Former actor-turned-evangelist Kirk Cameron has revealed that he no longer believes in ‘eternal conscious torment’ for the wicked, which he suggests is “cruel and unusual punishment.” Instead, he revealed he leans strongly towards annihilationism, saying: “It fits the character of God.”
Appearing with his son on Episod 86 of the Kirk Cameron Show, he argues:
“The Bible, particularly in the Old Testament, never talks about the eternality, immortality of the wicked souls. The only ones who have immortal souls are those who are granted eternal life. And that’s only believers.
Jesus died so that we could have eternal life. But do the wicked have eternal life in hell? And if they do, why does the Old Testament describe the fate of the wicked in the opposite terms? For example, the Old Testament describes the fate of the wicked with three words, ‘death’, ‘perish’ and ‘destroy.’
The soul that sins. It shall die. It will perish. It will be destroyed, which is like the ending of life, not the ongoing life forever in punishment.”
He continues:
When you look at God’s judgment upon individuals or on nations, cities, empires, he says they’re gone. Like, the symbolism is scorched earth, destroyed, gone, and their name is remembered no more. You know, the jackals and the owls will come and inhabit their land.
And they’re not coming back. It’s like forever. Which really is a better description of dying, of perishing. Not being granted eternal life so that you can be tormented forever. That doesn’t seem to fit.
We give someone lethal injection, we do it humanely. “Humanely.” We can’t have cruel and unusual punishments for people, but an eternal conscious torment?
That would by definition in human terms be considered ‘cruel and unusual punishment.’ Does God not have a merciful and compassionate way to meet out his justice?
Cameron concludes:
So my position as it stands today…I used to hold the position of ‘conscious eternal torment’ because that’s just what I was taught by people that I love and trust. I’ve learned that there are other positions and a very robust argument can be made for conditionalism or annihilationism as Edward Fudge posits here.
And it fits the character of God, in my understanding, more than the conscious eternal torment position, because it brings in the mercy of God together with the justice of God. It doesn’t leave judgment out. It is just, but it also fits with the Old Testament picture of the fate of the wicked, which is to be destroyed. It is to die and it is to perish, not live forever in an eternal barbecue.
And the classic verses that used to get me into eternal torment, you know, the punishment, everlasting punishment, everlasting destruction, fits beautifully with a destruction, punishment, judgment that is irreversible and lasts forever. That is the eternalness of that punishment and that destruction. So that’s where I am today.
Here is a longer video, with more context, as Kirk and his son work through different bible verses and arguments. pic.twitter.com/su4XSPyOLq
— Protestia (@Protestia) December 6, 2025
