antinomian

[an-ti-noh-mee-uhn]

noun

1. a person who maintains that Christians, by virtue of divine grace, are freed not only from biblical law and church-prescribed behavioral norms, but also from all moral law.

antinomian

/ ˌæntɪˈnəʊmɪən /

adjective

1. relating to the doctrine that by faith and the dispensation of grace a Christian is released from the obligation of adhering to any moral law

noun

1. a member of a Christian sect holding such a doctrine

Other Word Forms

• antinomianism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of antinomian¹

First recorded in 1635–45; from Medieval Latin Antinom(ī) name of sect (plural of Antinomus “opponent of (the moral) law,” from Greek antí anti- + nómos “law”) + -ian

Example Sentences

Versions of the antinomian controversy raged throughout Christian history, debated by theologians and enacted by various groups.

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Hutchinson spoke about her religious convictions in ways that convinced authorities she was an antinomian, someone who believed she received direct revelation from God.

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By teaching that victory is the only morality, many evangelical leaders seem to be enjoying the wild, antinomian party.

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Here, the tramp is truly the other: rather than a projection of our fears, he’s a realisation of our romantically antinomian fantasies.

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Reinforcing this problematic view, Brown presents Shiite Muslims, rationalist Mu’tazila theologians and antinomian Sufis chiefly as disruptive outsiders against whom Sunni jurists must struggle to preserve Islam’s integrity.

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