After a brief break for the holidays, we will continue to screen Hellbound? in a variety of locations throughout the first quarter of 2013. Here is a list of upcoming dates: Jan. 10 – Victoria, BC Jan. 16-17 – Waterloo, ON Jan. 17-21 – San Francisco (I’ll be there to do Q&A) Jan. 18-21 – Columbus, OH Jan. 21 – Trinity Western University, Langley, BC (I’ll be there to do Q&A) Jan. 30 – Cleveland, OH Feb. 3 – Spokane... Read more
I ended last week’s post by explaining how when two people disagree on a particular Bible passage, we are often quick to interpret the disagreement as a clash between one person who is being faithful to the text and another person who is not. But what we are actually witnessing is a clash between two people who are applying different interpretive principles. That’s not to say both interpretive principles are equally valid. One could be informed by a better understanding... Read more
After reading dozens of books, writing hundreds of blog posts, engaging in thousands of conversations both online and off, and touring Hellbound? through two dozen cities across North America, you’ll have to forgive me if I’m somewhat pessimistic about our ability to engage in constructive theological dialogue. All too often what starts out as a potentially fruitful conversation ends in a grudging detente with both parties walking away muttering something about the moral defectiveness of the other. “If only they... Read more
I’m about to do another lightning tour across the US that will see me hit four cities in four days, from the Midwest to the Southwest, before returning home to help open the movie in Vancouver and Langley on Oct. 12. Here’s the plan: Friday, Oct. 5 – I will be in Omaha to do a Q&A screening hosted by Countryside Community Church. Things get underway at 7:20pm at the AMC Oakview Plaza 24. Buy your tickets here. Saturday, Oct.... Read more
A band that I can’t seem to get enough of these days is the groove metal group Lamb of God. They’ve been around for years, but for some reason it’s taken me a while to catch up to them. In fact, it was the experience of filming at Copenhell for Hellbound? that renewed my interest in the band and the genre. One of their better known songs is called Walk with me in hell. Here are the lyrics in full:... Read more
If our faith is primarily a mantra to drive away punishment, our faith isn’t really a faith, it is a fear. We feign faith in order to keep from being punished. We believe in an uncertain way only from fear of hell, and so our “faith” is without love and self-serving, a mere survival instinct. When we do that it usually manifests itself as a kind of harsh and brutal moralism. In this crippling system it is psychologically comforting to... Read more
That’s right, now folks in all of these markets can see the movie panned by Christianity Today but lauded by the New York Times, the LA Times, Variety, the Huffington Post, Religion Dispatches and a host of others. The movie is also being held over in Minneapolis (Inver Grove) and Dallas (Grapevine). See you at the theater! Read more
Over the past two years, I’ve traveled across North America and beyond filming and promoting Hellbound?, a feature-length documentary that takes a critical look at the traditional Christian doctrine of hell. During that time, I’ve spoken to literally thousands of people about hell. And while I have encountered a precious few who are willing not only to countenance but also to embrace opposing viewpoints, the vast majority are absolutely convinced they have the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but... Read more
It’s by Variety reviewer Justin Chang. A brief excerpt: Admirers of nuanced theological discourse, an admittedly small and underserved segment of the moviegoing public, have a welcome conversation-starter at hand in “Hellbound?” By narrowing its range of voices to Christian leaders, thinkers and writers, Kevin Miller’s sober, stimulating documentary on the hot topic of eternal damnation necessarily limits its audience, but achieves a level of rhetorical eloquence that would theoretically appeal to open-minded viewers of any religious stripe. Likely to... Read more
A couple of years ago you would have had a hard time convincing me to head out to the theater to watch a documentary featuring a number of Muslim leaders debating the finer points of Islamic theology. It’s not that I don’t care about Islam or that I wouldn’t find it interesting. It’s just that I’m not a Muslim. It’s hard enough keeping track of Christianity’s many in-house disputes, never mind those going on in other religions. So while I... Read more
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