Summary: What does the Bible say about suicide?

Suicide and the Church

Hot Potato the Church Wonft Touch #3

I donft think there is anything in this life more heartbreaking than suicide. It affects much more than the one life lost. The family, friends, acquaintances, community and generations to come are affected by the choice to die of one solitary person. Even more complicated are the cases of murder-suicide like the one we experienced in Zanesville at the bus garage a few years ago. Here the depressed person not only killed themself, but also killed the one they blamed for their unhappiness. The hard part for the victims family is that we canft punish the murderer for what they have done, and itfs hard to find closure. Probably every one here has known someone who has committed suicide, or has attempted suicide. Many more of us may have at least thought of it personally at some low point in our life. Even though they didnft attempt suicide the spiritual giants of the Bible Elijah and Job begged God for death in their darkest hours.

I The Problem of Suicide in Society

FACTS ABOUT SUICIDE IN THE USA

œ More than 30,000 reported annually (83 per day, 1 every 17 minutes)* (Experts believe the actual count is twice that high.) * (And there are 8-20 attempts for each completed suicide)

œ Suicide is the 8th leading cause of death; But 3rd among Youth (15-24); and highest among those over 65 (Elderly).

œ In recent survey 60% of teens thought about it, and 9% had tried at least once.

œ Persons under 25 accounted for 15% of all suicides in 2000. (From the 1950’s to the late 70’s the suicide rate increased by 200%, and has remained steady since.)

œ Psychological autopsy studies show that more than 90% of completed suicides had one or more mental disorders.

œ More people die from suicide than from homicide. (In 2000 1.7 times more).

œ In 1999 white males accounted for 72% of all suicides. (And 84% of those over 65 in 2000)

œ Males are more than four times more likely to die from suicide. But females attempt suicide more. (Why? Women use less lethal means.)

œ Most attempts are from women in their 20’s and 30’s.

œ Suicide rates are highest among the divorced, separated, and widowed and lowest among the married.

œ Also high among homosexual & bisexual. (One Study 30% attempted, ½ of that multiple attempts)

II Suicide in the Bible

The Bible contains two prohibitions against killing (Ex. 20:13; Deut. 5:17), but nowhere does it expressly forbid suicide. The word is not even mentioned in the Bible. It may be because life is viewed as a sacred gift of God, and the power of life and death is in his sovereign hand. The presence of the positive statements may make the negative one unnecessary There are seven recorded persons who took their life in the Bible.

1. Abimelech Judges 9:54

-He had already received the death blow, and was in the process of dying

-So he could not pull off the suicide himself, so servant did at his request

-assisted suicide

-Reason for suicide- Didnft want memory to be -he was killed by a woman.

2. Samson Judges 16:30

-This was also not technically a suicide- more and act of war, or revenge.

-He was in the will of God, God enabled him to pull it off

-Reason-Revenge for his eyes -To do what Godfs assignment for him was -Deliver Israel

3. Saul 1 Samuel 31:4

-He was already wounded, but if it was mortally wounded is questionable.

-He asked for another to assist him, but was refused.

-So he fell on his own sword

-He was out of the will of God

-Reason for Suicide- He didnft want to endure torture

4. Armor Bearer of Saul 1 Samuel 31:5

-His master the king had already committed suicide. (Suicide may run in families but not genetic

-Like here it can be an unconsciously suggested as a means of coping with overwhelming problems.

-He must have reasoned -the battle is lost - I will die anyway

-Reason-He followed another, fearing torture too.

5. Ahithophel 2 Samuel 17:23

-He was once a great counselor for David

-He switched to Absalom after Davidfs affair with Bathsheba

-Clearly foresaw the result of Huchaifs advise and knowing himself doomed.

-He planned his death gput his house in orderh and hanged himself

-He was out of will of God

-Reason for suicide -He saw the rebellion failing, and he would be considered a traitor.

6. Zimri 1 Kings 16:18

-He had murdered the king while drunk and killed his family, He had been in charge of the chariots

-He then became king and reigned seven days, but he had no following

-Omri led Israel to take Tirzah which was the capital.

-Zimri set fire to the palace and died.

-out of Godfs will

-Reason for suicide- He knew his reign was over. He would be killed for murder, and he had no following.

7. Judas Iscariot Matthew 27:3-5

-He had betrayed Jesus, and now he was an outcast to chief priests, disciples, and Jewish society.

-He thought Jesus would just escape again, and when he saw he was really going to die he hung himself.

Reason for suicide- Intense guilt, hopelessness, outcast to all.

III Suicide and Culture

a. Some religions (Hinduism and Buddhism) condone suicide as a cog in the wheels of Karma and reincarnation.

b. Stoics and Epicureans see suicide as an honorable exit out of life.

c. Others gain great resurrection if for religious cause

-Japanese Kamikaze , Islamic suicide bombers

d. Until the 4th century Christianity made no formal (written) link of suicide with sin.

-ST. Augustine defined it as a crime because it involved killing without any provision for repentance.

-St Thomas Aquinas defined suicide as a mortal sin because it usurped Godfs power over life and death.

VI Common Myths About Suicide

1. People who talk about suicide do not commit suicide.

2. Suicide happens without warning. 80% warn someone -One father gave away prized golf clubs.

3. Suicidal people are fully intent on dying. -They often just want the pain to stop, or donft see anyway to go on living.

4. Once a person is suicidal he is suicidal for life. -One serious attempt is always followed by another.

5. Improvement after a suicidal crisis means the risk is over. -No, maybe the decision is made, and the person is no longer anxious.

6. Suicide occcurs much more among the very rich or very poor. It cut across all barriers.

7. All suicidal person are mentally ill. NO

8. Donft mention if suicide if you think they are thinking about it or it will push them to do it.

Actually talking to them about it reduces the risk.

IV IS SUICIDE UNFORGIVABLE ?

One woman tells of how a church member told her at her motherfs funeral, after she had taken her own life, gYou know your motherfs in hell.h What does the Bible really say.

A Balanced Biblical prospective

-It is a form of killing & killing is expressly forbidden by the Bible.

-But there is more.

-We need to contrast intentional and unintentional behavior.

-The Wesleyan View of sin holds that once a person has been saved and his name written in the Lambfs book of life, then only a willful and intentional desire to turn away from God and follow the old ways of sin can remove a person from the realm of the saved.

-If a person, saved or unsaved, commits suicide in an outright act of defiance against God, that person will be lost forever.

-If they knowingly, rationally, deliberately usurp the ownership of their soul away from the sovereign God and decide to deny and defy God as their last human act, they will face a godless eternity.

-Those act are rare.

-Most often a personfs emotional state at the time of suicide is very questionable (est. over half suffer from major affective disorder) and their reasons for committing the act of self-destruction are unclear and unsure.

-If a person has known Christ before they fell into a state that led to suicide, it is not glib or irresponsible to say, gOnly God knows the destiny of their soul, but God will surely take into account the mental condition at the time of death.h

-As Wesleyans We strongly believe in Prevenient grace that applies to babies and children under the age of accountability, mentally incompetent persons, and Christians who lose their rational abilities.

-It is consoling to know that God will not send a Christian to hell for an unintentional action which was precipitated by conditions of mind or life beyond his control.

-We believe that a life-destroying behavior may not in fact have arisen out of any willful intention, but out of other stresses or pressures which incapacitated the personfs ability to make moral choices.

John Calvin- He said blaspheming against the Holy Spirit is the only unparsonable sin (Matthew 12:31), and suicide need not be viewed as blashphemy.

It is mandatory in dealing with question of a suicides eternal destiny to take into consideration whether the act was a deliberate suicide or circumstantial suicide. We can almost never make that distinction precisely. But if they were a Christian before they fell into mental distress and committed a violent act against themselves, they is reason to offer the family hope that God will attend to their loved one according to His divine knowledge of all that went into the action.

-Even if the person was not a believer that we know of before the act, we cannot automatically assign them to hell. We do not know if they repented, and returned to God before they died. We need to tell grieving loved ones gThey are in the hands of a God that loves them more then you ever could, why donft we leave them there.h

-However, for the living donft try to find loopholes in Godfs Grace to take your Life and go to heaven.

V WHAT IS NOT SUICIDE?

A. Accidental Death - Mixing pills in a wrong combination may result in death.

B. Taking someone off life support- You are only stopping artificial means of life.

C. Refusing artificial means of continuing life. (Ventilator, Life Support, Feeding Tube)

VI Reasons People Attempt Suicide

1. To Escape the Pain of life,- Zimri (Suicide occurs when there appears to be no available path that will lead to a tolerable existence.)

R.S. Taylor

2. An unconscious or conscious cry for help. Elijah, Job

3. An opportunity for revenge- Samson

4. A manipulative gesture designed to influence some person who is emotionally close.

5. Quicken an inevitable death (Saul)

6. To punish themselves for wrong done.- Judas

7. To Follow loved one- Saulfs Armor Bearer

8. Demonic suggestion and oppression doubtless are significant factors in some (maybe all*) cases.Secular students of suicide would of course take no account of this possibility.

R.S. Taylor p505Beacon Dictionary of Theology. *my thoughts.

VII Warnings Signs of Suicide

BE AWARE OF THE WARNING SIGNS

A suicidal person may:

 Talk about suicide, death, and/or no reason to live.

 Be preoccupied with death and dying.

 Withdraw from friends and/or social activities.

 Have a recent severe loss (especially relationship) or threat of a significant loss.

 Experience drastic changes in behavior.

 Lose interest in hobbies, work, school, etc.

 Prepare for death by making out a will (unexpectedly) and final arrangements.

 Give away prized possessions.

 Have attempted suicide before.

 Take unnecessary risks; be reckless, and/or impulsive.

 Lose interest in their personal appearance.

 Increase their use of alcohol or drugs.

 Express a sense of hopelessness.

 Be faced with a situation of humiliation or failure.

 Have a history of violence or hostility.

 Have been unwilling to gconnecth with potential helpers.

VIII What to Do if Faced with a Suicidal Person.

WAYS TO BE HELPFUL TO SOMEONE WHO IS THREATENING SUICIDE

1. Be aware. Learn the warning signs.

2. Get involved. Become available. Show interest and support.

3. Ask if he/she is thinking about suicide.

4. Be direct. Talk openly and freely about suicide.

5. Be willing to listen. Allow for expressions of feelings. Accept the feelings.

6. Be non-judgmental. Donft debate whether suicide is right or wrong, or feelings are good or bad.

Donft lecture on the value of life.

7. Donft dare him/her to do it.

8. Donft give advice by making decisions for someone else to tell them to behave differently.

9. Donft ask gwhy.h This encourages defensiveness.

10. Offer empathy, not sympathy.

11. Donft act shocked. This creates distance.

12. Donft be sworn to secrecy. Seek support.

13. Offer hope that alternatives are available, do not offer glib reassurance; it only proves you donft

understand.

14. Take action! Remove means! Get help from individuals or agencies specializing in crisis

intervention and suicide prevention.

Minerth & Meyer

1. Take suicide threats seriously.

2. Encourage the individual to express his or her feelings.

3. Avoid judging or countering what the person says.

4. Donft avoid the gSh word.

5. Never promise to keep the suicide gesture a secret.

6. Get the individual to promise not to hurt himself or herself.

7. Help the individual to obtain professional help.

8. Remove the means of suicide.

9. Pray for that person and with that person. Pray and bind spirit of Death, Ask God to put angels around and like in Revelation gthey will want to die but canfth ask for it now.

Questions to assess suicidal risk? Richard Dobbins.

1. Has the person has or nearly had a psychotic break? Ask gHas there ever been a time in the past

when you were hospitalized for emotional Breakdown or seeing someone about an Intense emotional crisis?

2. Has the person attempted suicide in the past? Ask gHave you?h

3. Does the person have a good reason for not doing it? Ask gWhy donft you?h

4. Does the person have a plan? Ask gIf you were going to do something like that how would you do it?h

5. If so, how lethal is their plan?

6. Does the person lack resources for dealing

With his problems?

1. Determine how serious? Listen, Donft condemn

2. Call family, take to hospital, doctor etc. in front of them.

3. Have call suicide hotline in phonebook.

Conclusion: Remember gJudgement upon the suicide must be left entirely with God. He alone sees the motivation and intentions. He alone sees the degree of sanity possessed at the time of the action, therefore the moral responsibility.h R.S. Taylor p505 Beacon Dictionary Of Theology.