Christianity and Suicide

[WalmartSoap]

This is my first thread post on here, so bear with me, I might just be clicking buttons and hoping something comes out somewhat coherent.

I wouldn't say I'm a devoted Christian at all, though I was baptized and raised in Catholic Christian schools all my life. The topic of CTB was rarely brought up at all, if ever, though I'm aware that it's considered somewhat of a sin. I'm not sure if this idea has changed at all since modernity influenced traditional "Christian" views.

Anyway, I'm curious to know if anyone else believes that labeling it as a sin is harsh, because I certainly do. And has this label influenced any of your ideations, whether negatively or positively? Even if I'm not devout, I ponder about God, his reaction to our suicidality. I'd love to know your thoughts <3

 

[Tomorrow Is Today]

Hey there, I was raised in a Catholic household too. Not exactly the devout type, same as you.

There was a conversation with my Dad that I remember, about a year or two before I started having mental health issues. He mentioned that suicide was a coward's way out, and that it was selfish for those left behind. This kind of stuck with me when I went into my eventual decline. I don't hold it against him though, I chalk it up to ignorance as his views largely changed afterwards.

What I observe in my family's dynamic is that when things, good or bad, happen, the credit is never theirs because of their faith. Everything good is because God gave us the fortitude to achieve it and everything bad is because we are being tested and that kind of thing.

Their complete lack of agency in a way actually helped reinforce my decision to eventually CTB. I felt that I didn't want to let my fate be up to the hands of some guy in the sky. All things considered, I valued my autonomy to decide my own outcomes. I lean towards atheism now, but if God was real I felt that CTBing was an act of revolting against the individual agency that religion has inadvertently stripped away from many nowadays.

 

[itsgone2]

Anyway, I'm curious to know if anyone else believes that labeling it as a sin is harsh, because I certainly do. And has this label influenced any of your ideations, whether negatively or positively? Even if I'm not devout, I ponder about God, his reaction to our suicidality. I'd love to know your thoughts <3

I'm Catholic and the church would interpret it as a sin though it's not specifically addressed. But also that mental illness can't be helped and that ultimately it's a decision of God to punish you or not.
I don't think about it. I asked God for a miracle daily. I beg to not have to do this. Or to just be taken peacefully.
Many have asked for that and here we remain.
So I don't think about it. I think of those left behind. I think of the pain. That's it really. The rest isn't up to me.

 

[bruised_reed]

Hi,

I'm a Christian, and I'm suicidal. I've spent quite a bit of time reading Christian views on suicide and the overwhelming majority of resources out there all conclude that dying by suicide is a sin, but not an unforgivable one. A lot of Christians and Christian leaders have adopted the view that it is a fatal symptom of mental illness.

God knows our hearts. He knows how much pain and suffering we are going through. He also knows our tolerance level.

'For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.' - Romans 8:38-39​

 

[hello kitty]

if god exists then he loves his creations. and sending you to hell after making you live hell or on earth is kinds fucked up ngl.

you can use the argument that ctb = murder and then its a deadly sin. but what if your brain or body or the chemicals or whatever is harming, torturing, causing you pain and its an actual threat to you? can you protect yourself from your own thoughts/eliminate the threat (body, brain etc)?

but who and what are you? and whos or whats harming you?
are you a soul inside a body and the body is harming your soul?
are you the body and the soul at the same time?
is your body really yours or its a gift from god to get you into physical form ?

you can ask your self countless questions and i dont think you can ever answear yourself correctly since we dont have the amount of knowlenge that god has (bro really lived since forever so he lowkey now everything about anything, he certanly knows the whole truth and every single thing we dont even know we dont know)

i think the kind killing thats a sin in every religion is the murder out of punishment, revenge, or hatred

do you hate yourself? do you see that as a punishment? or revenge towards yourself? idk but something is telling me that if you ctb for those reasons you are kinda cooked from this perspective, but then again how can god craft the whole determinism that made you the way you are and then punish you for it...

paradoxically,
how can you be christian and dont believe in a savior. in eternal life. how can you believe that god would put you through something thats more than what you can handle?

if you genuinly believe in god and the love of a savior please stay safe. find hope inside the books. there is always hope. the religions encourages hope, the protection of life, love, peace and leave justice to god. so if you think life god exists and you think that your life is injust and you should ctb let god judge and put justice.

i probably confused the shi out of you, i dont really know what am i talking about + my inglish is shit but stay safe. :)

 

[isthisthingon]

God already knows how it ends.

 

[telekon]

Yeah, we're generally viewed as the bad guys. In the Bible, suicide is invariably seen not as a sin itself, but as some sort of contiguous punishment for previous sins that the person had committed.

God already knows how it ends.

In the sense of the world maybe, but when it comes to us as individuals, I'd disagree.

 

[WalmartSoap]

I felt that CTBing was an act of revolting against the individual agency that religion has inadvertently stripped away from many nowadays.

I like that view a lot, actually. It's rugged in the way that humanity is: ever-rebellious. Thanks for the response!