Annihilation

Babu G. Ranganathan writes in his blog

http://bgrnathan.blogspot.com/2010/04/traditional-doctrine-of-hell-has-greek_03.html

Although I am a conservative Christian (Reformed Baptist), I no longer believe that the Bible teaches or supports the traditional view of hell with its doctrine of eternal torment or suffering. 

The Bible does teach eternal punishment, but that eternal punishment ultimately is not eternal suffering. 

God's righteous wrath is not an end in itself but a means to an end - that end being the total and literal destruction of the wicked. Neither will God allow sin to exist for eternity by keeping sinners alive for eternity in hell. Neither is eternal torment necessary for God to satisfy His eternal justice.

It is sad that we have to affirm our conservation view of scripture before we write about our understanding that  the Bible that teaches the doctrine of annihilation.

By no means is the doctrine of conditional immortality new teaching. A minority of Christians, of various denominations, have held to this view of hell throughout the centuries. Even some very prominent Christians of the past have held to this view and there are a number (albeit a minority) of Christian theologians and scholars in the present who hold to this view. However, this view on hell, unfortunately, is known so little outside the Christian community and even inside the Christian community for that matter. 

But the more bloggers that do affirm their conversation view the more it will be accepted within the range of orthodoxy. It is encouraging to see more and more people taking a fresh look at the issue of hell and to be reminded again there are many who have gone before who have held this view despite opposition.

tags: afterlife, soul sleep, annihilation, conditional immortality