Antinomian

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Pronunciation: /æntiˈnoʊmi.ən/

Definitions

1. Rejecting moral law as unnecessary for salvation, believing faith alone frees one from ethical obligations
2. A belief system that asserts faith is sufficient for salvation while dismissing the necessity of moral laws and ethical conduct in spiritual practice
3. An ideology that posits liberation from moral laws through faith, thus considering ethical obligations irrelevant for attaining salvation

Etymology: The Greek prefix "anti-" meant "against" and "nomos" meant "law" or "custom," so the word's literal sense is "against law." The term was first applied to a specific religious controversy rather than to a general attitude. Medieval Latin "Antinomi," a plural form, names the people who held that Christians, saved by faith, were freed from the obligation to keep the moral law, and the word passed into English as a label for that position. The idea behind the term was controversial within Protestant theology, where some believers argued that grace made good works unnecessary for salvation. Critics used the label to brand these views as dangerous, and the word carried that accusation with it. As an adjective it describes the same doctrine or the people who held it, so the word works both as a name for the belief and for a believer.