Suicide

[Unfinished]

Can anyone help me with this? I was talking with a Protestant friend of mine today, and we were just talking about different beliefs.

While trying to show him about the possibilitys of going to hell, he brought up suicide.

Now, I am pretty sure the Church teaches that if you kill yourself you go to hell. It is a mortal sin that you cannot repent for.

However, does the Bible show this? I know Judas killed himself and in using that, they say he went to hell because he denyed Jesus, not just because he killed himself.

Anyone wanna help me explain this belief to him? Where are its roots?

 

[dal11]

The church dosen’t teach if you kill yourself you automaticly go to hell. We don’t know if God will hold that person accountable for what he or she did. Could have had something wrong with them mentally that we couldn’t possibly know about. Only God knows. Could have repented right before they lost conciousness. There are to many varibles that we don’t know. We can only leave that person in the hands of a merciful God and pray for their soul.

 

[Church_Militant]

You need to read these references to the Catechism and be very sure to get into the context of each one.

No one can know what goes on in the heart of a person at the point where they take their own life, and there is no passage in the Bible that specifically condemns a person that does so.

Because most suicides are the result of mental illness (clinical depression for instance) then the fact is that such a person succumbs to that illness and the suicide is actually just a terminal symptom.

One should always be compassionate in these cases and realize that though many offer opinions, no one but God can know for sure, and so again the wisdom of the Word of God is shown when it says in 2nd Maccabees 12:46, “It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.”

 

[Flopfoot]

Yep, people always quote those paragraphs from the CCC because they mention the word suicide. But what really clears it up is 2283, unfortunately people don’t see it because it doesn’t actually mention the word suicide. Here itis.

**2283 **We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives.

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Of course, I should put in a disclaimer saying that this is not a licence to commit suicide, so don’t do it.

Thing about suicide, the only reason why it is any ‘worse’ than other grave sins like murder is that if you are successful in your suicide then you won’t get a chance to repent. Even Judas could have repented if he hadn’t despaired instead. (Not that I know for sure what was going on in Judas’ head, I couldn’t tell you for certain if he went to hell).

 

[Singinbeauty]

dal11:

The church dosen’t teach if you kill yourself you automaticly go to hell. We don’t know if God will hold that person accountable for what he or she did. Could have had something wrong with them mentally that we couldn’t possibly know about. Only God knows. Could have repented right before they lost conciousness. There are to many varibles that we don’t know. We can only leave that person in the hands of a merciful God and pray for their soul.

The thing we have to remember is that anyone who takes their own life IS mentally ill. I am not saying this in a negative way. Please don’t misinterpret this. I, myself, have felt as if there was no way out and almost succumed to what Satan was whispering in my ear. It’s an illness that Satan uses to get those who can do some of the best work for God to shut up.

As always, whenever this topic comes up I have to put a sort of disclaimer up…

If you know someone who is contemplating suicide and they tell you about it PLEASE listen to them. Don’t push it a side. And if they want to talk DON’T give advice. I can tell you from first hand experience that I never want to hear advice or ‘I know what you are going through’ because unless you have had these thoughts and feelings SERIOUSLY you do not know what these thoughts can do to you. I just want someone to care enough to listen. To say they care and that they would miss me if I were gone. Please believe me when I say that if they choose to talk to you KNOW that it takes everything in their being to say something to you and to let you into this part of their world. It’s painful and to be that vulnerable with someone on the outside is so frightening. So listen and pray with them. Sorry this part was long but with what I have been dealing with I think it is so important that those on the outside of this illness knows what we are up against. Thank you…

 

[FightingFat]

As I understand it, life is God’s gift to us. He gives and he takes away. It is his to do with as he wishes and it is ungrateful to throw his gift back at him. It is through lifes’ trials and tribulations we learn and grow in wisdom and in spirit. I can’t help feeling that it is why we are here, no matter how hard the difficulties are we face. I have had some really, really tough times over the past few years, but my faith has meant I was always able to stay focused on the fact that one day the clouds would clear and the sun would shine through again. To use the old martial arts maxim, what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.