annihilationism

[uh-nahy-uh-ley-shuhn-iz-uhm]

noun

Theology.

1. the teaching or belief that the souls of the wicked or unrepentant will cease to exist after death or after the Last Judgment, rather than undergo eternal torment in hell.

Other Word Forms

• annihilationist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of annihilationism¹

First recorded in 1830–40; annihilation ( def. ) + -ism ( def. )

Example Sentences

He says evidence shows their policies toward "other 'racial aliens' hint toward a goal of racial annihilationism".

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Fudge is among those who endorse an alternative doctrine, known as “annihilationism” or “conditional immortality,” which holds that, after death, sinners simply cease to exist, while those who are saved enjoy eternal life under God’s grace.

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Contemporary theologians generally credit Irenaeus of Lyons, a second-century bishop, as the intellectual forefather of annihilationism.

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“If people lied to us, disobeyed us, or spoke against us, would they be worthy of death?” writes theologian Robert Peterson, a prominent critic of annihilationism.

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This view, called “conditional immortality” or sometimes the more macabre “annihilationism,” is in direct opposition to the traditional Christian view that suffering in hell lasts forever.

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