. Love the perspectives he comes from. This might not be for everyone. But it’s a must read for those absolutely done with religion and church.

the way u explained everything was amazing. As I came to realization when my life was nearly taken from me from a car accident.

the way u explained everything was amazing. As I came to realization when my life was nearly taken from me from a car accident.

Warning: Preacher voice

I loved the content of this book, the perspective to scripture that was brought, and the ideas for application to lives. However, there were a number of times where it felt like Brian was giving a sermon. To be clear, that’s not necessarily bad! For me personally, I actually discovered how uncomfortable I felt when it seemed I was being preached to, and there’s a lot to unpack there. I know this is a me thing, but I think it’s worth warning other folks who may have a preacher sore spot in their lives.