Annihilationism is the belief that sinners are destroyed, rather than tormented forever in "hell" as in the lake of fire. It is directly related to the doctrine of conditional immortality, the idea that a human soul is not immortal unless it is given eternal life. Annihilationism asserts that God will eventually destroy or annihilate the wicked, leaving only the righteous to live on in immortality. Some annihilationists believe the wicked will be punished for their sins in the lake of fire before being annihilated, others that hell is a false doctrine of pagan origin. [1]
Though a minority view, some Protestant and Anglican writers holds this view. 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 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.[2]
Stott advocated the view in the 1988 book Essentials: A Liberal-Evangelical Dialogue with liberal David Edwards, the first time he publicly did so.[3] However 5 years later he said he had held this view for around fifty years.[4] Stott wrote, "Well, emotionally, I find the concept intolerable and do not understand how people can live with it without either cauterising their feelings or cracking under the strain."[5] Yet he considers emotions unreliable, and affords supreme authority to the Bible.[6] Stott supports annihilation, yet cautions, "I do not dogmatise 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.[7]
J.I Packer, the well known Anglican theologian offers a review of Evangelical Annihilationism in his article “Evangelical Annihilationism in Review”. In it after briefly dealing with what Evangelicalism is and making two theological and pastoral caveats, Packer enlists four common arguments made in favor of Annihilationism. To each of these arguments Packer makes his brief responses too.
Evangelical Annihilationism in Review Read | Download pdf
Footnotes
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[1] Annihilationism, Wikipedia
[2] John Stott: A Global Ministry by Timothy Dudley-Smith, p353
[3] Essentials: A Liberal-Evangelical Dialogue by David L. Edwards with a response from John Stott. 1988, p314 [313–320]
[4] In 1993. John Stott: A Global Ministry, p354
[5] Essentials, p314
[6] Essentials, p314–15
[7] Essentials, p320
