Hell Bent

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

De: Brian Recker

Narrado por: 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.

©2025 Brian Recker (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Like many of us, Brian Recker grew up in a conservative evangelical family. Like many of us, he had misgivings about what he was taught about hell. Unlike many of us, he had the courage to face his misgivings and to use his biblical training to confront them head-on. The result? This amazing and trustworthy book. Few first-time authors write with such clarity, skill, depth, personal transparency, and emotional impact.” —Brian D. McLaren, author of Faith After Doubt and The Last Voyage

“Hell Bent is one hell of a book, a thoughtful and theological exposé about the toxic relationship between evangelical Christianity and eternal damnation. This book is fire—pun fully intended—a healing balm for anybody who’s been burned by American Christianity.” —Matthew Paul Turner, New York Times bestselling children’s author

“Hell Bent is a welcome invitation to rediscover a faith practice rooted not in fear but in love, connection, and the holy work of asking questions. Brian Recker gently guides those leaving high-control religion toward a spirituality that honors our wholeness and our deep, often hidden, oneness with God and each other.” —Scott Erickson, author of Say Yes and Honest Advent

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.

If you’ve never heard of Gehenna, read this book!

I grew up living absolutely terrified of going to hell. Several years ago I heard a Bible scholar teach about the different “hells” mentioned in the Bible and how none of them are like the hell I grew up hearing about. Hearing Brian’s explanation was just one more step on my healing journey through deconstructing the fear associated with religion and a step toward the love that it’s supposed to be all about.

Thoughtfully breaks down the idea of hell

Thank you, thank you, thank you for this book!!! As I’ve been deconstructing my faith over the past few years, the questions of hell, salvation, and what is even the point of Jesus coming kept nagging in my mind. Thank you for breaking down these things so thoughtfully in an easy to follow conversation style and dismantling beliefs that have been so drilled into me yet have been so harmful, especially to my now grown children, but also for laying out in detail a reimagining of a totally different kind of spirituality to lean into.

Amazing Perspective on Christianity

This book has opened my eyes to a perspective I have been curious about and have been wanting to learn more about. It is beautifully written and so thoughtful. I am leaving this book with a desire to dig deeper in these ideas and come to my own conclusions. It has answered many questions and left me with even more. Wonderful. Absolutely recommended for any Christian or curious non-Christian. Thank you Brian!

Exactly what I needed

Having grown up in ultra-conservative evangelical church, I’ve been trying to untangle the toxic parts of my faith tradition. While it seemed like I was often on this journey alone, its voices like Brian’s that helped me to see there are so many of us with these same experiences and doubts. I appreciate the way Brian has found a more healthy spiritual practice, and it gives me hope. The greatest reassurance to me, that he repeated throughout the book, is that it’s ok to not have things figured out.

Decent premise, REALLY Leftist

This author makes a valid point about the difference between hell centered and Jesus centered faith. Sadly, he won't get his point across to evangelicals taking their first tentative steps towards this idea because he also chose raise his voice and yell the narration while incorporating a litany of leftist political buzz words and propaganda. Pro tip: When you disagree with someone, say "I disagree because_____." When you call them a race baiting fascist, you're actually shutting down dialogue. Also, you keep using that word. Look up "fascist." I do not think it means what you think it means. Second pro tip: Research stuff from both sides of the aisle before writing it in a book. Example: No state or city in America has any law on the books that prohibits doctors from providing miscarriage care. When that poor mom died, it was from bad information, bad drugs, and bad timing, not bad laws. Repeating that leftist line that a woman died from a miscarriage in a parking lot because of abortion LAWS is getting tiresome. It doesn't get at the real reason for her death, and that's a disservice to her and to the babies that are being killed each year. Takeaway, this author has horribly muddied the waters about a needed topic by conflating political propaganda with his spiritual viewpoint. Essentially he's saying if you're a conservative, you have a hell centered spirituality. I could prove otherwise with rational discussion if he wasn't going to call me a fascist, but... ;)
Sadly, he's going to lose a lot of the people who need to hear this spiritual message.