What is the Christian view of suicide?

[Bill_Pick]

What does the Bible say about suicide? What about a believer who commits suicide?

 

[JeanneH]

Hi,

This what the CCC has to say…

Suicide
2280 Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of.
2281 Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God.
2282 If suicide is committed with the intention of setting an example, especially to the young, it also takes on the gravity of scandal. Voluntary co-operation in suicide is contrary to the moral law.
Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide. 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

2325 Suicide is seriously contrary to justice, hope, and charity. It is forbidden by the fifth commandment.

Jeanne

 

[captbackfire]

Regarding 2281:

Not every human being has the natural inclination to preserve and perpetuate his or her own life.

This begs the question: what of those with mental illness? And does every person who commits suicide suffer from mental illness?

capt

 

[ralphinal]

Regarding 2281:

Not every human being has the natural inclination to preserve and perpetuate his or her own life.

This begs the question: what of those with mental illness? And does every person who commits suicide suffer from mental illness?

capt

The Church would say, and this would make sense according to scriptures, that God would show mercy to those with diminished capacity (mental illness).

No, not everyone who commits suicide suffers from mental illness. I personally know of a case where there was no mental illness at all.

 

[NPC]

No, not everyone who commits suicide suffers from mental illness. I personally know of a case where there was no mental illness at all.

Not being a “smart-aleck” here, but how do you know for certain that there was no mental illness at all? There may not have been anything diagnosed or there may not have been any outward signs of depression or other illness which may have led to the suicide. A relative of mine died through suicide a number of years ago and it came out of the blue - it was only looking back, when it was too late, that we saw that there were actually signs that something was wrong. A work colleague about five years ago took her own life and yet on the very evening she died she told me how she was enjoying work and that college was going great… Nothing could have been further from the truth of course, but she suffered on her own and nobody knew of her suffering. Of course, each case varies greatly, and there will always be a multitude of unanswered questions, but as I see it - and ultimately God will be the judge - I find it hard to believe that anyone can possibly be in their “right mind” when they commit suicide. Human beings have outlets to deal with stress, depression, emotional difficulties, etc., and while all deal with these in different ways and to different degrees, ending one’s life is not a natural reaction. We also know that when one contemplates suicide, the act is not usually a spur of the moment thing - the person usually has the day, time, place and method worked out to the finest detail weeks or months in advance. They choose a time when they know the family will be out or when they will have access to whatever means they wish to use to end their lives. Yes, this premeditated “method” may well, on the one hand, seem to increase the person’s culpability, but it can equally be said that such meticulous planning of one’s own death is a sign of a deeply anguished, traumatised and ill mind.

 

[Steadfast]

Suicide is murder.

The OP asked what the Bible says about suicide.

Take what it says about murder and apply it to suicide and you have the answer.

Hint: It’s against it.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

Besides the possibility of mental illness there is also possibility of a last second repentance. Various forms of suicide have various times between the action and the effect. Even with a gun there is a fraction of a second between the moment the trigger is pulled and the moment the bullet does its work. God can make use of even that short a moment to inspire repentance. I think that we should always pray that He did.

 

[Shlomey]

2282 If suicide is committed with the intention of setting an example, especially to the young, it also takes on the gravity of scandal. Voluntary co-operation in suicide is contrary to the moral law.
Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.
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

Thank God!

 

[ralphinal]

Not being a “smart-aleck” here, but how do you know for certain that there was no mental illness at all? There may not have been anything diagnosed or there may not have been any outward signs of depression or other illness which may have led to the suicide. A relative of mine died through suicide a number of years ago and it came out of the blue - it was only looking back, when it was too late, that we saw that there were actually signs that something was wrong. A work colleague about five years ago took her own life and yet on the very evening she died she told me how she was enjoying work and that college was going great… Nothing could have been further from the truth of course, but she suffered on her own and nobody knew of her suffering. Of course, each case varies greatly, and there will always be a multitude of unanswered questions, but as I see it - and ultimately God will be the judge - I find it hard to believe that anyone can possibly be in their “right mind” when they commit suicide. Human beings have outlets to deal with stress, depression, emotional difficulties, etc., and while all deal with these in different ways and to different degrees, ending one’s life is not a natural reaction. We also know that when one contemplates suicide, the act is not usually a spur of the moment thing - the person usually has the day, time, place and method worked out to the finest detail weeks or months in advance. They choose a time when they know the family will be out or when they will have access to whatever means they wish to use to end their lives. Yes, this premeditated “method” may well, on the one hand, seem to increase the person’s culpability, but it can equally be said that such meticulous planning of one’s own death is a sign of a deeply anguished, traumatised and ill mind.

A family member of a former co-worker killed himself, but the note did show strong mental/emotional illness.

The specific case that I know of where there was no mental illness was a man facing a long-term cancer fight. He was undergoing councelling for it the whole time, and he never once showed any signs of suicide. One day, he met with his financial planner, he was shown that he would have to liquidate everything to continue the fight, basically leaving his family with nothing. He went home, wrote a good-bye note, saying that it was the only way to preserve what little he had left for his children, and killed himself.

Yes, it shows dispair (sin, not a mental illness), but not depression (mental illness, no sin).

What about men who accept “suicide” missions in the army? Men who hold a line knowing that they will not survive so others can? Or those who die for a cause, like suicide bombers or kamakaziis?

 

[ralphinal]

Suicide is murder.

The OP asked what the Bible says about suicide.

Take what it says about murder and apply it to suicide and you have the answer.

Hint: It’s against it.

I agree, but even the Bible does not consider all killings to be murder.

What about those in severe mental illness?

 

[NPC]

Suicide is murder.

The OP asked what the Bible says about suicide.

Take what it says about murder and apply it to suicide and you have the answer.

Hint: It’s against it.

While I wouldn’t say that it’s necessarily or always wrong to refer to suicide as murder - they both involve, after all, the intentional taking of human life - a murder always involves a murderer and the person murdered. The murderer is the guilty party, while the murdered is the innocent party. In the case of suicide - referring to it as murder - the murderer is also the murdered. The paradox exists, then, that the person who has committed suicide is at once guilty and at once innocent.

I certainly agree with the Church’s teaching on the matter that we must entrust their souls to the wisdom and mercy of God. It is so difficult to draw the line, that we cannot possibly judge people. As ralphinal asked - what about suicide bombers, etc. They are guilty of the taking of their own lives as well as the lives of others - I don’t see how such people are in a rational mind; of course taking life is not a rational thing to do, yet we know that we cannot excuse every murderer because they acted irrationally or weren’t thinking straight. In my opinion, suicide is not simply a “black and white” matter where the deceased is instantly condemned and that there is nothing more to say on the matter. Thanks be to God that He will know what was going on in their minds and hearts.

 

[Robertsxxx]

The Church would say, and this would make sense according to scriptures, that God would show mercy to those with diminished capacity (mental illness).

No, not everyone who commits suicide suffers from mental illness. I personally know of a case where there was no mental illness at all.

*Studies in Europe and the United States reveal that up to 90 percent of individuals who died by suicide evidenced some form of mental disorder, including alcohol and drug abuse. *
findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb4839/is_/ai_n29295621

Though there are problems with such studies since it is hard to estimate; however:

• In the United Kingdom, 50 percent of all suicide cases occured in current or former diagnosed psychiatric patients. The lifetime risk for suicide among people experiencing mood disorders is six to 15 percent, white for schizophrenia the risk is four to ten percent. A national audit in the United Kingdom found that 25 percent of those who died by suicide had been in contact with mental health services in the East 12 months. Of these, 16 percent were psychiatric (name removed by moderator)atients and 24 percent had been discharged from (name removed by moderator)atient care in the last three months.*
  That’s more statistic wise, without estimations*; I bet there are lots of newer statistics & better research.

PS: I was always thinking: didn’t Jesus technically commit a suicide? He knew what was going to happen, he specifically chose it & not defy the actions that would lead to him being crucified. To me that’s like walking on train tracks towards a train moving directly towards you.

 

[Bill_Pick]

Studies in Europe and the United States reveal that up to 90 percent of individuals who died by suicide evidenced some form of mental disorder, including alcohol and drug abuse.
findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb4839/is_/ai_n29295621

Though there are problems with such studies since it is hard to estimate; however:

• In the United Kingdom, 50 percent of all suicide cases occured in current or former diagnosed psychiatric patients. The lifetime risk for suicide among people experiencing mood disorders is six to 15 percent, white for schizophrenia the risk is four to ten percent. A national audit in the United Kingdom found that 25 percent of those who died by suicide had been in contact with mental health services in the East 12 months. Of these, 16 percent were psychiatric (name removed by moderator)atients and 24 percent had been discharged from (name removed by moderator)atient care in the last three months.*
  That’s more statistic wise, without estimations*; I bet there are lots of newer statistics & better research.

PS: I was always thinking: didn’t Jesus technically commit a suicide? He knew what was going to happen, he specifically chose it & not defy the actions that would lead to him being crucified. To me that’s like walking on train tracks towards a train moving directly towards you.

good point about Jesus