Annihilationism
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Annihilationism (from Latin annihilÅ) is a Christian belief that apart from salvation the final punishment of human beings results in their total destruction (annihilation) rather than their everlasting torment. 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 (e.g. Seventh-day Adventists), others that hell is a false doctrine of pagan origin (e.g. Jehovah's Witnesses). It stands in contrast to the traditional and long standing view of eternal torment, and the view that everyone will be saved (universal reconciliation or simply "universalism").
