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Where do people who commit suicide end up?

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  • Where do people who commit suicide end up?

    What do you believe, and what do you base this on?

    In this thread I'd like to explore fellow Christians ideas on what happens to people who commit suicide.

    Do they go to heaven or not? Can we know? Are there any bible passages that are relevant to this?

    As this can be a very personal and emotional topic for some people, I ask that posters to this thread exercise grace and consideration in what they post.


    My story:

    I had been out of the country for about a year, and was browsing one of the national news websites, when I saw a headline about someone committing suicide in my hometown. Thus person had jumped over a railing in the national museum, falling about four stories in the atrium, and killing himself. There were no personal details given in the story, but somehow I just knew it was a friend of mine, Mark*. I emailed a mutual friend, and my fears were confirmed. Mark had killed himself.

    Mark was my friend - really he befriended me. He was loud, cheerful, smart (very good at chess), and a great evangelist - he had a real gift and passion for approaching, befriending and winning those on the fringes of society. Mark was the kind of guy that would greet you in McDonalds with a "Praise the LORD, brother" loud enough to turn heads. Embarrassing, but he didn't care what others thought about his love for Jesus. Mark also had mental health issues, mainly struggling with depression.

    In the year or so since I'd been away, I hadn't had any contact with Mark, so I don't know where he was 'at' with God when he killed himself. But I hope to see him 'up there' one day, and get the biggest hug ever from my friend. He taught me a lot about not being ashamed of being a Christian.


    * not his real name.
    ...>>> Witty remark or snarky quote of another poster goes here <<<...

  • #2
    I am of the opinion that depression is as much a disease as cancer is, and someone with clinical depression who comits suicide is a victim of that disease, if the person was a Christian, I fully expect to see them again in Heaven.

    My sister-in-law lost her battle with depression nearly a year ago. She was my brother's second wife, his first had lost the battle with cancer nearly 3 years ago.

    I do not agree with euthanasia, that is a different thing, and I think it is not an option for a Christian.
    Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
    1 Corinthians 16:13

    "...he [Doherty] is no historian and he is not even conversant with the historical discussions of the very matters he wants to pontificate on."
    -Ben Witherington III

    Comment


    • #3
      I think that some people who commit suicide are not in their right mind for whatever reason and so I don't think it is clear-cut to say everyone who commits suicide is not going to heaven. God knows everyone and their strengths and weaknesses and He will judge all with mercy and fairness so I guess we just have to rest in this.

      Comment


      • #4
        There are a few different types of suicide. Of them, the three that are most clear to me are:

        1) Heroic suicide - jumping on a grenade to save your platoon
        2) Mental illness - Depression, chemical imbalances
        3) Selfishness - Killing yourself to avoid prison, etc.


        I believe God can judge which is which and decree fairly as to the end result of where that person goes.
        That's what
        - She

        Without a clear-cut definition of sin, morality becomes a mere argument over the best way to train animals
        - Manya the Holy Szin (The Quintara Marathon)

        I may not be as old as dirt, but me and dirt are starting to have an awful lot in common
        - Stephen R. Donaldson

        Comment


        • #5
          I think there's something inherent in suicide that basically says that God is powerless to save us, and that if he could, we wouldn't find ourselves in the state we currently are. It's a complete and utter lack of faith that drives someone to snuff out their life. And I could be wrong, but it doesn't seem to me that people generally commit suicide in hopes of waking in heaven. They do it, in a way (and maybe not consciously), as a protest to God for being created at all. "Why was I born? I never asked for this!" Its a final act of rebellion to destroy that which does not belong to us, but to God. I'm also not convinced that clinical depression forces us to do anything against our own will (though I do think there is a spiritual component to depression). I think a strong argument can be made that suicide is a form of murder, and that the Bible says that anyone who murders will be liable to judgment. Ultimately, Christ is the final arbiter, but I think it's a very serious offence.

          That said, I have the greatest sympathy for anyone who considers suicide a solution. Those contemplating it or who have been unsuccessful at committing it do not deserve our condemnation, but whatever help and love and prayer we can offer. I don't doubt for a moment that the hurt is real, but as long as we continue to put our faithfulness in Christ, nothing is hopeless.

          Comment


          • #6
            People are only judged on whether or not they accept Christ. That is all.

            I am with Raphael here. And my brother took his own life, so I have had to deal with this on a very personal level.

            It took me a while to leave it in God's hands, because I do not know if my brother was a believer. I had to come to the point where I realize, as much as a person is able, that the Lord is both perfectly just and perfectly merciful, and my brother is where he chose to be. Not because he killed himself, but because he may not have chosen Christ.

            Oh, and my brother was a recovering alcoholic who I believe also suffered from severe depression that was never treated.
            Last edited by mossrose; 06-17-2015, 12:57 AM.


            Securely anchored to the Rock amid every storm of trial, testing or tribulation.

            Comment


            • #7
              God only knows.
              Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Adrift View Post
                I think there's something inherent in suicide that basically says that God is powerless to save us, and that if he could, we wouldn't find ourselves in the state we currently are. It's a complete and utter lack of faith that drives someone to snuff out their life.
                It can also be a kind of pride - not wanting to admit any kind of defeat, or loss of control over one's destiny in life. Like samurai committing seppuku rather than be captured by the enemy. It's not unknown here for a father to kill his family and then himself rather than face a business failure.

                Originally posted by Adrift
                And I could be wrong, but it doesn't seem to me that people generally commit suicide in hopes of waking in heaven. They do it, in a way (and maybe not consciously), as a protest to God for being created at all. "Why was I born? I never asked for this!" Its a final act of rebellion to destroy that which does not belong to us, but to God.

                Agreed, some people suicide for those kinds fo reasons.

                [quote=Adrift] I'm also not convinced that clinical depression forces us to do anything against our own will (though I do think there is a spiritual component to depression)./quote]

                Perhaps not, but then maybe it strongly affects what that will is. Maybe some people in depression can't think objectively about their situation and really see no alternatives, orhope that the future will be better.


                Originally posted by Adrift
                I think a strong argument can be made that suicide is a form of murder, and that the Bible says that anyone who murders will be liable to judgment. Ultimately, Christ is the final arbiter, but I think it's a very serious offence.
                Agreed.

                Originally posted by Adrift
                That said, I have the greatest sympathy for anyone who considers suicide a solution. Those contemplating it or who have been unsuccessful at committing it do not deserve our condemnation, but whatever help and love and prayer we can offer. I don't doubt for a moment that the hurt is real, but as long as we continue to put our faithfulness in Christ, nothing is hopeless.



                I think that we can trust God to be fair, just, and loving; and we know that He desires that none should perish. I'm also inclined to think that He considers the trajectory of our life in judging us. Not everyone dies with absolutely no unconfessed sins on their conscience - so are all those people, ones who died suddenly and unexpectedly, not in heaven?
                ...>>> Witty remark or snarky quote of another poster goes here <<<...

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by MaxVel View Post
                  I think that we can trust God to be fair, just, and loving; and we know that He desires that none should perish. I'm also inclined to think that He considers the trajectory of our life in judging us. Not everyone dies with absolutely no unconfessed sins on their conscience - so are all those people, ones who died suddenly and unexpectedly, not in heaven?
                  I don't think it's the idea of dying with unconfessed sin that is the issue, so much that it's the type of state that would create in someone such utter despair and faithlessness that causes one to commit suicide. I've been angry that God didn't seem to be listening to me, or for being in situations that seemed completely out of my control, but to come to the point where you find yourself so utterly without faith in God's saving grace . . . I don't know. That some people give up on God because they felt God gave up on them, while extremely sad, I just don't see it as a justifiable excuse. I made Christ Lord in my life forever. He is my first and foremost. And while I thank God that I might not have suffered in the same way that some people who've committed suicide have, there are surely Christians who have endured what they have and worse, yet kept their eyes on Christ. I think of the early church Christians who endured severe persecution even to martyrdom, and still kept their faithfulness in Christ.

                  When I think about this topic, I often think about that passage in 1 Cor. 10:13:

                  No trial has overtaken you that is not faced by others. And God is faithful: He will not let you be tried beyond what you are able to bear, but with the trial will also provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it.

                  Gordon Fee has a great commentary on this passage:

                  Source: The First Epistle to the Corinthians, Revised Edition by Gordon Fee, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

                  Following hard on the heels of the warning to "be careful that you don't fall" (v.12), Paul reassures his Corinthian friends that they need not fall, at least not in the vicissitudes of Christian life common to all. The eternal God has already made a divine commitment to them when it comes to everyday human trials: "No temptation [or trial] has overtaken you except what is common to mankind," that is, "to our human condition."

                  . . .

                  The divine alternative to succumbing that Paul offers is to remind them of God's prior faithfulness on their behalf. When it comes to the trials common to this human life, "God is faithful", meaning God can be counted on to help them, and this in two ways. First, God has pledged "not to let you be tempted /tested beyond what you can bear." This, of course, speaks not only to the fact of God's prior activity in behalf of his people, Paul's emphasis, but also to the fact that they will be called upon to endure. They must be prepared for "a long obedience in the same direction." In his own faithfulness God has pledged not to allow what is beyond that endurance.

                  Second, and as the other side of the same coin, "when you are tempted, God will also provide the way out (or make an end) so that you can stand up under it." This sounds like a contradiction in terms: finding "the way out" so that you can "continue to bear it." But the problem lies only in the less-than-precise wording. There is a "way out of," or "end to," whatever testing one may undergo; but that is to be seen from the divine perspective. One may yet have much to endure before the "end" is realized. In any case, one may trust the faithful God to provide the "end" to a test that has not necessarily had divine origins, but that God has "allowed," as it were.

                  © Copyright Original Source

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Adrift View Post
                    I think there's something inherent in suicide that basically says that God is powerless to save us, and that if he could, we wouldn't find ourselves in the state we currently are. It's a complete and utter lack of faith that drives someone to snuff out their life. And I could be wrong, but it doesn't seem to me that people generally commit suicide in hopes of waking in heaven. They do it, in a way (and maybe not consciously), as a protest to God for being created at all. "Why was I born? I never asked for this!" Its a final act of rebellion to destroy that which does not belong to us, but to God. I'm also not convinced that clinical depression forces us to do anything against our own will (though I do think there is a spiritual component to depression). I think a strong argument can be made that suicide is a form of murder, and that the Bible says that anyone who murders will be liable to judgment. Ultimately, Christ is the final arbiter, but I think it's a very serious offence.

                    That said, I have the greatest sympathy for anyone who considers suicide a solution. Those contemplating it or who have been unsuccessful at committing it do not deserve our condemnation, but whatever help and love and prayer we can offer. I don't doubt for a moment that the hurt is real, but as long as we continue to put our faithfulness in Christ, nothing is hopeless.
                    Edited by a Moderator

                    Moderated By: lilpixieofterror

                    Christianity 201 is for orthodox Christians only. Thanks!

                    ***If you wish to take issue with this notice DO NOT do so in this thread.***
                    Contact the forum moderator or an administrator in Private Message or email instead. If you feel you must publicly complain or whine, please take it to the Padded Room unless told otherwise.

                    Last edited by lilpixieofterror; 06-17-2015, 04:58 PM.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Edited by a Moderator

                      You do know you're in a "Christian only" area, right?
                      Last edited by lilpixieofterror; 06-17-2015, 04:59 PM.
                      I DENOUNCE DONALD J. TRUMP AND ALL HIS IMMORAL ACTS.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Zymologist View Post
                        You do know you're in a "Christian only" area, right?
                        Of course he knows.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Might be a tangent, but what if it was an accident and not a suicide? How do they tell the difference?
                          If it weren't for the Resurrection of Jesus, we'd all be in DEEP TROUBLE!

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Chrawnus View Post
                            Of course he knows.
                            Edited by a Moderator
                            Last edited by lilpixieofterror; 06-17-2015, 04:59 PM.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Edited by a Moderator

                              Shoo!
                              Stop. Posting. Here.
                              Or I'll report you.
                              Last edited by lilpixieofterror; 06-17-2015, 04:59 PM.
                              If it weren't for the Resurrection of Jesus, we'd all be in DEEP TROUBLE!

                              Comment

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