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Annihilationism

August 25, 2023

In Christianity, annihilationism (also known as extinctionism or destructionism)[1] is the belief that after the Last Judgment, all damned humans and fallen angels including Satan will be totally destroyed, cremated, and their consciousness extinguished rather than suffering forever in Hell. Annihilationism stands in contrast to both the belief in eternal torment and the belief that everyone will be saved ("universalism"). However, it is also possible to hold to a partial annihilationism, believing unsaved humans to be obliterated or cremated, but demonic beings to suffer forever.[2][3]

Annihilationism is directly related to Christian conditionalism, the idea that a human soul is not immortal unless given eternal life. Annihilationism asserts that God will destroy, cremate, the wicked, leaving only the righteous to live on in immortality. Thus those who do not repent of their sins are eventually destroyed because of the incompatibility of sin with God's holy character. Seventh-day Adventists posit that living in eternal hell is a false doctrine of pagan origin, as the wicked will perish in the lake of fire.[4][5][6][7] Jehovah's Witnesses believe that there can be no punishment after death because the dead cease to exist.[8]

The belief in annihilationism has appeared throughout Christian history and was defended by several Church Fathers, but it has often been in the minority.[9][10] It experienced a resurgence in the 1980s when several prominent theologians including John Stott[11] argued that it could be held as a legitimate interpretation of biblical texts by those who give supreme authority to scripture. Earlier in the 20th century, some theologians at the University of Cambridge including Basil Atkinson supported the belief. Twentieth-century English theologians who favor annihilation include Bishop Charles Gore (1916),[12] William Temple, 98th Archbishop of Canterbury (1924);[13] Oliver Chase Quick, Chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury (1933),[14] Ulrich Ernst Simon (1964),[15] and G. B. Caird (1966).[16]

Some annihilationist Christian denominations were influenced by the Millerite/Adventist movement of the mid-19th century. These include the Seventh-day Adventists, Bible Students, Christadelphians and various Advent Christian churches. Additionally, some Protestant and Anglican writers have also proposed annihilationist doctrines. The Church of England's Doctrine Commission reported in 1995 that Hell may be a state of "total non-being", not eternal torment.[17]

Annihilationists base their belief on their exegesis of scripture, some early church writings, historical criticism of the doctrine of Hell, and the concept of God as too loving to torment his creations forever. They claim that the popular conceptions of Hell stem from Jewish speculation during the intertestamental period,[18] belief in an immortal soul which originated in Greek philosophy and influenced Christian theologians, and also graphic and imaginative medieval art and poetry.

History

Bible references

Proponents of annihilationism agree that the Bible teaches that the wicked are punished eternally, but they believe that punishment is complete destruction for eternity as opposed to eternal life in torment. They see Old Testament passages referring to the finality of judgment, and not its duration (see Isaiah 66:24; cf. 2 Kings 22:17; Isaiah 17:2–7; 51:8; Jeremiah 4:4; 7:20; 21:12; Ezekiel 20:47–48; Malachi 4:1-3).[citation needed] Similarly, the New Testament teaches that the wicked will justly suffer for their sins, but the end result will be their destruction (cf. Luke 16:19–31; Romans 2:8; 2 Thessalonians 1:6).[19]

Other relevant New Testament texts include Matthew 10:28 where Christ speaks of the wicked being destroyed "both body and soul" in fiery hell or John 3:36 which says that "he that believeth not the Son shall not see life".

Church Fathers and later

Christian writers from Tertullian to Luther have held to traditional notions of Hell. However, the annihilationist position is not without some historical precedent. Early forms of annihilationism or conditional immortality are claimed to be found in the writings of Ignatius of Antioch[10][20] (d. 108/140), Justin Martyr[21][22] (d. 165), and Irenaeus[10][23] (d. 202), among others.[10][9] However, the teachings of Arnobius (d. 330) are often interpreted as the first to defend annihilationism explicitly.[10] One quote, in particular, stands out in Arnobius' second book Against the Heathen:

Your interests are in jeopardy,—the salvation, I mean, of your souls; and unless you give yourselves to seek to know the Supreme God, a cruel death awaits you when freed from the bonds of body, not bringing sudden annihilation, but destroying by the bitterness of its grievous and long-protracted punishment.[24]

Eternal Hell/torment has been "the semiofficial position of the church since approximately the sixth century", according to Pinnock.[25]

Additionally, at least one of John Wesley's recorded sermons is often reluctantly understood as implying annihilationism. Contrarily, the denominations of Methodism which arose through his influence typically do not agree with annihilationism.[26]

Roman Catholicism

Much as certain Church Fathers and Catholic theologians have advocated qualified forms of universalism,[27][28] some Catholic theologians have advocated qualified forms of annihilationism as being in line with Catholic teaching.[29][30] Concerning the typical doctrinal presentation of Hell, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Edition, states:[31]

1035 The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death, the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into Hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, "eternal fire". The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs.

1038 The resurrection of all the dead, "of both the just and the unjust," (Acts 24:15) will precede the Last Judgment. This will be "the hour when all who are in the tombs will hear (the Son of man's) voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment." (Jn 5:28-29) Then Christ will come "in his glory, and all the angels with him. . . . Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. . . . And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (Mt 25:31,32,46)

Anglicanism

Although the Church of England has through most of its history been closer to John Calvin's doctrine of conscious continuation of the immortal soul[citation needed], rather than Martin Luther's "soul sleep",[citation needed] the doctrine of annihilation of the "wicked" following a judgment day at a literal return of Christ has had a following in the Anglican Communion. In 1945 a report by the Archbishops' Commission on Evangelism, Towards the conversion of England, caused controversy with statements including that "Judgment is the ultimate separation of the evil from the good, with the consequent destruction of all that opposes itself to God's will."[32]

Millerite and Adventist movement

Recently the doctrine has been most often associated with groups descended from or with influences from the Millerite movement of the mid-19th century. These include the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Church of God (7th day) - Salem Conference, the Bible Students, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Christadelphians, the followers of Herbert Armstrong, and the various Advent Christian churches. (The Millerite movement consisted of 50,000 to 100,000 people in the United States who eagerly expected the soon return of Jesus, and originated around William Miller.)

George Storrs introduced the belief to the Millerites. He had been a Methodist minister and antislavery advocate. He was introduced to annihilationism when in 1837 he read a pamphlet by Henry Grew. He published tracts in 1841 and 1842 arguing for conditionalism and annihilation.[33] He became a Millerite, and started the Bible Examiner in 1843 to promote these doctrines.[34] However most leaders of the movement rejected these beliefs, other than Charles Fitch who accepted conditionalism.[35] Still, in 1844 the movement officially decided these issues were not essential points of belief.[36]

The Millerites expected Jesus to return around 1843 or 1844, based on Bible texts including Daniel 8:14, and one Hebrew calendar. When the most expected date of Jesus' return (October 22, 1844) passed uneventfully, the "Great Disappointment" resulted. Followers met in 1845 to discuss the future direction of the movement, and were henceforth known as "Adventists". However, they split on the issues of conditionalism and annihilation. The dominant group, which published the Advent Herald, adopted the traditional position of the immortal soul, and became the American Evangelical Adventist Conference. On the other hand, groups behind the Bible Advocate and Second Advent Watchman adopted conditionalism. Later, the main advocate of conditionalism became the World's Crisis publication, which started in the early 1850s, and played a key part in the origin of the Advent Christian Church. Storrs came to believe the wicked would never be resurrected. He and like-minded others formed the Life and Advent Union in 1863.[36]

Seventh-day Adventist Church

The Seventh-day Adventist Church view of Hell is held to be as annihilation rather than eternal burning of the wicked, and it is one of its distinctive tenets. They hold that the wicked will be lost eternally as they are consumed in the lake of fire rather than eternal suffering, and they will perish and cease to exist in the fire. The church formed from a small group of Millerite Adventists who kept the Saturday Sabbath and today forms the most prominent "Adventist" group.

Ellen G. White rejected the immortal soul concept in 1843. Her husband James White, along with Joseph Bates, formerly belonged to the conditionalist Christian Connection, and hinted at this belief in early publications. Together, the three constitute the primary founders of this denomination.

Articles appeared in the primary magazine of the movement in the 1850s, and two books were published.[37] Annihilationism was apparently established in the church by the middle of that decade.[36] (In the 1860s, the group adopted the name "Seventh-day Adventist" and organized more formally.) D. M. Canright and Uriah Smith produced later books.[36][38][39]

A publication with a noticeable impact in the wider Christian world was The Conditionalist Faith of our Fathers (2 vols, 1965–1966) by Le Roy Froom.[40] It has been described as "a classic defense of conditionalism" by Clark Pinnock.[41][42] It is a lengthy historical work, documenting the supporters throughout history.

Robert Brinsmead, an Australian and former Seventh-day Adventist best known for his Present Truth Magazine, originally sponsored Edward Fudge to write The Fire that Consumes.[43]

Samuele Bacchiocchi, best known for his study From Sabbath to Sunday, has defended annihilation.[44] Pinnock wrote the foreword.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church's official beliefs support annihilation.[45] They hold that the doctrine of Hell as defined by mainstream Christianity is incompatible with the concept that God is love.[46] They believe that God loves humans unconditionally, and has no destructive intentions for human beings. Seventh-day Adventists believe that the destructive force of Gehenna is eternal, rather than an indication of eternal conscious torment.[47]

Church of God (7th day) – Salem Conference

According to the Church of God (7th day) – Salem Conference, the dead are unconscious in their graves and immortality is conditional. When God formed Adam, out of the dust of the ground, and before Adam could live, God breathed the breath of life into his body: "And man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7). See also Ezekiel 18:4, 20. Psalm 146:4 says, "His (man's) breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth (dust); in that very day his thoughts perish." No man has ascended to heaven except Jesus Christ (John 3:13).[48]

Others

Other supporters have included Charles Frederic Hudson (1860), Edward White (1878), Emmanuel Petavel-Olliff (1836–1910, in 1889) and others.[49] Early Pentecostal pioneer Charles Fox Parham taught annihilationism. [50]

1900s onwards

Annihilationism seems to be gaining as a legitimate minority opinion within modern, conservative Protestant theology since the 1960s, and particularly since the 1980s. It has found support and acceptance among some British evangelicals, although it is viewed with greater suspicion by their American counterparts. Recently, a handful of evangelical theologians, including the prominent evangelical Anglican author John Stott, have offered at least tentative support for the doctrine, touching off a heated debate within mainstream evangelical Christianity.[51]

The subject really gained attention in the late 1980s, from publications by two evangelical Anglicans, John Stott and Philip Hughes.[52] Stott advocated annihilationism in the 1988 book Essentials: A Liberal–Evangelical Dialogue with liberal David Edwards, the first time he publicly did so.[53] However 5 years later he said that he had been an annihilationist for around fifty years.[54] Stott wrote, "Well, emotionally, I find the concept [of eternal suffering] intolerable and do not understand how people can live with it without either cauterizing their feelings or cracking under the strain. But our emotions are a fluctuating, unreliable guide to truth . . . my question [is not] what does my heart tell me, but what does God’s word say?"[55]

Stott argued that the biblical descriptions of Hell only state that Hell itself is eternal, not necessarily that sinners damned to Hell will live eternally in suffering,[56] pointing also to several biblical references to the "destruction" of sinners.[57] Fundamentally, though, Stott argues that an eternal punishment for finite crimes would be incompatible with "the belief that God will judge people 'according to what they [have] done' (e.g. Revelation 20:12), which implies that the penalty inflicted will be commensurate with the evil done."[58] However, despite Stott's personal belief in annihilationism, he cautions, "I do not dogmatize about the position to which I have come. I hold it tentatively... I believe that the ultimate annihilation of the wicked should at least be accepted as a legitimate, biblically founded alternative to their eternal conscious torment."[59]

Philip Hughes published The True Image in 1989, which has been called "[o]ne of the most significant books" in the debate.[43] A portion deals with this issue in particular.[60]

John Wenham's 1974 book The Goodness of God contained a chapter that challenged the traditional church doctrine, and it was the first book from an evangelical publishing house to do so.[43][61] It was republished later as The Enigma of Evil.[62] He contributed a chapter on conditionalism in the 1992 book Universalism and the Doctrine of Hell.[63] He later published Facing Hell: An Autobiography 1913–1996, which explores the doctrine through an autobiographical approach.[64] His interest in the topic stemmed from the 1930s as a student at the University of Cambridge, where he was influenced by Basil Atkinson. (Wenham is best known for his The Elements of New Testament Greek, which has been a standard textbook for students). He wrote:

I feel that the time has come when I must declare my mind honestly. I believe that endless torment is a hideous and unscriptural doctrine that has been a terrible burden on the mind of the church for many centuries and a terrible blot on her presentation of the gospel. I should indeed be happy if, before I die, I could help in sweeping it away. Most of all I should rejoice to see a number of theologians ... joining ... in researching this great topic with all its ramifications.[65]

The Fire that Consumes was published in 1982 by Edward Fudge of the Churches of Christ.[66] It was described as "the best book" by Clark Pinnock, a decade later.[67] John Gerstner called it "the ablest critique of hell by a believer in the inspiration of the Bible."[68] Clark Pinnock of McMaster Divinity College has defended annihilation.[69] Earlier, Atkinson had self-published the book Life and Immortality.[70] Theologians from Cambridge have been influential in supporting the annihilationist position, particularly Atkinson.[71]

Annihilationism is also the belief of some liberal Christians within mainstream denominations.

There have been individual supporters earlier. Pentecostal healing evangelist William Branham promoted annihilationism in the last few years before his death in 1965.[72]

The Church of England's Doctrine Commission reported in February 1995 that Hell is not eternal torment. The report, entitled "The Mystery of Salvation" states, "Christians have professed appalling theologies which made God into a sadistic monster. ... Hell is not eternal torment, but it is the final and irrevocable choosing of that which is opposed to God so completely and so absolutely that the only end is total non-being."[73] The British Evangelical Alliance ACUTE report (published in 2000) states the doctrine is a "significant minority evangelical view" that has "grown within evangelicalism in recent years".[74] A 2011 study of British evangelicals showed 19% disagreed a little or a lot with eternal conscious torment, and 31% were unsure.[75]

Several evangelical reactions to annihilationism were published.[76] Another critique was by Paul Helm in 1989.[77] In 1990, J. I. Packer delivered several lectures supporting the traditional doctrine of eternal suffering. The reluctance of many evangelicals is illustrated by the fact that proponents of annihilationism have had trouble publishing their doctrines with evangelical publishing houses, with Wenham's 1973 book being the first.[43][52]

Some well respected authors have remained neutral. F. F. Bruce wrote, "annihilation is certainly an acceptable interpretation of the relevant New Testament passages ... For myself, I remain agnostic."[78] Comparatively, C. S. Lewis did not systematize his own beliefs.[79] He rejected traditional pictures of the "tortures" of hell, as in The Great Divorce where he pictured it as a drab "grey town". Yet in The Problem of Pain, "Lewis sounds much like an annihilationist."[80] He wrote:

But I notice that Our Lord, while stressing the terror of hell with unsparing severity usually emphasizes the idea not of duration but of finality. Consignment to the destroying fire is usually treated as the end of the story—not as the beginning of a new story. That the lost soul is eternally fixed in its diabolical attitude we cannot doubt: but whether this eternal fixity implies endless duration—or duration at all—we cannot say.[81]

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992) describes Hell as "eternal death" (para 1861) and elsewhere states that "the chief punishment of hell is that of eternal separation from God" (para 1035). The question is what "eternal" means in this context. Thomas Aquinas, following Boethius, states that "eternity is the full, perfect and simultaneous possession of unending life" (Summa Theologica I, question 10), so apparently eternal separation from God is a "negative eternity", a complete and permanent separation from God. In the Collect (opening prayer) for the eighth Sunday after Pentecost in the Tridentine missal, we find the words "qui sine te esse non possumus", meaning "we who without Thee cannot be (or exist)".

With this one may compare the Anglican prayer book, as the collect for the ninth Sunday after Trinity, but stating "we who cannot do anything that is good without Thee". In the modern ordinary form of the Mass of the Catholic Church, the collect is included again, used on Thursday in the first week of Lent.[original research?][82]

Conditional immortality

Main article: Christian conditionalism

The doctrine is often, although not always, bound up with the notion of "conditional immortality", a belief that the soul is not innately immortal. They are related yet distinct.[83] God, who alone is immortal, passes on the gift of immortality to the righteous, who will live forever in Heaven or on an idyllic Earth or World to Come, while the wicked will ultimately face a second death.[84]

Those who describe or believe in this doctrine may not use "annihilationist" to define the belief, and the terms "mortalist" and "conditionalist" are often used. Edward Fudge (1982)[85] uses "annihilationist" to refer to both the "mortalists" and "conditionalists" who believe in a universal resurrection, as well as those groups which hold that not all the wicked will rise to face the New Testament's "resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust".

Justifications

Interpretation of scripture

Some annihilationists insist that words like "destroy, destruction, perish, death" must refer to "non-existence". While this interpretation of those terms does not imply the non-existence of Hades or the lake of fire, this interpretation does require that the suffering of the souls that inhabit it, is terminated by their reduction to non-existence. Adventists, and perhaps others, then understand the term "Hell" (Hades or lake of fire) to refer to the process of destruction, not a permanently existing process.[citation needed]

Some annihilationists understand there will be suffering in the death process, but ultimately the wages of sin is death, not eternal existence.[citation needed] Some affirm that Jesus taught limited conscious physical sufferings upon the guilty:

That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows.

— Luke 12:47–48

Other annihilationists, who understand that a loving God would not gratuitously cause the dead to suffer, believe this verse refers to those living through the tribulation([2]).

The adjectives "many" and "few" in Luke 12 could not be used if eternal conscious torment was what Jesus was teaching. He would have used "heavier" and "lighter" if the duration of conscious sufferings were eternal because when the "few" stripes were over there could be no more suffering. By very definition "few" and "many" declare not unlimited (or eternal) sufferings.[citation needed]

Annihilationists declare eternal existence and life is a gift gotten only from believing the gospel; (John 3:16) Paul calls this gift (immortality) an integral part of the gospel message: "who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and 'immortality' to light through the gospel." (2 Timothy 1:10). If all souls are born immortal, then why is humanity encouraged to seek it by Paul? "To them who by patient continuance in well doing 'seek' for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:" (Romans 2:7) And also, why would Jesus offer humanity an opportunity to "live forever", if all live forever? "If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever:" (John 6:51).[citation needed]

Annihilationism is based on passages that speak of the unsaved as perishing (John 3:16) or being destroyed (Matthew 10:28). Annihilationists believe that verses speaking of the second death refer to ceasing to exist. Opponents of annihilationism argue that the second death is the spiritual death (separation from God) that occurs after physical death (separation of soul and body). Annihilationists are quick to point out that spiritual death happens the moment one sins and that it is illogical to believe further separation from God can take place. In addition, annihilationists claim that complete separation from God conflicts with the doctrine of omnipresence in which God is present everywhere, including Hell. Some annihilationists accept the position that Hell is a separation from God by taking the position that God sustains the life of his creations: when separated from God, one simply ceases to exist.[citation needed]

Cited texts

  • James 4:12 "God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy."
  • Hebrews 10:39 " But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction..."
  • Philippians 3:18-19 "For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 They are headed for destruction."
  • Psalm 92:7 "Though the wicked sprout like weeds and evildoers flourish they will be destroyed forever."
  • Psalm 37:20 "But the wicked will die... they will disappear like smoke."
  • Psalm 1:6: "... For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction."
  • Hebrews 10:26-27 NLT "There is only the terrible expectation of God's judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies."
  • 2 Peter 3:7 "...for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed."
  • Romans 2:7 "He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers."
  • Genesis 3:19 " For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return."
  • Psalm 146:4 "When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them."
  • Ecclesiastes 9:5 "For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten."
  • Ezekiel 18:20 "The person who sins is the one who will die."
  • 2 Chronicles 28:3 " He burned incense in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and burned his children in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel." (the Valley of Ben Hinnom is where the concept of Gehenna or Hell comes from)[86]
  • Jeremiah 19:5 "They have built pagan shrines to Baal, and there they burn their sons as sacrifices to Baal. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing!" (the Valley of Ben Hinnom is where the concept of Gehenna or Hell comes from)[86]
  • Malachi 4:1, 4:3 "The day of judgment is coming, burning like a furnace. On that day the arrogant and the wicked will be burned up like straw. They will be consumed—roots, branches, and all... On the day when I act, you will tread upon the wicked as if they were dust under your feet," says the Lord of Heaven's Armies."
  • Matthew 10:28 "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
  • John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life."
  • John 6:51 "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever" (the offer to live forever only makes sense if it were possible to not live forever.)
  • 2 Thessalonians 1:9 "They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power."
  • Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death."
  • 2 Peter 2:6 "and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, having made them an example unto those that should live ungodly"
  • Revelation 20:14-15 "And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, even the lake of fire. And if any was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire."

John Wenham, a prominent annihilationist, has classified the New Testament texts on the fate of the dead:[citation needed]

  • 10 texts (4%) "Gehenna"
  • 26 (10%) to "burning up"
  • 59 (22%) to "destruction, perdition, utter loss or ruin"
  • 20 (8%) to "separation from God"
  • 25 (10%) to "death in its finality" or "the second death"
  • 108 (41%) to "unforgiven sin", where the precise consequence is not stated
  • 15 (6%) to "anguish"

Wenham claims that just a single verse (Revelation 14:11) sounds like eternal torment to him. This is out of a total of 264 references.[87] Ralph Bowles argues the word order of the verse was chosen to fit a chiastic structure, and does not support eternal punishment.[88] Opponents of annihilationism, however, say that there are in fact many bible verses supporting their view.[89]

Opposing texts

Proponents of the traditional Christian doctrine of Hell, such as Millard Erickson,[90] identify the following biblical texts in support of their doctrine:

  • Psalm 52:5 "Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living."
  • Psalm 78:66 "He beat back his enemies; he put them to everlasting shame."
  • Isaiah 33:14 "The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: 'Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?'"
  • Isaiah 66:24 "And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind."
  • Jeremiah 23:40 "I will bring on you everlasting disgrace—everlasting shame that will not be forgotten."
  • Jeremiah 25:9 "I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin."
  • Daniel 12:2 "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt."
  • Matthew 8:12 "... where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Beings that have been destroyed do not have teeth to gnash. Beings in the process of burning up in a fire, however, do.
  • Matthew 10:15 "... it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment.."
  • Matthew 11:24 "... it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you"
  • Matthew 18:8 "It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire."
  • Matthew 22:13 "... where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Same as Matt 8:12
  • Matthew 25:41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'"
  • Mark 9:46–48 "And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where 'the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.'"
  • Revelation 14:11 "And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name."
  • Revelation 20:10 "And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever." (This verse leads some annihilationists to conclude that while ordinary human unbelievers will be annihilated, demons will be tormented forever.[2][3])

Traditionalist Christians point to biblical references to eternal punishment, as well as eternal elements of this punishment, such as the unquenchable fire, the everlasting shame, the "worm" that never dies, and the smoke that rises forever, as consistent with the traditional doctrine of eternal, conscious torment of the non-believers or sinners in Hell. An annihilationist response is that the eternal nature of the fire, worms, and disgrace do not imply eternal conscious torment, only that the punishment has eternal consequences.[91]

Christians who believe in universal reconciliation have also criticized annihilationism using Biblical references. Books of the Bible argued to possibly support the idea of full reconciliation include the First Epistle to the Corinthians. The sections of 1 Corinthians 15:22, "As all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ", and 1 Corinthians 15:28, "God will be all in all", are cited.[92][93] Verses that seem to contradict the tradition of complete damnation and come up in arguments also include Lamentations 3:31–33 (NIV), "For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love",[94] and 1 Timothy 4:10 (NIV), "We have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe."[95]

Advocates

British
New Zealandian
  • Glenn Peoples
North American

Agnostics

Others have remained "agnostic", not taking a stand on the issue of hell. The two listed are also British:

  • F. F. Bruce, who described himself as "agnostic" on this issue
  • N. T. Wright rejects eternal torment, universalism, and apparently also annihilation; but believes those who reject God will become dehumanized, and no longer be in the image of God[98]

Critics/opponents

See also

References

  1. ^ Christian faith and life, Volumes 16–17, 1913 (Google eBook) p. 118
  2. ^ a b McLaughlin, Corey J. "Revelation 20:10...a Devil of a Dilemma for Advent Christians". ADVENT CHRISTIAN VOICES. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  3. ^ a b Dear, Joseph. "A PRIMER ON REVELATION 20:10". Rethinking Hell. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  4. ^ "In Defense of the Faith".
  5. ^ "Punishment of the Wicked in Light of the Cross". 6 June 2013.
  6. ^ "Signs of the Times".
  7. ^ "Seventh-day Adventists Believe... The Millenium and the End of Sin: 27-26.HTM".
  8. ^ David A. Reed, Answering Jehovah's Witnesses: Subject by Subject, electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1997).
  9. ^ a b L. E. Froom, The Condionalist Faith of our Fathers (Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1965–1966). PART IV.
  10. ^ a b c d e Glenn Peoples. "History of Hell: Hell before Augustine".
  11. ^ Edwards, D. L. & Stott, J. Essentials : A Liberal–Evangelical Dialogue London : Hodder & Stoughton, 1988, pp. 313–320.
  12. ^ Gore, The Religion of the Church Oxford: Mowbray, 1916, pp. 91f.
  13. ^ Temple, W., Christus Veritas London: Macmillan, 1924, p. 209
  14. ^ Quick O.C., Doctrines of the Creed London: Nisbet, 1933, pp. 257f.
  15. ^ Simon U., The End is Not Yet Welwyn: Nisbet, 1964, pp. 206f.
  16. ^ Caird G. B., The Revelation of St John the Divine London: A. and C. Black., 1966, pp. 186f., 260
  17. ^ "England: Doctrine Commission Report on the Mystery of Salvation". www.anglicannews.org. Retrieved 2021-09-15.
  18. ^ Crockett, Four Views on Hell, p52–53 (he accepts the traditional view)[page needed]
  19. ^ Gregory A. Boyd and Paul R. Eddy, Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009), 286-287.
  20. ^ St. Ignatius. Epistle to the Magnesians. Chapter 10: "For were He to reward us according to our works, we should cease to be."
  21. ^ "Justin Martyr and the Immortality of the Soul".
  22. ^ St. Justin Martyr. Dialogue with Trypho. Chapter V: "some which have appeared worthy of God never die, but others are punished so long as God wills them to exist and to be punished." Chapter VI: "Now the soul partakes of life since God wills it to live. Thus, then, it will not even partake [of life] when God does not will it to live. For to live is not its attribute, as it is God's; but as a man does not live always, and the soul is not forever conjoined with the body, since, whenever this harmony must be broken up, the soul leaves the body, and the man exists no longer; even so, whenever the soul must cease to exist, the spirit of life is removed from it, and there is no more soul, but it goes back to the place from whence it was taken."
  23. ^ St. Irenaeus. Against Heresies: Book II, Chapter 34. 3. paragraph: "he who shall preserve the life bestowed upon him, and give thanks to Him who imparted it, shall receive also the length of days forever and ever. But he who shall reject it, and prove himself ungrateful to his Maker, inasmuch as he has been created, and has not recognized Him who bestowed [the gift upon him], deprives himself of [the privilege of] continuance forever and ever. And, for this reason, the Lord declared to those who showed themselves ungrateful towards Him: If you have not been faithful in that which is little, who will give you that which is great? indicating that those who, in this brief temporal life, have shown themselves ungrateful to Him who bestowed it, shall justly not receive from Him length of days forever and ever."
  24. ^ Arnobius, Against the Heathen: Book II, paragraph 61, last sentence.
  25. ^ Pinnock, "Fire then Nothing", p40
  26. ^ This comment was made in regard to Calvinism and their insistence that some were pre-destined to receive Christ, and others to be eternally punished. How much weight this statement of Wesley's should be placed on his idea of eternal condemnation remains debated. Actually, the terminology "being destroyed body and soul in hell" is from the lips of Jesus. Matthew 10:28 "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." SERMON 128, Preached at Bristol, in the year 1740 – . Archived from the original on 2000-11-15. Retrieved 2014-11-26.
  27. ^ Wild, Robert (2015). A Catholic Reading Guide to Universalism. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 9781498223188.
  28. ^ von Balthasar, Hans Urs (1988). Dare We Hope: "that All Men be Saved"? ; With, A Short Discourse on Hell. Ignatius Press. ISBN 9780898702071.
  29. ^ Wild, Robert (2016). A Catholic Reading Guide to Conditional Immortality - The Third Alternative to Hell and Universalism. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 9781498297271.
  30. ^ Griffiths, Paul (2014). Decreation: The Last Things of All Creatures. Baylor University Press. ISBN 9781481302296.
  31. ^ United States Catholic Conference (2000). Catechism of the Catholic Church. Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
  32. ^ Towards the conversion of England Church of England Commission on evangelism – 1946 "... but gives the idea that 'everyone goes to heaven when he dies'. 198 During their earlier years children have to learn how to discriminate between the world of experience and the world of imagination."
  33. ^ An Inquiry; Are the Souls of the Wicked Immortal? In Three Letters, 1841. Six Sermons on the Inquiry: Is there Immortality in Sin and Suffering?, 1842; followed by several later versions; reprint 2010-10-07 at the Wayback Machine
  34. ^ It had the motto "No immortality, or endless life except through Jesus Christ alone." Sources: Lest We Forget 1:4 (1991). "George Storrs: 1796–1879: A Biographical Sketch 2010-10-09 at the Wayback Machine". HarvestHerald.com. Retrieved June 2010.
  35. ^ Letter from Fitch to Storrs, January 25, 1844
  36. ^ a b c d Gary Land, "Conditional Immortality" entry in Historical Dictionary of the Seventh-day Adventists. Scarecrow, 2005, p68–69
  37. ^ Roswell F. Cottrell, Review and Herald 1853 – the first clear statement. James White, "Destruction of the Wicked" series, Review and Herald 1854 [1]?. D. P. Hall, articles in 1854, republished as the book Man Not Immortal, 1854. J. N. Loughborough series; republished as Is the Soul Immortal?, 1856
  38. ^ D. M. Canright, History of the Doctrine of the Immortality of the Soul, 1871.[page needed]
  39. ^ Uriah Smith, Man's Nature and Destiny, 1884[page needed]
  40. ^ Le Roy Froom [and team], The Conditionalist Faith of our Fathers, 2 vols. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald, 1965–66; online link. See also article series in the Review. One pair of reviews is Alfred-Félix Vaucher, "The History of Conditionalism". Andrews University Seminary Studies 4:2 (July 1966), p193–200 [Vol. II]. He considers it of "greatest use" to theologians and other readers, and presents only "few reservations" for such a "voluminous work". It is aimed at English readers, and thus focuses on Great Britain and America; Vaucher expounds on continental European supporters. He disagrees with the inclusion of the Waldenses as conditionals, and other descriptions of their history. Vaucher, review in Andrews University Seminary Studies 5 (1967), p202–204 [Vol. I]. Vaucher praises Froom's "erudition"; as a "monumental work" without "rival". He questions whether several individuals should be claimed for conditionalism, or that the Pharisees taught an immortal soul. He challenged the preaching tone of books, and related artwork
  41. ^ Clark Pinnock, "The Conditional View", p147 footnote 21; in William Crockett, ed., Four Views on Hell. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1992
  42. ^ Vaucher, Alfred-Félix (1966). . Andrews University Seminary Studies. 4: 193–200. ISSN 0003-2980. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2010-06-23.
  43. ^ a b c d Brian P. Phillips, "Annihilation or endless torment?". Ministry 69:8 (August 1996), p15,17–18
  44. ^ Samuele Bacchiocchi, "Hell: Eternal Torment or Annihilation? 2015-02-16 at the Wayback Machine" chapter 6 in Immortality Or Resurrection?. Biblical Perspectives, 1997; ISBN 1-930987-12-9, ISBN 978-1-930987-12-8[page needed]
  45. ^ "Fundamental Beliefs 2006-03-10 at the Wayback Machine" (1980) webpage from the official church website. See "25. Second Coming of Christ", "26. Death and Resurrection", "27. Millennium and the End of Sin", and "28. New Earth". The earlier 1872 and 1931 statements also support conditionalism
  46. ^ 1 John 4:8; 1 John 4:16
  47. ^ The Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology (2000) from the Commentary Reference Series[page needed]
  48. ^ http://www.churchofgod-7thday.org/Publications/Doctrinal%20Points%20Final%20Proof.pdf[full citation needed][permanent dead link]
  49. ^ White, Edward (1878). Life in Christ: A Study of the Scripture Doctrine On the Nature of Man, the Object of the Divine Incarnation, and the Conditions of Human Immortality. E. Stock. edward white life in christ.. White does posit an intermediate conscious state of the soul pace the standard conditional immortality belief that the dead are unconscious. Petavel, Emmanuel (1892). The Problem of Immortality. E. Stock. petavel immortality. Petavel, Emmanuel (1889). The Extinction of Evil: Three Theological Essays. C. H. Woodman. Emmanuel Pétavel-Olliff. Three early essays from one of the classical advocates of conditional immortality, a French author. See especially "Appendix 1: Answers to Objections Urged Against the Doctrine of the Gradual Extinction of Obdurate Sinners," beginning on page 147 of the book. Hudson, Charles Frederic (1857). Debt and Grace as Related to a Doctrine of the Future Life. See Hudson's book Christ Our Life below for an expanded biblical defense. Hudson, Charles Frederic (1860). Christ Our Life: The Scriptural Argument for Immortality Through Christ Alone. J.P. Jewett. charles frederic hudson debt.
  50. ^ Howell, Greg A. "CHARLES FOX PARHAM'S THEOLOGICAL UNDERBELLY: ANNIHILATIONISM, 8 TH -DAY CREATIONISM AND PRE-MILLENIAL ZIONISM". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  51. ^ John Stott: A Global Ministry by Timothy Dudley-Smith, p353
  52. ^ a b J. I. Packer (Spring 1997). Evangelical Annihilationism in Review (PDF). pp. 37–51. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  53. ^ Essentials: A Liberal-Evangelical Dialogue by David L. Edwards with a response from John Stott. 1988, p314 [313–320]
  54. ^ In 1993. John Stott: A Global Ministry, 354
  55. ^ Essentials, p314
  56. ^ Essentials, p316-18
  57. ^ Essentials, p315-16
  58. ^ Essentials, p318
  59. ^ Essentials, p320
  60. ^ Philip Edgcumbe Hughes, The True Image: The Origin and Destiny of Man in Christ. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans; and Leicester, United Kingdom: Inter-Varsity Press, 1989, p398-407. As cited by Packer (and Pinnock)
  61. ^ John Wenham, The Goodness of God. London: InterVarsity Press, 1974
  62. ^ John Wenham, The Enigma of Evil, Britain: InterVarsity Press, 1985; a 2nd edition. A new edition with an extended chapter on the debate was published by Eagle books in 1994, from Guilford, England. As cited by Phillips
  63. ^ Wenham, "The Case for Conditional Immortality" in N. M. S. Cameron, ed., Universalism and the Doctrine of Hell. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1992. A report on the Fourth Edinburgh Conference on Christian Dogmatics
  64. ^ John Wenham, Facing Hell: An Autobiography 1913–1996. Paternoster Press: 1998
  65. ^ Wenham in Universalism and the Doctrine of Hell, p190,191; as quoted by Phillips
  66. ^ Edward W. Fudge, The Fire that Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of Final Punishment. Houston: Providential, 1982. Author's webpage March 25, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Fudge is a member of the Churches of Christ
  67. ^ Four Views on Hell, p137 footnote 5
  68. ^ As cited by Phillips
  69. ^ An early article was Pinnock, "Fire, then Nothing". Christianity Today (March 20, 1987), p40–41. He lists the evangelical authors who persuaded him as: Stott, Fudge, Hughes, and Green (as cited elsewhere in this article), and Stephen Travis, I Believe in the Second Coming of Christ. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982, p196–199. Listed in Four Views on Hell, p137 footnote 5
  70. ^ Basil F. C. Atkinson, Life and Immortality: An Examination of the Nature and Meaning of Life and Death as They Are Revealed in the Scriptures. Taunton, England: printed by E. Goodman, 196–?. As cited by Phillips, and WorldCat
  71. ^ John Stott: A Global Ministry, p353
  72. ^ An Exposition of the Seven Church Ages (1965), 133–135; The Revelation of the Seven Seals (1967), 487
  73. ^ Church of England, "The Mystery of Salvation: The Doctrine Commission of the General Synod" (1995), p199; published by Church House Publishing, London, 1995; copyrighted by The Central Board of Finance of the Church of England, 1995, ISBN 0-7151-3778-6
  74. ^ Evangelical Alliance; Alliance Commission on Unity and Truth among Evangelicals (2000). . In Hilborn, David (ed.). The Nature of Hell. London: Paternoster Publishing. pp. 130–5. ISBN 978-0-9532992-2-5. Archived from the original on 2012-02-22. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
  75. ^ 21st Century Evangelicals: A snapshot of the beliefs and habits of evangelical Christians in the UK 2011-01-16 at the Wayback Machine. Evangelical Alliance and Christian Research, 2011, p9
  76. ^ Eryl Davies, The Wrath of God, Evangelical Movement of Wales.W. G. T. Shedd, The Doctrine of Endless Punishment, was reissued by Banner of Truth Trust. As cited by Phillips
  77. ^ Paul Helm, The Last Things: Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell. Banner of Truth, 1989
  78. ^ Letter from F. F. Bruce to John Stott in 1989, as quoted in John Stott: A Global Ministry, 354
  79. ^ According to F. F. Bruce, in his foreword to Edward Fudge, The Fire That Consumes, p.viii
  80. ^ Pinnock, "The Conditional View", in Crockett; p150 incl. footnote 28
  81. ^ C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain. London and Glasgow: Collins, 1940, p114–115; emphasis in original
  82. ^ Zühlsdorf, Fr. John. WDTPRS: Thursday in the 1st Week of Lent. Posted on 17 March 2011.
  83. ^ Essentials, p316
  84. ^ Rev 2:11, 20:6, 20:14, 21:8
  85. ^ Edward Fudge, The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of Final Punishment (Houston: Providential Press, 1982).
  86. ^ a b Crockett, William V. (1992). Four Views on Hell. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan. ISBN 9780310533115.
  87. ^ chapter 6, "Hell: Not Endless" in The Enigma of Evil by John Wenham, p68–92; esp. 81–83. Quotations are Wenham's terms, not the Bible's necessarily. The first edition of the book was titled, The Goodness of God, but contained little or none of this discussion
  88. ^ Bowles, Ralph G. (2000). "Does Revelation 14:11 Teach Eternal Torment? Examining a Proof-text on Hell" (PDF). Evangelical Quarterly. 73 (1): 21–36. doi:10.1163/27725472-07301004. S2CID 252293448.
  89. ^ Ortlund, Gavin. "J. I. Packer on Why Annihilationism Is Wrong". The Gospel Coalition. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  90. ^ Millard Erickson, Christian Theology, 2nd Ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998), pp1242–1244.
  91. ^ Sotak, Max H. (1996). "Damning assumptions: What advocates of endless torment take for granted". ProQuest 304282290. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  92. ^ Richard Bauckham, "Universalism: a historical survey", Themelios 4.2 (September 1978): 47–54.
  93. ^ Fisher, David A. (December 2011). (PDF). The Maronite Voice, Volume VII, Issue No. XI. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 8, 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  94. ^ "Lamentations 3:31-33 NIV - - Bible Gateway".
  95. ^ "1 Timothy 4:10 NIV - - Bible Gateway".
  96. ^ Edwards, David Lawrence; Stott, John R. W. (1989). Evangelical Essentials: A Liberal-evangelical Dialogue. InterVarsity Press. ISBN 978-0-8308-1285-1. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  97. ^ Michael Green, Evangelism Through the Local Church. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1990, p69–70
  98. ^ N. T. Wright, Surprised by Hope, chapter 11 "Purgatory, Paradise, Hell"; preview 2008-03-04 at the Wayback Machine; as cited elsewhere
  99. ^ Ortlund, Gavin. "J. I. Packer on Why Annihilationism Is Wrong". The Gospel Coalition. Retrieved 24 October 2022.

Further reading

Various doctrines about hell:

  • William Crockett, ed., Four Views on Hell
  • Edward Fudge and Robert Peterson, Two Views of Hell: A Biblical & Theological Dialogue. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2000
  • Neusner, Jacob; Avery-Peck, Alan Jeffery (2000). Judaism in Late Antiquity: Part Four: Death, Life-After-Death, Resurrection and the World-To-Come in the Judaisms of Antiquity. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. p. 342. ISBN 978-90-04-11262-9.

Advocates of Annihilationism:

  • Bacchiocchi, Samuele (1997). Immortality or Resurrection? A Biblical Study on Human Nature and Destiny (PDF). Berrien Springs, Michigan: Biblical Perspectives. ISBN 978-1-930987-12-8. OCLC 38849060.
  • Clark Pinnock, "The Destruction of the Finally Impenitent". Criswell Theological Review 4:2 (1990), p243–259. Reprinted in A Journal from the Radical Reformation 2:1 (Fall 1992), p4–21

Critics of Annihilationism:

External links

 
Look up annihilationism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Supportive
  • RethinkingHell.com Exploring evangelical conditionalism
  • Afterlife.co.nz The Conditional Immortality Association of New Zealand Inc. is a non-profit organization established to promote a Biblical understanding of human nature, life, death and eternity as taught throughout Scripture.
  • Jewish not Greek Shows how Biblical hermeneutics proves "annihilationism" and not the Greek philosophical belief in innate immortality.
Critical
  • "Hell – Eternity of Hell" in Catholic Encyclopedia
  • Evangelicals and the Annihilation of Hell – Part 1, Part 2 by Alan W. Gomes. (Note the article incorrectly states Edward Fudge is from the Adventist tradition)
  • "Undying Worm, Unquenchable Fire" by Robert A. Peterson. Christianity Today 44:12 (October 23, 2000)

August 25, 2023
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This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Annihilationism news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed June 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article s lead section may be too long for the length of the article Please help by moving some material from it into the body of the article Please read the layout guide and lead section guidelines to ensure the section will still be inclusive of all essential details Please discuss this issue on the article s talk page March 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message In Christianity annihilationism also known as extinctionism or destructionism 1 is the belief that after the Last Judgment all damned humans and fallen angels including Satan will be totally destroyed cremated and their consciousness extinguished rather than suffering forever in Hell Annihilationism stands in contrast to both the belief in eternal torment and the belief that everyone will be saved universalism However it is also possible to hold to a partial annihilationism believing unsaved humans to be obliterated or cremated but demonic beings to suffer forever 2 3 Annihilationism is directly related to Christian conditionalism the idea that a human soul is not immortal unless given eternal life Annihilationism asserts that God will destroy cremate the wicked leaving only the righteous to live on in immortality Thus those who do not repent of their sins are eventually destroyed because of the incompatibility of sin with God s holy character Seventh day Adventists posit that living in eternal hell is a false doctrine of pagan origin as the wicked will perish in the lake of fire 4 5 6 7 Jehovah s Witnesses believe that there can be no punishment after death because the dead cease to exist 8 The belief in annihilationism has appeared throughout Christian history and was defended by several Church Fathers but it has often been in the minority 9 10 It experienced a resurgence in the 1980s when several prominent theologians including John Stott 11 argued that it could be held as a legitimate interpretation of biblical texts by those who give supreme authority to scripture Earlier in the 20th century some theologians at the University of Cambridge including Basil Atkinson supported the belief Twentieth century English theologians who favor annihilation include Bishop Charles Gore 1916 12 William Temple 98th Archbishop of Canterbury 1924 13 Oliver Chase Quick Chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury 1933 14 Ulrich Ernst Simon 1964 15 and G B Caird 1966 16 Some annihilationist Christian denominations were influenced by the Millerite Adventist movement of the mid 19th century These include the Seventh day Adventists Bible Students Christadelphians and various Advent Christian churches Additionally some Protestant and Anglican writers have also proposed annihilationist doctrines The Church of England s Doctrine Commission reported in 1995 that Hell may be a state of total non being not eternal torment 17 Annihilationists base their belief on their exegesis of scripture some early church writings historical criticism of the doctrine of Hell and the concept of God as too loving to torment his creations forever They claim that the popular conceptions of Hell stem from Jewish speculation during the intertestamental period 18 belief in an immortal soul which originated in Greek philosophy and influenced Christian theologians and also graphic and imaginative medieval art and poetry Contents 1 History 1 1 Bible references 1 2 Church Fathers and later 1 3 Roman Catholicism 1 4 Anglicanism 1 5 Millerite and Adventist movement 1 5 1 Seventh day Adventist Church 1 5 2 Church of God 7th day Salem Conference 1 5 3 Others 1 6 1900s onwards 1 7 Conditional immortality 2 Justifications 2 1 Interpretation of scripture 2 2 Cited texts 2 3 Opposing texts 3 Advocates 4 Agnostics 5 Critics opponents 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External linksHistory EditBible references Edit Proponents of annihilationism agree that the Bible teaches that the wicked are punished eternally but they believe that punishment is complete destruction for eternity as opposed to eternal life in torment They see Old Testament passages referring to the finality of judgment and not its duration see Isaiah 66 24 cf 2 Kings 22 17 Isaiah 17 2 7 51 8 Jeremiah 4 4 7 20 21 12 Ezekiel 20 47 48 Malachi 4 1 3 citation needed Similarly the New Testament teaches that the wicked will justly suffer for their sins but the end result will be their destruction cf Luke 16 19 31 Romans 2 8 2 Thessalonians 1 6 19 Other relevant New Testament texts include Matthew 10 28 where Christ speaks of the wicked being destroyed both body and soul in fiery hell or John 3 36 which says that he that believeth not the Son shall not see life Church Fathers and later Edit Christian writers from Tertullian to Luther have held to traditional notions of Hell However the annihilationist position is not without some historical precedent Early forms of annihilationism or conditional immortality are claimed to be found in the writings of Ignatius of Antioch 10 20 d 108 140 Justin Martyr 21 22 d 165 and Irenaeus 10 23 d 202 among others 10 9 However the teachings of Arnobius d 330 are often interpreted as the first to defend annihilationism explicitly 10 One quote in particular stands out in Arnobius second book Against the Heathen Your interests are in jeopardy the salvation I mean of your souls and unless you give yourselves to seek to know the Supreme God a cruel death awaits you when freed from the bonds of body not bringing sudden annihilation but destroying by the bitterness of its grievous and long protracted punishment 24 Eternal Hell torment has been the semiofficial position of the church since approximately the sixth century according to Pinnock 25 Additionally at least one of John Wesley s recorded sermons is often reluctantly understood as implying annihilationism Contrarily the denominations of Methodism which arose through his influence typically do not agree with annihilationism 26 Roman Catholicism Edit Much as certain Church Fathers and Catholic theologians have advocated qualified forms of universalism 27 28 some Catholic theologians have advocated qualified forms of annihilationism as being in line with Catholic teaching 29 30 Concerning the typical doctrinal presentation of Hell the Catechism of the Catholic Church 2nd Edition states 31 1035 The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into Hell where they suffer the punishments of hell eternal fire The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs 1038 The resurrection of all the dead of both the just and the unjust Acts 24 15 will precede the Last Judgment This will be the hour when all who are in the tombs will hear the Son of man s voice and come forth those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment Jn 5 28 29 Then Christ will come in his glory and all the angels with him Before him will be gathered all the nations and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats and he will place the sheep at his right hand but the goats at the left And they will go away into eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life Mt 25 31 32 46 Anglicanism Edit Although the Church of England has through most of its history been closer to John Calvin s doctrine of conscious continuation of the immortal soul citation needed rather than Martin Luther s soul sleep citation needed the doctrine of annihilation of the wicked following a judgment day at a literal return of Christ has had a following in the Anglican Communion In 1945 a report by the Archbishops Commission on Evangelism Towards the conversion of England caused controversy with statements including that Judgment is the ultimate separation of the evil from the good with the consequent destruction of all that opposes itself to God s will 32 Millerite and Adventist movement Edit Recently the doctrine has been most often associated with groups descended from or with influences from the Millerite movement of the mid 19th century These include the Seventh day Adventist Church the Church of God 7th day Salem Conference the Bible Students Jehovah s Witnesses the Christadelphians the followers of Herbert Armstrong and the various Advent Christian churches The Millerite movement consisted of 50 000 to 100 000 people in the United States who eagerly expected the soon return of Jesus and originated around William Miller George Storrs introduced the belief to the Millerites He had been a Methodist minister and antislavery advocate He was introduced to annihilationism when in 1837 he read a pamphlet by Henry Grew He published tracts in 1841 and 1842 arguing for conditionalism and annihilation 33 He became a Millerite and started the Bible Examiner in 1843 to promote these doctrines 34 However most leaders of the movement rejected these beliefs other than Charles Fitch who accepted conditionalism 35 Still in 1844 the movement officially decided these issues were not essential points of belief 36 The Millerites expected Jesus to return around 1843 or 1844 based on Bible texts including Daniel 8 14 and one Hebrew calendar When the most expected date of Jesus return October 22 1844 passed uneventfully the Great Disappointment resulted Followers met in 1845 to discuss the future direction of the movement and were henceforth known as Adventists However they split on the issues of conditionalism and annihilation The dominant group which published the Advent Herald adopted the traditional position of the immortal soul and became the American Evangelical Adventist Conference On the other hand groups behind the Bible Advocate and Second Advent Watchman adopted conditionalism Later the main advocate of conditionalism became the World s Crisis publication which started in the early 1850s and played a key part in the origin of the Advent Christian Church Storrs came to believe the wicked would never be resurrected He and like minded others formed the Life and Advent Union in 1863 36 Seventh day Adventist Church Edit The Seventh day Adventist Church view of Hell is held to be as annihilation rather than eternal burning of the wicked and it is one of its distinctive tenets They hold that the wicked will be lost eternally as they are consumed in the lake of fire rather than eternal suffering and they will perish and cease to exist in the fire The church formed from a small group of Millerite Adventists who kept the Saturday Sabbath and today forms the most prominent Adventist group Ellen G White rejected the immortal soul concept in 1843 Her husband James White along with Joseph Bates formerly belonged to the conditionalist Christian Connection and hinted at this belief in early publications Together the three constitute the primary founders of this denomination Articles appeared in the primary magazine of the movement in the 1850s and two books were published 37 Annihilationism was apparently established in the church by the middle of that decade 36 In the 1860s the group adopted the name Seventh day Adventist and organized more formally D M Canright and Uriah Smith produced later books 36 38 39 A publication with a noticeable impact in the wider Christian world was The Conditionalist Faith of our Fathers 2 vols 1965 1966 by Le Roy Froom 40 It has been described as a classic defense of conditionalism by Clark Pinnock 41 42 It is a lengthy historical work documenting the supporters throughout history Robert Brinsmead an Australian and former Seventh day Adventist best known for his Present Truth Magazine originally sponsored Edward Fudge to write The Fire that Consumes 43 Samuele Bacchiocchi best known for his study From Sabbath to Sunday has defended annihilation 44 Pinnock wrote the foreword The Seventh day Adventist Church s official beliefs support annihilation 45 They hold that the doctrine of Hell as defined by mainstream Christianity is incompatible with the concept that God is love 46 They believe that God loves humans unconditionally and has no destructive intentions for human beings Seventh day Adventists believe that the destructive force of Gehenna is eternal rather than an indication of eternal conscious torment 47 Church of God 7th day Salem Conference Edit According to the Church of God 7th day Salem Conference the dead are unconscious in their graves and immortality is conditional When God formed Adam out of the dust of the ground and before Adam could live God breathed the breath of life into his body And man became a living soul Genesis 2 7 See also Ezekiel 18 4 20 Psalm 146 4 says His man s breath goeth forth he returneth to his earth dust in that very day his thoughts perish No man has ascended to heaven except Jesus Christ John 3 13 48 Others Edit Other supporters have included Charles Frederic Hudson 1860 Edward White 1878 Emmanuel Petavel Olliff 1836 1910 in 1889 and others 49 Early Pentecostal pioneer Charles Fox Parham taught annihilationism 50 1900s onwards Edit Annihilationism seems to be gaining as a legitimate minority opinion within modern conservative Protestant theology since the 1960s and particularly since the 1980s It has found support and acceptance among some British evangelicals although it is viewed with greater suspicion by their American counterparts Recently a handful of evangelical theologians including the prominent evangelical Anglican author John Stott have offered at least tentative support for the doctrine touching off a heated debate within mainstream evangelical Christianity 51 The subject really gained attention in the late 1980s from publications by two evangelical Anglicans John Stott and Philip Hughes 52 Stott advocated annihilationism in the 1988 book Essentials A Liberal Evangelical Dialogue with liberal David Edwards the first time he publicly did so 53 However 5 years later he said that he had been an annihilationist for around fifty years 54 Stott wrote Well emotionally I find the concept of eternal suffering intolerable and do not understand how people can live with it without either cauterizing their feelings or cracking under the strain But our emotions are a fluctuating unreliable guide to truth my question is not what does my heart tell me but what does God s word say 55 Stott argued that the biblical descriptions of Hell only state that Hell itself is eternal not necessarily that sinners damned to Hell will live eternally in suffering 56 pointing also to several biblical references to the destruction of sinners 57 Fundamentally though Stott argues that an eternal punishment for finite crimes would be incompatible with the belief that God will judge people according to what they have done e g Revelation 20 12 which implies that the penalty inflicted will be commensurate with the evil done 58 However despite Stott s personal belief in annihilationism he cautions I do not dogmatize about the position to which I have come I hold it tentatively I believe that the ultimate annihilation of the wicked should at least be accepted as a legitimate biblically founded alternative to their eternal conscious torment 59 Philip Hughes published The True Image in 1989 which has been called o ne of the most significant books in the debate 43 A portion deals with this issue in particular 60 John Wenham s 1974 book The Goodness of God contained a chapter that challenged the traditional church doctrine and it was the first book from an evangelical publishing house to do so 43 61 It was republished later as The Enigma of Evil 62 He contributed a chapter on conditionalism in the 1992 book Universalism and the Doctrine of Hell 63 He later published Facing Hell An Autobiography 1913 1996 which explores the doctrine through an autobiographical approach 64 His interest in the topic stemmed from the 1930s as a student at the University of Cambridge where he was influenced by Basil Atkinson Wenham is best known for his The Elements of New Testament Greek which has been a standard textbook for students He wrote I feel that the time has come when I must declare my mind honestly I believe that endless torment is a hideous and unscriptural doctrine that has been a terrible burden on the mind of the church for many centuries and a terrible blot on her presentation of the gospel I should indeed be happy if before I die I could help in sweeping it away Most of all I should rejoice to see a number of theologians joining in researching this great topic with all its ramifications 65 The Fire that Consumes was published in 1982 by Edward Fudge of the Churches of Christ 66 It was described as the best book by Clark Pinnock a decade later 67 John Gerstner called it the ablest critique of hell by a believer in the inspiration of the Bible 68 Clark Pinnock of McMaster Divinity College has defended annihilation 69 Earlier Atkinson had self published the book Life and Immortality 70 Theologians from Cambridge have been influential in supporting the annihilationist position particularly Atkinson 71 Annihilationism is also the belief of some liberal Christians within mainstream denominations There have been individual supporters earlier Pentecostal healing evangelist William Branham promoted annihilationism in the last few years before his death in 1965 72 The Church of England s Doctrine Commission reported in February 1995 that Hell is not eternal torment The report entitled The Mystery of Salvation states Christians have professed appalling theologies which made God into a sadistic monster Hell is not eternal torment but it is the final and irrevocable choosing of that which is opposed to God so completely and so absolutely that the only end is total non being 73 The British Evangelical Alliance ACUTE report published in 2000 states the doctrine is a significant minority evangelical view that has grown within evangelicalism in recent years 74 A 2011 study of British evangelicals showed 19 disagreed a little or a lot with eternal conscious torment and 31 were unsure 75 Several evangelical reactions to annihilationism were published 76 Another critique was by Paul Helm in 1989 77 In 1990 J I Packer delivered several lectures supporting the traditional doctrine of eternal suffering The reluctance of many evangelicals is illustrated by the fact that proponents of annihilationism have had trouble publishing their doctrines with evangelical publishing houses with Wenham s 1973 book being the first 43 52 Some well respected authors have remained neutral F F Bruce wrote annihilation is certainly an acceptable interpretation of the relevant New Testament passages For myself I remain agnostic 78 Comparatively C S Lewis did not systematize his own beliefs 79 He rejected traditional pictures of the tortures of hell as in The Great Divorce where he pictured it as a drab grey town Yet in The Problem of Pain Lewis sounds much like an annihilationist 80 He wrote But I notice that Our Lord while stressing the terror of hell with unsparing severity usually emphasizes the idea not of duration but of finality Consignment to the destroying fire is usually treated as the end of the story not as the beginning of a new story That the lost soul is eternally fixed in its diabolical attitude we cannot doubt but whether this eternal fixity implies endless duration or duration at all we cannot say 81 The Catechism of the Catholic Church 1992 describes Hell as eternal death para 1861 and elsewhere states that the chief punishment of hell is that of eternal separation from God para 1035 The question is what eternal means in this context Thomas Aquinas following Boethius states that eternity is the full perfect and simultaneous possession of unending life Summa Theologica I question 10 so apparently eternal separation from God is a negative eternity a complete and permanent separation from God In the Collect opening prayer for the eighth Sunday after Pentecost in the Tridentine missal we find the words qui sine te esse non possumus meaning we who without Thee cannot be or exist With this one may compare the Anglican prayer book as the collect for the ninth Sunday after Trinity but stating we who cannot do anything that is good without Thee In the modern ordinary form of the Mass of the Catholic Church the collect is included again used on Thursday in the first week of Lent original research 82 Conditional immortality Edit Main article Christian conditionalism The doctrine is often although not always bound up with the notion of conditional immortality a belief that the soul is not innately immortal They are related yet distinct 83 God who alone is immortal passes on the gift of immortality to the righteous who will live forever in Heaven or on an idyllic Earth or World to Come while the wicked will ultimately face a second death 84 Those who describe or believe in this doctrine may not use annihilationist to define the belief and the terms mortalist and conditionalist are often used Edward Fudge 1982 85 uses annihilationist to refer to both the mortalists and conditionalists who believe in a universal resurrection as well as those groups which hold that not all the wicked will rise to face the New Testament s resurrection of the dead both of the just and unjust Justifications EditInterpretation of scripture Edit Some annihilationists insist that words like destroy destruction perish death must refer to non existence While this interpretation of those terms does not imply the non existence of Hades or the lake of fire this interpretation does require that the suffering of the souls that inhabit it is terminated by their reduction to non existence Adventists and perhaps others then understand the term Hell Hades or lake of fire to refer to the process of destruction not a permanently existing process citation needed Some annihilationists understand there will be suffering in the death process but ultimately the wages of sin is death not eternal existence citation needed Some affirm that Jesus taught limited conscious physical sufferings upon the guilty That servant who knows his master s will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows Luke 12 47 48 Other annihilationists who understand that a loving God would not gratuitously cause the dead to suffer believe this verse refers to those living through the tribulation 2 The adjectives many and few in Luke 12 could not be used if eternal conscious torment was what Jesus was teaching He would have used heavier and lighter if the duration of conscious sufferings were eternal because when the few stripes were over there could be no more suffering By very definition few and many declare not unlimited or eternal sufferings citation needed Annihilationists declare eternal existence and life is a gift gotten only from believing the gospel John 3 16 Paul calls this gift immortality an integral part of the gospel message who hath abolished death and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel 2 Timothy 1 10 If all souls are born immortal then why is humanity encouraged to seek it by Paul To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality eternal life Romans 2 7 And also why would Jesus offer humanity an opportunity to live forever if all live forever If any man eat of this bread he shall live forever John 6 51 citation needed Annihilationism is based on passages that speak of the unsaved as perishing John 3 16 or being destroyed Matthew 10 28 Annihilationists believe that verses speaking of the second death refer to ceasing to exist Opponents of annihilationism argue that the second death is the spiritual death separation from God that occurs after physical death separation of soul and body Annihilationists are quick to point out that spiritual death happens the moment one sins and that it is illogical to believe further separation from God can take place In addition annihilationists claim that complete separation from God conflicts with the doctrine of omnipresence in which God is present everywhere including Hell Some annihilationists accept the position that Hell is a separation from God by taking the position that God sustains the life of his creations when separated from God one simply ceases to exist citation needed Cited texts Edit James 4 12 God alone who gave the law is the Judge He alone has the power to save or to destroy Hebrews 10 39 But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction Philippians 3 18 19 For I have told you often before and I say it again with tears in my eyes that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ 19 They are headed for destruction Psalm 92 7 Though the wicked sprout like weeds and evildoers flourish they will be destroyed forever Psalm 37 20 But the wicked will die they will disappear like smoke Psalm 1 6 For the Lord watches over the path of the godly but the path of the wicked leads to destruction Hebrews 10 26 27 NLT There is only the terrible expectation of God s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies 2 Peter 3 7 for the day of judgment when ungodly people will be destroyed Romans 2 7 He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers Genesis 3 19 For you were made from dust and to dust you will return Psalm 146 4 When they breathe their last they return to the earth and all their plans die with them Ecclesiastes 9 5 For the living know that they shall die but the dead know not any thing neither have they any more a reward for the memory of them is forgotten Ezekiel 18 20 The person who sins is the one who will die 2 Chronicles 28 3 He burned incense in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom and burned his children in the fire according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel the Valley of Ben Hinnom is where the concept of Gehenna or Hell comes from 86 Jeremiah 19 5 They have built pagan shrines to Baal and there they burn their sons as sacrifices to Baal I have never commanded such a horrible deed it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing the Valley of Ben Hinnom is where the concept of Gehenna or Hell comes from 86 Malachi 4 1 4 3 The day of judgment is coming burning like a furnace On that day the arrogant and the wicked will be burned up like straw They will be consumed roots branches and all On the day when I act you will tread upon the wicked as if they were dust under your feet says the Lord of Heaven s Armies Matthew 10 28 And fear not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the soul but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell John 3 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life John 6 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven Anyone who eats this bread will live forever the offer to live forever only makes sense if it were possible to not live forever 2 Thessalonians 1 9 They will be punished with eternal destruction forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power Romans 6 23 For the wages of sin is death 2 Peter 2 6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow having made them an example unto those that should live ungodly Revelation 20 14 15 And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire This is the second death even the lake of fire And if any was not found written in the book of life he was cast into the lake of fire John Wenham a prominent annihilationist has classified the New Testament texts on the fate of the dead citation needed 10 texts 4 Gehenna 26 10 to burning up 59 22 to destruction perdition utter loss or ruin 20 8 to separation from God 25 10 to death in its finality or the second death 108 41 to unforgiven sin where the precise consequence is not stated 15 6 to anguish Wenham claims that just a single verse Revelation 14 11 sounds like eternal torment to him This is out of a total of 264 references 87 Ralph Bowles argues the word order of the verse was chosen to fit a chiastic structure and does not support eternal punishment 88 Opponents of annihilationism however say that there are in fact many bible verses supporting their view 89 Opposing texts Edit Proponents of the traditional Christian doctrine of Hell such as Millard Erickson 90 identify the following biblical texts in support of their doctrine Psalm 52 5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent he will uproot you from the land of the living Psalm 78 66 He beat back his enemies he put them to everlasting shame Isaiah 33 14 The sinners in Zion are terrified trembling grips the godless Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning Isaiah 66 24 And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me the worms that eat them will not die the fire that burns them will not be quenched and they will be loathsome to all mankind Jeremiah 23 40 I will bring on you everlasting disgrace everlasting shame that will not be forgotten Jeremiah 25 9 I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn and an everlasting ruin Daniel 12 2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake some to everlasting life others to shame and everlasting contempt Matthew 8 12 where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth Beings that have been destroyed do not have teeth to gnash Beings in the process of burning up in a fire however do Matthew 10 15 it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment Matthew 11 24 it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you Matthew 18 8 It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire Matthew 22 13 where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth Same as Matt 8 12 Matthew 25 41 Then he will say to those on his left Depart from me you who are cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels Mark 9 46 48 And if your eye causes you to stumble pluck it out It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell where the worms that eat them do not die and the fire is not quenched Revelation 14 11 And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image or for anyone who receives the mark of its name Revelation 20 10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever This verse leads some annihilationists to conclude that while ordinary human unbelievers will be annihilated demons will be tormented forever 2 3 Traditionalist Christians point to biblical references to eternal punishment as well as eternal elements of this punishment such as the unquenchable fire the everlasting shame the worm that never dies and the smoke that rises forever as consistent with the traditional doctrine of eternal conscious torment of the non believers or sinners in Hell An annihilationist response is that the eternal nature of the fire worms and disgrace do not imply eternal conscious torment only that the punishment has eternal consequences 91 Christians who believe in universal reconciliation have also criticized annihilationism using Biblical references Books of the Bible argued to possibly support the idea of full reconciliation include the First Epistle to the Corinthians The sections of 1 Corinthians 15 22 As all die in Adam so all will be made alive in Christ and 1 Corinthians 15 28 God will be all in all are cited 92 93 Verses that seem to contradict the tradition of complete damnation and come up in arguments also include Lamentations 3 31 33 NIV For no one is cast off by the Lord forever Though he brings grief he will show compassion so great is his unfailing love 94 and 1 Timothy 4 10 NIV We have put our hope in the living God who is the Savior of all people and especially of those who believe 95 Advocates EditThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Annihilationism news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message BritishJohn Stott 96 320 John Wenham Michael Green 97 Philip Edgecumbe Hughes Roger Forster Richard Bauckham Basil F C Atkinson Ian Howard Marshall Anthony BuzzardNew ZealandianGlenn PeoplesNorth AmericanClark Pinnock Edward Fudge Greg Boyd Harold Camping Homer Hailey E Earle Ellis Ellen G White Charles Taze Russell Herbert Armstrong John G Stackhouse Jr Joel B Green Doug Batchelor Chris Date Preston Sprinkle Randy FolliardAgnostics EditOthers have remained agnostic not taking a stand on the issue of hell The two listed are also British F F Bruce who described himself as agnostic on this issue N T Wright rejects eternal torment universalism and apparently also annihilation but believes those who reject God will become dehumanized and no longer be in the image of God 98 Critics opponents EditJohn H Gerstner John Piper J I Packer 99 James R White Steven Anderson pastor David Pawson Wayne Grudem R C Sproul Albert Mohler Tim Keller William Lane Craig Millard Erickson Francis Chan Franklin Graham Rick Warren John F MacArthur Mark Driscoll C J Mahaney Heidi Baker Reinhard BonnkeSee also Edit Religion portalOblivion eternal Problem of Hell Soul death Ultimate fate of the universe Universal reconciliation Universalism in a Christian context References Edit Christian faith and life Volumes 16 17 1913 Google eBook p 118 a b McLaughlin Corey J Revelation 20 10 a Devil of a Dilemma for Advent Christians ADVENT CHRISTIAN VOICES Retrieved 14 May 2023 a b Dear Joseph A PRIMER ON REVELATION 20 10 Rethinking Hell Retrieved 14 May 2023 In Defense of the Faith Punishment of the Wicked in Light of the Cross 6 June 2013 Signs of the Times Seventh day Adventists Believe The Millenium and the End of Sin 27 26 HTM David A Reed Answering Jehovah s Witnesses Subject by Subject electronic ed Grand Rapids Baker Book House 1997 a b L E Froom The Condionalist Faith of our Fathers Washington DC Review and Herald 1965 1966 PART IV a b c d e Glenn Peoples History of Hell Hell before Augustine Edwards D L amp Stott J Essentials A Liberal Evangelical Dialogue London Hodder amp Stoughton 1988 pp 313 320 Gore The Religion of the Church Oxford Mowbray 1916 pp 91f Temple W Christus Veritas London Macmillan 1924 p 209 Quick O C Doctrines of the Creed London Nisbet 1933 pp 257f Simon U The End is Not Yet Welwyn Nisbet 1964 pp 206f Caird G B The Revelation of St John the Divine London A and C Black 1966 pp 186f 260 England Doctrine Commission Report on the Mystery of Salvation www anglicannews org Retrieved 2021 09 15 Crockett Four Views on Hell p52 53 he accepts the traditional view page needed Gregory A Boyd and Paul R Eddy Across the Spectrum Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology 2nd ed Grand Rapids MI Baker Academic 2009 286 287 St Ignatius Epistle to the Magnesians Chapter 10 For were He to reward us according to our works we should cease to be Justin Martyr and the Immortality of the Soul St Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho Chapter V some which have appeared worthy of God never die but others are punished so long as God wills them to exist and to be punished Chapter VI Now the soul partakes of life since God wills it to live Thus then it will not even partake of life when God does not will it to live For to live is not its attribute as it is God s but as a man does not live always and the soul is not forever conjoined with the body since whenever this harmony must be broken up the soul leaves the body and the man exists no longer even so whenever the soul must cease to exist the spirit of life is removed from it and there is no more soul but it goes back to the place from whence it was taken St Irenaeus Against Heresies Book II Chapter 34 3 paragraph he who shall preserve the life bestowed upon him and give thanks to Him who imparted it shall receive also the length of days forever and ever But he who shall reject it and prove himself ungrateful to his Maker inasmuch as he has been created and has not recognized Him who bestowed the gift upon him deprives himself of the privilege of continuance forever and ever And for this reason the Lord declared to those who showed themselves ungrateful towards Him If you have not been faithful in that which is little who will give you that which is great indicating that those who in this brief temporal life have shown themselves ungrateful to Him who bestowed it shall justly not receive from Him length of days forever and ever Arnobius Against the Heathen Book II paragraph 61 last sentence Pinnock Fire then Nothing p40 This comment was made in regard to Calvinism and their insistence that some were pre destined to receive Christ and others to be eternally punished How much weight this statement of Wesley s should be placed on his idea of eternal condemnation remains debated Actually the terminology being destroyed body and soul in hell is from the lips of Jesus Matthew 10 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell SERMON 128 Preached at Bristol in the year 1740 John Wesley Sermon 128 FREE GRACE Archived from the original on 2000 11 15 Retrieved 2014 11 26 Wild Robert 2015 A Catholic Reading Guide to Universalism Wipf and Stock Publishers ISBN 9781498223188 von Balthasar Hans Urs 1988 Dare We Hope that All Men be Saved With A Short Discourse on Hell Ignatius Press ISBN 9780898702071 Wild Robert 2016 A Catholic Reading Guide to Conditional Immortality The Third Alternative to Hell and Universalism Wipf and Stock Publishers ISBN 9781498297271 Griffiths Paul 2014 Decreation The Last Things of All Creatures Baylor University Press ISBN 9781481302296 United States Catholic Conference 2000 Catechism of the Catholic Church Libreria Editrice Vaticana Towards the conversion of England Church of England Commission on evangelism 1946 but gives the idea that everyone goes to heaven when he dies 198 During their earlier years children have to learn how to discriminate between the world of experience and the world of imagination An Inquiry Are the Souls of the Wicked Immortal In Three Letters 1841 Six Sermons on the Inquiry Is there Immortality in Sin and Suffering 1842 followed by several later versions reprint Archived 2010 10 07 at the Wayback Machine It had the motto No immortality or endless life except through Jesus Christ alone Sources Lest We Forget 1 4 1991 George Storrs 1796 1879 A Biographical Sketch Archived 2010 10 09 at the Wayback Machine HarvestHerald com Retrieved June 2010 Letter from Fitch to Storrs January 25 1844 a b c d Gary Land Conditional Immortality entry in Historical Dictionary of the Seventh day Adventists Scarecrow 2005 p68 69 Roswell F Cottrell Review and Herald 1853 the first clear statement James White Destruction of the Wicked series Review and Herald 1854 1 D P Hall articles in 1854 republished as the book Man Not Immortal 1854 J N Loughborough series republished as Is the Soul Immortal 1856 D M Canright History of the Doctrine of the Immortality of the Soul 1871 page needed Uriah Smith Man s Nature and Destiny 1884 page needed Le Roy Froom and team The Conditionalist Faith of our Fathers 2 vols Washington D C Review and Herald 1965 66 online link See also article series in the Review One pair of reviews is Alfred Felix Vaucher The History of Conditionalism Andrews University Seminary Studies 4 2 July 1966 p193 200 Vol II He considers it of greatest use to theologians and other readers and presents only few reservations for such a voluminous work It is aimed at English readers and thus focuses on Great Britain and America Vaucher expounds on continental European supporters He disagrees with the inclusion of the Waldenses as conditionals and other descriptions of their history Vaucher review in Andrews University Seminary Studies 5 1967 p202 204 Vol I Vaucher praises Froom s erudition as a monumental work without rival He questions whether several individuals should be claimed for conditionalism or that the Pharisees taught an immortal soul He challenged the preaching tone of books and related artwork Clark Pinnock The Conditional View p147 footnote 21 in William Crockett ed Four Views on Hell Grand Rapids Michigan Zondervan 1992 Vaucher Alfred Felix 1966 The History of Conditionalism Andrews University Seminary Studies 4 193 200 ISSN 0003 2980 Archived from the original on 2011 07 21 Retrieved 2010 06 23 a b c d Brian P Phillips Annihilation or endless torment Ministry 69 8 August 1996 p15 17 18 Samuele Bacchiocchi Hell Eternal Torment or Annihilation Archived 2015 02 16 at the Wayback Machine chapter 6 in Immortality Or Resurrection Biblical Perspectives 1997 ISBN 1 930987 12 9 ISBN 978 1 930987 12 8 page needed Fundamental Beliefs Archived 2006 03 10 at the Wayback Machine 1980 webpage from the official church website See 25 Second Coming of Christ 26 Death and Resurrection 27 Millennium and the End of Sin and 28 New Earth The earlier 1872 and 1931 statements also support conditionalism 1 John 4 8 1 John 4 16 The Handbook of Seventh day Adventist Theology 2000 from the Commentary Reference Series page needed http www churchofgod 7thday org Publications Doctrinal 20Points 20Final 20Proof pdf full citation needed permanent dead link White Edward 1878 Life in Christ A Study of the Scripture Doctrine On the Nature of Man the Object of the Divine Incarnation and the Conditions of Human Immortality E Stock edward white life in christ White does posit an intermediate conscious state of the soul pace the standard conditional immortality belief that the dead are unconscious Petavel Emmanuel 1892 The Problem of Immortality E Stock petavel immortality Petavel Emmanuel 1889 The Extinction of Evil Three Theological Essays C H Woodman Emmanuel Petavel Olliff Three early essays from one of the classical advocates of conditional immortality a French author See especially Appendix 1 Answers to Objections Urged Against the Doctrine of the Gradual Extinction of Obdurate Sinners beginning on page 147 of the book Hudson Charles Frederic 1857 Debt and Grace as Related to a Doctrine of the Future Life See Hudson s book Christ Our Life below for an expanded biblical defense Hudson Charles Frederic 1860 Christ Our Life The Scriptural Argument for Immortality Through Christ Alone J P Jewett charles frederic hudson debt Howell Greg A CHARLES FOX PARHAM S THEOLOGICAL UNDERBELLY ANNIHILATIONISM 8 TH DAY CREATIONISM AND PRE MILLENIAL ZIONISM a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help John Stott A Global Ministry by Timothy Dudley Smith p353 a b J I Packer Spring 1997 Evangelical Annihilationism in Review PDF pp 37 51 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a work ignored help Essentials A Liberal Evangelical Dialogue by David L Edwards with a response from John Stott 1988 p314 313 320 In 1993 John Stott A Global Ministry 354 Essentials p314 Essentials p316 18 Essentials p315 16 Essentials p318 Essentials p320 Philip Edgcumbe Hughes The True Image The Origin and Destiny of Man in Christ Grand Rapids Eerdmans and Leicester United Kingdom Inter Varsity Press 1989 p398 407 As cited by Packer and Pinnock John Wenham The Goodness of God London InterVarsity Press 1974 John Wenham The Enigma of Evil Britain InterVarsity Press 1985 a 2nd edition A new edition with an extended chapter on the debate was published by Eagle books in 1994 from Guilford England As cited by Phillips Wenham The Case for Conditional Immortality in N M S Cameron ed Universalism and the Doctrine of Hell Grand Rapids Baker Book House 1992 A report on the Fourth Edinburgh Conference on Christian Dogmatics John Wenham Facing Hell An Autobiography 1913 1996 Paternoster Press 1998 Wenham in Universalism and the Doctrine of Hell p190 191 as quoted by Phillips Edward W Fudge The Fire that Consumes A Biblical and Historical Study of Final Punishment Houston Providential 1982 Author s webpage Archived March 25 2010 at the Wayback Machine Fudge is a member of the Churches of Christ Four Views on Hell p137 footnote 5 As cited by Phillips An early article was Pinnock Fire then Nothing Christianity Today March 20 1987 p40 41 He lists the evangelical authors who persuaded him as Stott Fudge Hughes and Green as cited elsewhere in this article and Stephen Travis I Believe in the Second Coming of Christ Grand Rapids Eerdmans 1982 p196 199 Listed in Four Views on Hell p137 footnote 5 Basil F C Atkinson Life and Immortality An Examination of the Nature and Meaning of Life and Death as They Are Revealed in the Scriptures Taunton England printed by E Goodman 196 As cited by Phillips and WorldCat John Stott A Global Ministry p353 An Exposition of the Seven Church Ages 1965 133 135 The Revelation of the Seven Seals 1967 487 Church of England The Mystery of Salvation The Doctrine Commission of the General Synod 1995 p199 published by Church House Publishing London 1995 copyrighted by The Central Board of Finance of the Church of England 1995 ISBN 0 7151 3778 6 Evangelical Alliance Alliance Commission on Unity and Truth among Evangelicals 2000 Conclusions and Recommendations In Hilborn David ed The Nature of Hell London Paternoster Publishing pp 130 5 ISBN 978 0 9532992 2 5 Archived from the original on 2012 02 22 Retrieved 2010 06 28 21st Century Evangelicals A snapshot of the beliefs and habits of evangelical Christians in the UK Archived 2011 01 16 at the Wayback Machine Evangelical Alliance and Christian Research 2011 p9 Eryl Davies The Wrath of God Evangelical Movement of Wales W G T Shedd The Doctrine of Endless Punishment was reissued by Banner of Truth Trust As cited by Phillips Paul Helm The Last Things Death Judgment Heaven and Hell Banner of Truth 1989 Letter from F F Bruce to John Stott in 1989 as quoted in John Stott A Global Ministry 354 According to F F Bruce in his foreword to Edward Fudge The Fire That Consumes p viii Pinnock The Conditional View in Crockett p150 incl footnote 28 C S Lewis The Problem of Pain London and Glasgow Collins 1940 p114 115 emphasis in original Zuhlsdorf Fr John WDTPRS Thursday in the 1st Week of Lent Posted on 17 March 2011 Essentials p316 Rev 2 11 20 6 20 14 21 8 Edward Fudge The Fire That Consumes A Biblical and Historical Study of Final Punishment Houston Providential Press 1982 a b Crockett William V 1992 Four Views on Hell Grand Rapids Mich Zondervan ISBN 9780310533115 chapter 6 Hell Not Endless in The Enigma of Evil by John Wenham p68 92 esp 81 83 Quotations are Wenham s terms not the Bible s necessarily The first edition of the book was titled The Goodness of God but contained little or none of this discussion Bowles Ralph G 2000 Does Revelation 14 11 Teach Eternal Torment Examining a Proof text on Hell PDF Evangelical Quarterly 73 1 21 36 doi 10 1163 27725472 07301004 S2CID 252293448 Ortlund Gavin J I Packer on Why Annihilationism Is Wrong The Gospel Coalition Retrieved 2020 11 10 Millard Erickson Christian Theology 2nd Ed Grand Rapids Baker Academic 1998 pp1242 1244 Sotak Max H 1996 Damning assumptions What advocates of endless torment take for granted ProQuest 304282290 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Richard Bauckham Universalism a historical survey Themelios 4 2 September 1978 47 54 Fisher David A December 2011 The Question of Universal Salvation Will All Be Saved PDF The Maronite Voice Volume VII Issue No XI Archived from the original PDF on May 8 2013 Retrieved July 2 2014 Lamentations 3 31 33 NIV Bible Gateway 1 Timothy 4 10 NIV Bible Gateway Edwards David Lawrence Stott John R W 1989 Evangelical Essentials A Liberal evangelical Dialogue InterVarsity Press ISBN 978 0 8308 1285 1 Retrieved 24 October 2022 Michael Green Evangelism Through the Local Church London Hodder and Stoughton 1990 p69 70 N T Wright Surprised by Hope chapter 11 Purgatory Paradise Hell preview Archived 2008 03 04 at the Wayback Machine as cited elsewhere Ortlund Gavin J I Packer on Why Annihilationism Is Wrong The Gospel Coalition Retrieved 24 October 2022 Further reading EditVarious doctrines about hell William Crockett ed Four Views on Hell Edward Fudge and Robert Peterson Two Views of Hell A Biblical amp Theological Dialogue Downers Grove Illinois InterVarsity Press 2000 Neusner Jacob Avery Peck Alan Jeffery 2000 Judaism in Late Antiquity Part Four Death Life After Death Resurrection and the World To Come in the Judaisms of Antiquity Leiden The Netherlands Brill p 342 ISBN 978 90 04 11262 9 Advocates of Annihilationism Bacchiocchi Samuele 1997 Immortality or Resurrection A Biblical Study on Human Nature and Destiny PDF Berrien Springs Michigan Biblical Perspectives ISBN 978 1 930987 12 8 OCLC 38849060 Clark Pinnock The Destruction of the Finally Impenitent Criswell Theological Review 4 2 1990 p243 259 Reprinted in A Journal from the Radical Reformation 2 1 Fall 1992 p4 21Critics of Annihilationism Stanley Grenz Directions Is Hell Forever Christianity Today 42 11 October 5 1998 p Christopher W Morgan and Robert A Peterson eds Hell Under Fire Modern Scholarship Reinvents Eternal Punishment Zondervan 2004 ISBN 0 310 24041 7 ISBN 978 0 310 24041 9 Robert A Peterson Hell on Trial The Case for Eternal Punishment P amp R Publishing 1995 ISBN 0 87552 372 2 ISBN 978 0 87552 372 9External links Edit Look up annihilationism in Wiktionary the free dictionary SupportiveRethinkingHell com Exploring evangelical conditionalism Afterlife co nz The Conditional Immortality Association of New Zealand Inc is a non profit organization established to promote a Biblical understanding of human nature life death and eternity as taught throughout Scripture Jewish not Greek Shows how Biblical hermeneutics proves annihilationism and not the Greek philosophical belief in innate immortality Critical Hell Eternity of Hell in Catholic Encyclopedia Evangelicals and the Annihilation of Hell Part 1 Part 2 by Alan W Gomes Note the article incorrectly states Edward Fudge is from the Adventist tradition Undying Worm Unquenchable Fire by Robert A Peterson Christianity Today 44 12 October 23 2000 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Annihilationism amp oldid 1163496533, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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