{"id":9585,"date":"2012-09-21T23:20:45","date_gmt":"2012-09-22T03:20:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?p=9585"},"modified":"2012-09-21T23:20:45","modified_gmt":"2012-09-22T03:20:45","slug":"hellbound","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/hellbound.html","title":{"rendered":"Hellbound?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"I am grateful to Patheos<\/a> for the privilege of viewing a screening of the new movie\u00a0Hellbound?<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>before its official opening. This movie is a powerful exploration of the doctrine of hell from a Christian perspective that does one basic thing that\u00a0all<\/em> Christians ought to do, namely not simply assume that the view which is articulated most bluntly by Westboro Baptist Church is the right one.<\/p>\n

The movie in fact begins with conversations with members of Westboro Baptist Church \u2013 seen holding their signs and singing their songs, as we are all familiar with, but also heard articulating their viewpoint in their own words. The movie is worth watching for that alone \u2013 for the insight into how some Christians have come to\u00a0love<\/em> the notion that others are going to hell, that they alone are right and everyone else is wrong \u2013 and that such rightness and wrongness is what matters to their God so much so that he will inflict agony upon those who were wrong forever, without end.<\/p>\n

This movie calls on Christians not to rush to embrace another options (Robin Parry appears in the movie and explicitly advises not doing so) but to\u00a0think<\/em> about the matter deeply, including serious thought about the assumptions about the Bible, about ourselves, about all sorts of interconnected things which depend on a doctrine of hell and upon which such a doctrine depends.<\/p>\n

The movie looks at social aspects of the idea of hell, but also approaches the matter theologically, historically, and exegetically. There is discussion of the root of Jesus\u2019 references to Gehenna in scripture, such as Jeremiah\u2019s references to the Valley of Hinnom. Brian McLaren suggests that Jesus was referring, much as Jeremiah was, to devastation that was going to come upon the living \u2013 weeping and gnashing of teeth \u2013 as a result of the course the nation was on, reaching a climax in AD 70. The fact that the doctrine of hell, far from being there throughout Scripture, comes into Judaism late from external influences, is also presented.<\/p>\n

A range of Christians from a range of traditions appear in the movie, in addition to those I have mentioned so far.\u00a0Frank Schaeffer<\/a>, Rob Bell, Chad Holtz, Jaime Clark-Soles, Sharon Baker, and many more.<\/p>\n

The movie is full of interesting and thought-provoking material, which works together to challenge the assumption that so many have that the doctrine of hell, and of that understood as eternal conscious torment, is, has always been, and must always be part and parcel of Christianity and its default position. One important point that is made is that there are texts in the Bible which sound like they depict eternal torment \u2013 and there are also texts which sound universalist, and ones that sound annihilationist. Those who espouse the view of hell as eternal torment take the first set of texts, treat them as normative, and force all other texts into the resulting framework. For those who do that to then castigate those who do the very same thing, but starting with a different group of texts and thus producing a different result, is ironic and hypocritical.<\/p>\n

I hope that Christians \u2013 as individuals and as whole church communities \u2013 will watch this movie. Feel free to go in expecting not to be persuaded. But watch it. It is those who are probably least inclined to watch such a movie who need to see it most urgently. As the movie emphasizes, if your viewpoint cannot withstand a close examination and encounter with alternative viewpoints, then you should not be treating it as though it is the obvious truth. If the notion of hell troubles you, or if it is part of a set of bedrock assumptions that you never question,Hellbound?\u00a0will offer you perspectives that you need to hear, from a variety of Christian theological, biblical, social, ecclesiastical, and other perspectives.<\/p>\n

The movie has its premiere<\/a> opening<\/a> tonight, and would be a great one for a church outing from a Bible study group or youth or adult Sunday school class. I highly recommend it!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am grateful to Patheos for the privilege of viewing a screening of the new movie\u00a0Hellbound?\u00a0before its official opening. This movie is a powerful exploration of the doctrine of hell from a Christian perspective that does one basic thing that\u00a0all Christians ought to do, namely not simply assume that the view which is articulated most […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[121,5,131,139,61,62,101],"tags":[418,646,1846,1880,3157,3812,4313,4510,4515,6163,7755,8508,9774,10443,10487,12766,13169],"class_list":["post-9585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-afterlife-theology","category-bible","category-christianity-religion","category-fundamentalism-religion","category-morality","category-movies","category-theology","tag-afterlife-theology","tag-annihilationism","tag-christianity-religion","tag-church","tag-eternal","tag-gehenna","tag-hades","tag-hell","tag-hellbound","tag-kevin-miller","tag-movie","tag-orthodox","tag-punishment","tag-rob-bell","tag-robin-parry","tag-torment","tag-universalism"],"yoast_head":"\nHellbound?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I am grateful to Patheos for the privilege of viewing a screening of the new movie\u00a0Hellbound?\u00a0before its official opening. This movie is a powerful\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/hellbound.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hellbound?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I am grateful to Patheos for the privilege of viewing a screening of the new movie\u00a0Hellbound?\u00a0before its official opening. This movie is a powerful\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/hellbound.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-09-22T03:20:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.hellboundthemovie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/spreadTheWord\/hellbound-FBcover-black.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James F. McGrath\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ReligionProf\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James F. McGrath\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/hellbound.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/hellbound.html\",\"name\":\"Hellbound?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-09-22T03:20:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-09-22T03:20:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf\"},\"description\":\"I am grateful to Patheos for the privilege of viewing a screening of the new movie\u00a0Hellbound?\u00a0before its official opening. This movie is a powerful\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/hellbound.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/hellbound.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/hellbound.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Hellbound?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/\",\"name\":\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath\",\"description\":\"The Blog of Dr. James F. McGrath, Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, Indianapolis\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf\",\"name\":\"James F. McGrath\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"James F. McGrath\"},\"description\":\"Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. BD University of London, PhD Durham University. Author of John's Apologetic Christology, The Only True God, Theology and Science Fiction, and The Burial of Jesus, as well as (with Charles Haberl of Rutgers University) the two-volume Mandaean Book of John critical edition, translation, and commentary. Also author of numerous articles (and a few science fiction short stories) and the editor or co-editor of several volumes.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Ge8ul5\",\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jamesfmcgrath\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jfmcgrat\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReligionProf\",\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/religionprof\",\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/religionprof\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_F._McGrath\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/author\/james-f-mcgrath\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Hellbound?","description":"I am grateful to Patheos for the privilege of viewing a screening of the new movie\u00a0Hellbound?\u00a0before its official opening. This movie is a powerful","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/hellbound.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Hellbound?","og_description":"I am grateful to Patheos for the privilege of viewing a screening of the new movie\u00a0Hellbound?\u00a0before its official opening. This movie is a powerful","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/hellbound.html","og_site_name":"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath","article_author":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/","article_published_time":"2012-09-22T03:20:45+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.hellboundthemovie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/spreadTheWord\/hellbound-FBcover-black.jpg"}],"author":"James F. McGrath","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ReligionProf","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James F. McGrath","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/hellbound.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/hellbound.html","name":"Hellbound?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-09-22T03:20:45+00:00","dateModified":"2012-09-22T03:20:45+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf"},"description":"I am grateful to Patheos for the privilege of viewing a screening of the new movie\u00a0Hellbound?\u00a0before its official opening. This movie is a powerful","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/hellbound.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/hellbound.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/hellbound.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Hellbound?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/","name":"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath","description":"The Blog of Dr. James F. McGrath, Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, Indianapolis","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf","name":"James F. McGrath","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"James F. McGrath"},"description":"Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. BD University of London, PhD Durham University. Author of John's Apologetic Christology, The Only True God, Theology and Science Fiction, and The Burial of Jesus, as well as (with Charles Haberl of Rutgers University) the two-volume Mandaean Book of John critical edition, translation, and commentary. Also author of numerous articles (and a few science fiction short stories) and the editor or co-editor of several volumes.","sameAs":["https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Ge8ul5","http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jamesfmcgrath\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jfmcgrat\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReligionProf","http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/religionprof","https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/religionprof","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_F._McGrath"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/author\/james-f-mcgrath"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9585"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9585\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}