Hellbound?

The gospel song “This Train Is Bound for Glory” has grabbed the imagination of generations of North American Christians steeped in a theology of heaven. Imagining a heaven of such glorious magnitude and continual happiness assumes a hell that is by contrast painfully punishing and eternally damning.

The documentary film Hellbound? seeks to unearth the range of interpretations among Christians in the 21st century. Is hell a metaphor or an actual place? Canadian director and filmmaker Kevin Miller boldly takes on the views of Christians regarding hell.

Miller carries us from footage and interviews of placard-carrying, hell-promising Christians taken at the 9/11 memorial to the more generous theologies that open the door for second chances and all-embracing salvation. The film shows that much of our understanding of hell is tied up in tradition and Bosch-like images rather than in the words of Scripture, few and short on specifics as those words may be.

Wherever you find yourself theologically on this subject, this film encourages a thoughtful reading of Scripture, a consideration of how we land on our interpretations, and an engagement of the generosity of God’s grace and salvation. On disc now. (Kevin Miller XI Productions)