Is it a sin to wish you had never been born?

[Durendin]

Is it a sin to wish you had never been born?

I won’t garnish it with details, but simply ask for a yes or no.

 

[water]

yes.

PS: if you have this question, you definitely need people give you some explanation. The answer “yes” or “no” does not really help you understand why it is so.

 

[quasimodo]

Is it a sin to wish you had never been born?

I won’t garnish it with details, but simply ask for a yes or no.

no yes or no … it depends

however it is quite futile and not worthy of your time

 

[AntonMurphy]

I would say yes, its a sin. Without our lives we cannot know God. To not have a life is to be dead, but it is also a permanent disassociation with our Lord Jesus. To say you never want to know or see God is a horrible place and an insult to the one who made you out of love.

However, I would say that those in Hell would be better off not being born, as our Lord says about Judas.

 

[JMJ_coder]

Hello,

It may be, it may not be. God wills for you to have born. If He didn’t you wouldn’t be here. If the desire is extreme and you dwell on it, then your will is contrary and opposite (not in conformity) to God’s will. This is a definition of sin. However, it is impossible to know for certain without specifics. If this is a thought that truly troubles you, I urge you to confide with your confessor and let him grant you forgiveness (if it is needed) and guidance.

 

[Pug]

Is it a sin to wish you had never been born?

I won’t garnish it with details, but simply ask for a yes or no.

This is a difficult question to answer here on the forum. We are not allowed to discuss this in any way that could be construed as mental health advice.

It may or may not be a sin, depending on what the full circumstances are. If you are troubled by this question, talk to your confessor.

 

[Chancellare]

The 3 elements that makes an act a mortal sin apply here, It should answer your question already.

But to wish what you are wishing implies an unhappy state of mind. Perhaps your quest should instead start: What broke my heart that made me so unhappy that I wished such?

 

[Durendin]

I’m not asking it from a position of mental stability, but one of probability.

Given the likeliness of dying in a state of sin and the one way ticket to the flames that it comes with, is the concept of non-existence not a preferable state to one of eternal torment?

 

[kellie]

I’m not asking it from a position of mental stability, but one of probability.

Given the likeliness of dying in a state of sin and the one way ticket to the flames that it comes with, is the concept of non-existence not a preferable state to one of eternal torment?

We all know it is impossible for this wish of having never been born to become true, so I think it is best not even trying to think about what God thinks of it, and concentrate more on improving our relationship with Him, so we avoid the eternal torment.

 

[carol_marie]

I’m not asking it from a position of mental stability, but one of probability.

Given the likeliness of dying in a state of sin and the one way ticket to the flames that it comes with, is the concept of non-existence not a preferable state to one of eternal torment?

Yep - given that senerio - I’d agree with you that not being born would’ve been better.

But why is someone likely to die in a state of sin? God has provided a means by which were are forgiven, regardless of the sin, right up until the end. Why wouldn’t someone repent & take advantage of that?

 

[1ke]

Is it a sin to wish you had never been born?

I won’t garnish it with details, but simply ask for a yes or no.

Sin requires full knowledge and free will. Someone who wishes they had never been born probably lacks free will to some degree-- they must certainly be in need of counseling, perhaps clinically depressed, similar to people who are suicidal.

Despair can be a sin-- and wishing you had never been born would fall in the category of despair… rejecting the gifts of faith and grace.

However, if a person is really having these thoughts and idea, I would recommend they visit their priest and seek spiritual direction and advice-- there could be supernatural influences or there could be some mental health issues that need addressing.

 

[1ke]

I’m not asking it from a position of mental stability, but one of probability.

Given the likeliness of dying in a state of sin and the one way ticket to the flames that it comes with, is the concept of non-existence not a preferable state to one of eternal torment?

If you think the probability of hell is that high, and despair of being able to attain it, then perhaps you suffer from scrupulocity. God desires all persons to go to heaven. Although there are certainly things we can do that will separate us from God, there are many more things we can to do join to him (and to re-establish grace when we fall). The Sacraments are all provided to give us grace, and Reconciliation is always available.

I highly advise you talk to a priest if you have these thoughts of despair and constant feelings of being in sin or going to hell.

 

[Struggling]

To say you never want to know or see God is a horrible place and an insult to the one who made you out of love.

Hmm…but if you had never been born, you would have never had a Self to know or see God. You would have just been like a rock, and God made the rocks too. The person isn’t saying that they never want to know or see God. They are saying that they wish there never was a “they”…which makes all other points moot.

So when analyzing whether this is a sin, remember the logical order of things. Do not suddenly jump to “but that means you are rejecting God”…because the hypothetical wish is not like that. In the order of causation etc…they are getting rid of the term “you,” the self, entirely…so no other considerations involving them can enter the question except the action in-and-of-itself…

I’d therefore conclude that this statement is niether true nor false, niether right nor wrong, niether good nor bad. It is simply nonsense. Cognitively meaningless. It is like the statement “this statement is false”. We cannot truly wish the never-existence of the self.

 

[Scottgun]

Yes. It is a grave sin to seriously entertain a desire to not have been born. If it is just a passing thought through the motions of concupiscience, no.

Scott

 

[Pug]

I’m not asking it from a position of mental stability, but one of probability.

Given the likeliness of dying in a state of sin and the one way ticket to the flames that it comes with, is the concept of non-existence not a preferable state to one of eternal torment?

Ah! You could always do an expected value computation…Let’s assign getting to heaven a value of $1,000,000,000. Then we need a value for going to hell. This is the tough part. Maybe hell is half as bad as heaven is good? So it has a value of $-500,000,000. Then you need probabilities. Say, chance of heaven is 40% and chance of hell is 60%. The expected outcome if you play this game is to come out with $100,000,000. (you multiply each value by its probability and then add the things up).

Okay, unglaze your eyes.

The problem here is that to choose to play this game, you must exist, but then the game is already on, so this is an unmakeable choice by us. God makes it for us, and we already know that He decided to create us.

Now, there is nothing to be gained by wishing we weren’t born, and there is a chance that it is a waste of our time or a sin or something, so it is not worth it to wish we weren’t born. It may, however, be worth it to examine the issue philosophically, as we are doing! Learning could result, for example.

Do you suppose if there were a large red button labeled Self-Annihilation in hell, would individual denizens go and push it? I think it possible that most would not. Yes, we who are still alive might say we’d push it, but they are in hell. They got there through irrational choices, and now they are fixed that way. Might they delay pushing it while they meditate upon their favorite topic (like Revenge or Why God got it all wrong), and hence never push it? I have no idea what hell will be like.

 

[ALLFORHIM]

Hi,
Im not sure but my 8 year old son told me he wished he was never born. He says alot of nasty things when he is angry. I told him by saying that it was a slap in the face to God because God made him and entrusted me and his father to raise him.

 

[quasimodo]

Hi,
Im not sure but my 8 year old son told me he wished he was never born. He says alot of nasty things when he is angry. I told him by saying that it was a slap in the face to God because God made him and entrusted me and his father to raise him.

two things… first congratulation, your 8 yr old is normal
second… good answer to the little darling

 

[ALLFORHIM]

two things… first congratulation, your 8 yr old is normal
second… good answer to the little darling

Hi,

Thanks. Im glad to know someone out there in the world thinks my son is normal Sometimes you think you a child that is not the same as any other child his age.