Annihilationism
In Christianity, annihilationism is the belief that after the Last Judgment, all damned humans and fallen angels including Satan will be totally destroyed and their consciousness extinguished. Annihilationism stands in contrast to both the belief in eternal torment and to the universalist belief that everyone will be saved. Partial annihilationism holds that unsaved humans are obliterated but demonic beings suffer forever.
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 and 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. Jehovah's Witnesses believe that there can be no punishment after death because the dead cease to exist.
The belief in annihilationism has appeared throughout Christian history and was defended by several Church Fathers, but it has often been in the minority. It experienced a resurgence in the 1980s when several prominent theologians including John Stott 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, William Temple, 98th Archbishop of Canterbury ; Oliver Chase Quick, Chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Ulrich Ernst Simon, and G. B. Caird.
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.
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, belief in an immortal soul which originated in Greek philosophy and influenced Christian theologians, and also graphic and imaginative medieval art and poetry.
History
Old Testament
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. Appealed to here are references to an "unquenchable fire" and "undying worm" in the Old Testament, which refer to the finality of judgement. Similarly, the New Testament teaches that the wicked will justly suffer for their sins, but the result will be their destruction.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, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus, among others. However, the teachings of Arnobius are often interpreted as the first to defend annihilationism explicitly. One quote, in particular, stands out in Arnobius' second book Against the Heathen:Dr. Graham Keith of Scotland, in his article "Patristic Views on Hell", notes the following: "Indeed, a century or so after Constantine we have a surprising amount of evidence indicating widespread denial of eternal punishment within the church."
Eternal torment has been "the semiofficial position of the church since approximately the sixth century", according to Pinnock.
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.
Roman Catholicism
As much as certain Church Fathers and Catholic theologians have advocated qualified forms of universalism, some Catholic theologians have advocated qualified forms of annihilationism as being in line with Catholic teaching. Concerning the typical doctrinal presentation of Hell, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Edition, states: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, 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."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 – Salem Conference, the Bible Students, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Christadelphians, the followers of Herbert Armstrong, and the various Advent Christian churches.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. He became a Millerite, and started the Bible Examiner in 1843 to promote these doctrines. However most leaders of the movement rejected these beliefs, other than Charles Fitch who accepted conditionalism. Still, in 1844 the movement officially decided these issues were not essential points of belief.
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 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.
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church view of Hell is held to be as annihilation 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. Annihilationism was apparently established in the church by the middle of that decade. D. M. Canright and Uriah Smith produced later books.
A publication with a noticeable impact in the wider Christian world was The Conditionalist Faith of our Fathers by Le Roy Froom. It has been described by Clark Pinnock as "a classic defense of conditionalism". 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.
Samuele Bacchiocchi, best known for his study From Sabbath to Sunday, has defended annihilation. Pinnock wrote the foreword.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church's official beliefs support annihilation. They hold that the doctrine of Hell as defined by mainstream Christianity is incompatible with the concept that God is love. 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.