Why is it called "Annihilationism"? (I have not heard the term before.)
Annihilationism is the minority Christian doctrine that sinners are destroyed rather than tormented forever in hell. 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. Annhilationism 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 hell before being annihilated, others that hell is a false doctrine of pagan origin.
Annihilationist denominations include the Seventh-day Adventists, Bible Students, Jehovah's Witnesses, and the various Advent Christian churches. Some Protestant and Anglican[1] writers have also proposed annihilationist doctrines. Annihilationists base the doctrine on their exegesis of scripture, some early church writing, historical criticism of the doctrine of hell, and the concept of God as too loving to punish his creatures forever.