Suicide - Sin or No

[Sarah Louise]

Well stated Kristi, I agree.

Suicide is an act of desperation.  We don't always have control over feelings of that type and most times others around us don't have time or are not interested in stepping in to help.

I have had to clean up after someone who did it, that is one thing that prevents me from that act, no matter how close I get I always worry about those who have to clean up my mess.

I have a friend who's son recently did it, after almost a year the mother has not recovered from it.

Sarah L.

[carol_w]

Very well stated, Kristi.  And like you, I've faced "that music" before.  Like you, I couldn't do it because I realized that the family is the one left behind to deal with the damage.

My mother was terminally ill and not in full control of her faculties when she overdosed on pain medication.  To this day, I believe that she's in heaven, that she's been forgiven for not completely realizing what she did at the time.  But it took a while for me for accept the truth, and for a long time, I was left in a quandry of doubt.  Did she sin?  Only to the extent that it was still "her time" to go, I finally concluded. 

Carol

[bethzerosix]

ok.. im a christian.... so this will be kind of christian.

i think that a lot of people misunderstand god. and misunderstand sin. most people who think of christianity think of an angry vengeful god. god is the opposite. God is love. love covers a multitude of sin. christ died to remove sin.

is it possible to go to heaven with sin in your heart or on your hands...  yes. everyone since the beginning has sinned EXCEPT christ.

the problem with suicide is that it is a complete loss of hope and faith. both of which are hard to have if you think god hates you. the things that please god are love and faith. "good works" are a by product of love and faith, not a way of building a stairway to heaven.

so is suicide a sin?  (missing the mark, missing the point) probably (because God loves you very much and has wonderful plans for you). is  it forgivable? yes. from my understanding of the bible there is only ONE unforgivable sin. jesus refers to it as blaspheming against the Holy spirit. the best explanation that i have ever heard is that it means rejecting christ.  a lot of people..especially  christians get too caught up in the sin/law side of things... when what it is really about is the love... its all about the love.

[ErickaM]

I recall an interview with Billy Graham a few years after his son committed suicide and he was saying how Oral Roberts came to him & his wife showed them in the Bible were suicide is not a sin because at the moment of the act the person is not in their right mind and God does not hold that against a person.  I'm sorry I don't remember chapter and verse that Oral Roberts used but I'm sure he knew what he was talking about.  So no it is not a sin, I hope this helps.

[Wing Walker]

I recall an interview with Billy Graham a few years after his son committed suicide and he was saying how Oral Roberts came to him & his wife showed them in the Bible were suicide is not a sin because at the moment of the act the person is not in their right mind and God does not hold that against a person.  I'm sorry I don't remember chapter and verse that Oral Roberts used but I'm sure he knew what he was talking about.  So no it is not a sin, I hope this helps.

Random thoughts on a specific question:

1/  I leave the judging to the Great Spirit.  The Book of Proverbs says that, "The crucible is for silver, and the furnace for gold, but God tests the hearts of people."

2/  God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God and God in them.  I believe that to be true so I will always have the guidance of my Creator in all matters, especially one as elemental as my own living and breathing.

3/  I am not for assisted suicide as it is another step towards eugenics.  Just my opinion.

4/  I see suicide as the most desperate of actions in this world.  I leave it to God to judge the person who commits suicide. It is not something that I ever see myself considering.

Respectful of everyone else's opinions, I remain,

Sincerely,

Wing Walker

[shanetastic]

Regarding number four Wing Walker.

Could god influence a person enough to commit suicide, hence God causing the person to take their own life? 

[Wing Walker]

Regarding number four Wing Walker.

Could god influence a person enough to commit suicide, hence God causing the person to take their own life? 

Hi, Shanetastic,

Regardless of what one might believe about the existence of the Supreme Being, I believe that the choice of life and death in this dimension is ours because we have free will. My belief is that God creates and, therefore, does not endorse suicide.

Let's remember that this is my opinion and like every other opinion, needs no defense.

Wing Walker

[shanetastic]

I understand completely.  I was just curious as to your opinion on the subject, so thanks for taking the time to answer Wing Walker.  Much appreciated.

[Wing Walker]

I understand completely.  I was just curious as to your opinion on the subject, so thanks for taking the time to answer Wing Walker.  Much appreciated.

I am most humbled and you are most welcome, Shanetastic. 

Whether we work to fathom what infinity or eternity is like or we wonder what the Supreme Being might do, we are limited by the fact that we are wrestling with an unlimited entity using the best of our limited minds.

It never hurts to ask or to ponder, just know that we as finite beings in this world have limits.

Again, my opinion gained by my experience.

Sincerely,

Wing Walker

[Lisbeth]

Intentionally leaving unfinished business behind you is a sin.  Traumatising your loved ones when they find your corps is a sin.  Forcing the grief of your passing onto your family and friends is a sin.  The bare act of dying is insignificant compared to these other things.

[Ms Jessica]

Being careful not to misinterpret or apply this too broadly, (i.e. the use of the word certainly here is important), Martin Luther said,
"I don't have the opinion that suicides are certainly to be damned. My reason is that they do not wish to kill themselves but are overcome by the power of the devil."

[lisagurl]

Once you are dead it should not matter to you. It is the living that have to deal with your mess.

[Wing Walker]

Is suicide a sin?
According to the Bible?
Most Christians just reference the commandment 'Thou shalt not kill' in response to this question.
Or 'thy body is thy temple'.
Those scriptures are vague.

Is God really against suicide?
Is it a sin?
Will a person burn in hell for it?

This includes assisted 'Kavorkianesque' suicide as well.
Is wanting to be free from pain, to descend into a world of nothingness, so wrong?

And please spare me the alleged 'selfish' aspect of suicide. This is about sin, nothing more.
Non-believers welcome if they have something to contribute other than the standard 'I don't believe in God' statements.

Hi, Nero,

My family has been Christian since about 950 C.E.

I have no intention of committing suicide or participating in a Kavorkianesque sort of thing.  As I have no intent or desire for suicide, I have no problem, however, for those who *do* take their own lives, I leave it up to their Creator, my Creator, to be the judge.  Last I heard, the Creator was still the judge.

Have some fun with the conundrum of capital punishment.  Who faces judgment on what?  Is the state liable to Divine judgment for an execution?  What of the soul of the murderer?  I am glad that I am not the Supreme being thinking these thoughts in this human mind and human body.  Really, I don't even want to think about "playing God." It hurts my head.

Is there really a "just war?"

Wing Walker

[cindybc]

I went to Catholic church for my mom and dad's sake, well it was more for my dad. So I continued attending church until I was at age of 16. I sat taking up a space on a pew so it felt, always near the back of the church. So there I sat, bored out of my gourde, I would count flies in the windows and whatever else that caught my fancy outside in the Church's front yard. Well once I was *16*, old enough to make my own decisions, well needles to say that it would be the last time anyone would see my body back in a church, unless my body had contracted a bad case of riggamortis. I just plane didn't like attending church, it was boring. But through the years since I have picked up many pieces of different beliefs, cultures and different forms of religions as well as from the Bible and Qabalah which all helped to enhanced and helped me to better understand the higher power of my understanding. A learning from my own perception which was ongoing from day to day. Some call it the awakening consciousness.

Cindy     

[Chaunte]

Nero,

This is a hard question...

Suicide is often the result when the pain of living equals or outweighs the pain of dying.  Suicide can also be seen as a way of balancing the books, if you will.  It can appear to be a way of paying for the pain that you have inflicted on others by inflicting it on yourself.  When either point is reached, suicide can sing a Siren's song - one that is warm and beckoning.  When both ideas are in play, it is very hard to resist. 

If there is a sin, it would be in losing faith that the Almighty will help you out of the depths of the darkness that brings a person to suicide.  I would like to think that the Almighty would be disappointed, but wouldn't condem you to eternal damnation.

Chaunte

[Ell]

Nero: Is suicide a sin?
ellie: yeah.

Nero: According to the Bible?
ellie: yeah.

Nero: Most Christians just reference the commandment 'Thou shalt not kill' in response to this question. Or 'thy body is thy temple'. Those scriptures are vague.
ellie: your life is as just as valuable as any other life. to take one's own life is still killing. it's not at all vague.

Nero: Is God really against suicide?
ellie: yeah.

Nero: Is it a sin?
ellie: yeah.

Nero: Will a person burn in hell for it?
ellie: yeah.

Nero: This includes assisted 'Kavorkianesque' suicide as well.
ellie: putting someone out of their misery on grounds of mercy, where it is truly an act of kindness is just that: an act of kindness.

Nero: Is wanting to be free from pain, to descend into a world of nothingness, so wrong?
ellie: if the pain is psychological in nature, before giving up, you should try to assuage it by therapy and/or anti-depressants. that's what i do. *gulp!*

Nero: And please spare me the alleged 'selfish' aspect of suicide. This is about sin, nothing more. Non-believers welcome if they have something to contribute other than the standard 'I don't believe in God' statements.
ellie: the problem there is that suicide is so traumatic, that the death often obliterates the years of memories of the person's life that belonged to surviving friends and family members. so, they not only lose the person, but also cannot touch their memories, which is really hard.

[littlegreenfly]

Great topic Nero.  I've learned a lot about the folks who responded.  Kristi, thanks for the great definition.  beth06, I greatly appreciate your thoughts as well.

I think so often, because of some mishandling scripture etc., that the word sin, and the depth of what it really is, has been greatly misunderstood.  From a christian perspective, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  In that respect, we are all the same... the playing field is level.  If one is a believer, the penalty of sin (hell/separation from God) has been taken on by Jesus - he, being sinless, met the debt of missing the mark perfectly.

To get to the point of seriously attempting suicide one has to be in a terribly desperate place.  In my life, I've come close a few times.  As a teenager, I slit one wrist before "snapping out of it".  In my 20s I tried to overdose on speed - could actually see my heart beating through my chest (that was pretty crazy) before I passed out.  Sometimes, because of the lifestyle I used to lead, I am amazed I'm still alive.  Right now I've got all kinds of health issues - have been in and out of the hospital 3 times since October.  What is funny is the peace I've had in the midst of it all - especially in contrast to all the turmoil of my youth.

Is suicide a sin...? yes, as are so many things we do and choose.  Is it the "unpardonable" sin? no.

Thoughtfully... LGF

[Kaeren]

Suicide comes out of despair. If something is a sin would mean you get punished then wouldn't it be better to at least earn the punishment ?  Otherwise why would you care whether something is a sin or not ?  It would make no difference anyhow. 

To me sometimes it seems that no matter what you do you will suffer. If you're good you suffer a lot, if you're bad however you seem not to suffer so much. But what I always hear is "Be good or you will be punished !" You know what ... I am good and I get punished anyhow.  So I think sometimes that I least should earn being punished then ...

NO ! Suicide is not a sin !

[Chaunte]

As far as "sitting on the brink," I assure you that I have been there, too.  I haven't gone over primarily, not because I am worried about what might happen to me, but because I could not leave the ones I love with that mess to clean up.  Having been on the other side of things, I assure you, it's tougher than most people think.  It is out of accordance with my faith to do such an unloving thing.

When I sat on the brink, the thought of sin had no bearing on whether or not I would drink my "hemlock."  I had every confidence that, while the Almight would be disappointed, I would still be welcomed home.  The only thing that stopped me was the lesson that this would teach my children. 

That was God's grace that brought me back from the brink.

Chaunte

[littlegreenfly]

Kaeren,

Our particular emotional state at any one time is not the plumb line deciding what "sin" is.  Emotions are not a reliable standard for anything - because they change so much from day to day, even moment to moment.  From a Judeo/Christian perspective, sin is anything/everything that does not line up with God's word.

So, while I believe that suicide will not necessarily send you to "hell", it is still sin...  in that the taking of a person's life is murder - which is certainly listed as a violation of God's law - you know, Thou shalt not kill/do murder.  Murdering one's self is still murder.  Saying that, one must also know that "ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  I emphasized ALL, because that means the playing field is level.  No one is better than another ... we are all in the same boat.

Hopefully clarifying, and most definitely thoughtfully...  LGF