Is Suicide a sin?

[McCulloch]

In another thread:

Christians don't commit suicide?

Nope. It is a sin to kill oneself.

Is suicide in all circumstances a sin? What is suicide? Is passive suicide also a sin?

We have heard of "suicide by Cop" to mean that someone causes their own death by putting a police officer in a situation where he must kill him. Is there a parallel of "suicide by martyrdom"? Did Jesus commit suicide by allowing himself to be killed when he, by his own admission, could have prevented it?

[Felonious]

I think suicide is a sin, and not so much a sin.

By that I mean, that, lets say you were surrounded by brain eating "Romero" type zombies.

Bear with me here, folks.

I think God would 'understand' so to speak, if you were to launch yourself onto a five foot spike from the fourth story. Better to die, than be one of those things.

Lets say you had the chance of a slow, horrible death, or a quick, easy one. I think God would understand if you took the quick one.

See, most of the rules in the bible aren't set in stone, (no pun intended). They can move. I mean, by going from any Christian standard, God can do what he wants. He is above all rules. He can send a blaspheming murder/rapist to heaven if he wants to.

You gonna tell him "no"?

[otseng]

By that I mean, that, lets say you were surrounded by brain eating "Romero" type zombies.

Since it would never happen, the hypothetical question would never apply to anyone.

Lets say you had the chance of a slow, horrible death, or a quick, easy one. I think God would understand if you took the quick one.

Disagree with you.

If a girl suddenly became a quadraplegic, she could say that she's having a slow (years) and a horrible (practically nonfunctional) path to death. Should that person then decide to have a quick, easy death? I would argue no.

I think the basic argument that suicide is considered wrong is that human life is special, sacred. We are not simply animals on this planet that have no special purpose or position.

Animals can kill animals and it is not considered wrong. Humans can kill animals and it is not considered wrong. But, humans killing humans is wrong. And a human killing itself is wrong. There are exceptions to this, but in the general, it is wrong.

Why is it wrong? We seem to innately believe this. We all have a strong innate desire to live. And it would take severe circumstances to break down this inner drive to live in order to attempt suicide. We have an innate belief that peoples' lives are to be honored, even when they are dead. We even seem to have an innate drawing that we should live forever and that death is not suppossed to happen.

So, why should people not commit suicide? Because human life is a special gift from God.

[Confused]

I know of no scripture, after searching biblegateway.com, that refers to suicide as a sin.

I know of no scripture either that directly says suicide is a sin.

But here are a couple that are close:

Exodus 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.

1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.

Let me also add that I realize that this is an extremely sensitive and complex subject. Among teenagers, it's the third leading cause of death. To those who are tempted to commit suicide, you should not do it. Please seek the counsel of respected authorities and do not entertain the thoughts of suicide.

Dang that interpretation thing. Why exactly is it things couldn't just come out and say what they mean. Is suicide killing?
Merriam-Webster definition:
Main Entry: 1kill
Pronunciation: 'kil
Function: verb
Etymology: Middle English, perhaps from Old English *cyllan; akin to Old English cwellan to kill -- more at QUELL
transitive verb
1 a : to deprive of life : cause the death of b (1) : to slaughter (as a hog) for food (2) : to convert a food animal into (a kind of meat) by slaughtering
2 a : to put an end to <kill competition> b : DEFEAT, VETO <killed the amendment> c : to mark for omission; also : DELETE d : ANNIHILATE, DESTROY <kill an enemy>
3 a : to destroy the vital or essential quality of <killed the pain with drugs> b : to cause to stop <kill the motor> c : to check the flow of current through
4 : to make a markedly favorable impression on <she killed the audience>
5 : to get through uneventfully <kill time>; also : to get through (the time of a penalty) without being scored on <kill a penalty>
6 a : to cause extreme pain to b : to tire almost to the point of collapse
7 : to hit (a shot) so hard in various games that a return is impossible
8 : to consume (as a drink) totally
intransitive verb
1 : to deprive one of life
2 : to make a markedly favorable impression <was dressed to kill>
synonyms KILL, SLAY, MURDER, ASSASSINATE, DISPATCH, EXECUTE mean to deprive of life. KILL merely states the fact of death caused by an agency in any manner <killed in an accident> <frost killed the plants>. SLAY is a chiefly literary term implying deliberateness and violence but not necessarily motive <slew thousands of the Philistines>. MURDER specifically implies stealth and motive and premeditation and therefore full moral responsibility <convicted of murdering a rival>. ASSASSINATE applies to deliberate killing openly or secretly often for political motives <terrorists assassinated the Senator>. DISPATCH stresses quickness and directness in putting to death <dispatched the sentry with one bullet>. EXECUTE stresses putting to death as a legal penalty <executed by lethal gas>.

If we are to consider suicide a sin under the law of "Shall not kill" then we must also consider slaughtering of animals to eat, not performing CPR on a 100 year old woman dying of cancer who expressly wishes not to have life savning measure performed.

I don't think we can qualify suicide as killing under the definition we currently have for it without opening a can of worms. I also don't interpret that commandment to include suicide.

[Greatest I Am]

Thought shall not kill.

Suicide is killing ones self. Therefore suicide would be considered sinful.

Martyrdom can be seen as an action to further belief in God. it is not generally self inflicted.

In the case of Jesus, It was not self inflicted and it can be proven that His death furthered the belief in God. The Church grew from His actions. He did place himself in jeopardy by allowing other to use their freedom of choice in whether they would kill Him or not.

Regards
DL

[McCulloch]

Typos are sometimes so much fun.

Thought shall not kill.

I have to agree with you. Thoughts cannot kill until put into action. I suspect you meant to say, "Thou shalt not kill." But it works better if you leave the 17th century behind and say, "You shall not murder." Exodus 20:13 (New American Standard Bible)

Suicide is killing ones self. Therefore suicide would be considered sinful.

I think you are begging the question here. Not all killing was prohibited by the sixth commandment. God commanded His people, in the same book that records this commandment, to put certain people to death. Is suicide murder? Murder is the unlawful taking of another human's life. Suicide is not murder.

Martyrdom can be seen as an action to further belief in God. it is not generally self inflicted.

So you think that killing to further belief in God is OK?

[Greatest I Am]

Typos are sometimes so much fun.

Thought shall not kill.

I have to agree with you. Thoughts cannot kill until put into action. I suspect you meant to say, "Thou shalt not kill." But it works better if you leave the 17th century behind and say, "You shall not murder." Exodus 20:13 (New American Standard Bible)

Suicide is killing ones self. Therefore suicide would be considered sinful.

I think you are begging the question here. Not all killing was prohibited by the sixth commandment. God commanded His people, in the same book that records this commandment, to put certain people to death. Is suicide murder? Murder is the unlawful taking of another human's life. Suicide is not murder.

Reading the Bible I note that killing was allowed and recommended for a myriad of stupid reasons. Everything from laying with a virgin to working on Sunday.
I tend to try to look at things from Jesus's perspective. One of inclusion and compassion, so I tend to ignore these and concentrate on more logical writings.
Let me try to clarify my thoughts on this issue.

Mercy killing or euthanasia are allowed after investigation and sober 2nd thought by more than one participant to the act.
Suicide by an individual without involvement by other parties for unconfirmed reasons that could be transient would be considered a sin. No true need for the act is proven to anyone and might only be a temporary condition.
Do you know the movie, They kill horses don't they.
In her the act off a friend helping to end the life may be justified.
I do not want to be seen as waffling on this topic but without looking at individual and specific situation, it is hard to answer with strength on a general term.

Martyrdom can be seen as an action to further belief in God. it is not generally self inflicted.

So you think that killing to further belief in God is OK?

Martyrdom is not usually self inflicted so the answer would be No i do not think that killing oneself is OK.

It might be said that Jesus chose suicide to further His cause but His placing Himself at the hands of His executioners switched the onus for the act to those who did the actual killing.

Regards
DL

[Confused]

If you are going to adhere strictly to the "Thou shalt not kill" rule, then tell me, in a natural disaster, I have to triage, I move quickly through patients to determine who has the best possibility of survival with the most minimal of care needed. I literally choose who lives and who dies by simply putting a black or yellow colored X on their chest. Does this make me guilty of killing? Does giving those with the black X a dose of morphine to ease their suffering and make their passing a bit more comfortable make me guilty of killing.

And I disagree about the Martyrdom. I think if you allow someone to kill you, it would be considered suicide. Lets say I know that if I go into a certain part of town wearing a specific colored bandana I will be killed and I do it anyways. Is this suicide? Lets say my kidneys fail and I refuse dialysis. Is this suicide.

See the major problem with the open statement of "Thou shalt not kill"? It doesn't give parameters. Therefore one must assume that it remains consistent for all cases. No special considerations allowed.

[otseng]

In Exodus 20:13, the KJV says "Thou shalt not kill."

In Hebrew, kill is "ratsach". Though it is translated "kill" in KJV, "murder" is more appropriate.

ratsach
1) to murder, slay, kill
a) (Qal) to murder, slay
1) premeditated
2) accidental
3) as avenger
4) slayer (intentional) (participle)
b) (Niphal) to be slain
c) (Piel)
1) to murder, assassinate
2) murderer, assassin (participle)(subst)
d) (Pual) to be killed

Ratsach is the Hebrew word used in the 6th commandment of the Ten Commandments. It has been translated in the bible as meaning 'kill', but in fact it is closer to murder. Though it has a broader meaning than murder, and can be used to include killing by negligence, as well as assassination, and being killed by a wild animal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratsach

Other translation use "murder".

NIV - Exd 20:13 - You shall not murder.
NASB - Exd 20:13 - You shall not murder.
NKJV - Exd 20:13 - You shall not murder.

So, I see it as a command not to murder, rather than to kill.

[Confused]

In Exodus 20:13, the KJV says "Thou shalt not kill."

In Hebrew, kill is "ratsach". Though it is translated "kill" in KJV, "murder" is more appropriate.

ratsach
1) to murder, slay, kill
a) (Qal) to murder, slay
1) premeditated
2) accidental
3) as avenger
4) slayer (intentional) (participle)
b) (Niphal) to be slain
c) (Piel)
1) to murder, assassinate
2) murderer, assassin (participle)(subst)
d) (Pual) to be killed

Ratsach is the Hebrew word used in the 6th commandment of the Ten Commandments. It has been translated in the bible as meaning 'kill', but in fact it is closer to murder. Though it has a broader meaning than murder, and can be used to include killing by negligence, as well as assassination, and being killed by a wild animal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratsach

Other translation use "murder".

NIV - Exd 20:13 - You shall not murder.
NASB - Exd 20:13 - You shall not murder.
NKJV - Exd 20:13 - You shall not murder.

So, I see it as a command not to murder, rather than to kill.

So suicide is totally unrelated.

[otseng]

Dang that interpretation thing. Why exactly is it things couldn't just come out and say what they mean. Is suicide killing?

Because it's not quite that simple. If we use the definition, "the intentional taking of one's own life", there are cases where it's bad, but then there are cases when it's considered noble.

For instance, if a man runs into a burning house to try to save the life of a baby and dies in the process. Or a man helping a woman get on a ladder from a helicopter to save her from floodwaters and dies in the process.

So, in the case where one sacrifices one's own life to save another is a case where "suicide" would not be bad.

Even letting others kill you is not necessarily wrong either. In the case of being a soldier in battle, though no one wants to be killed, he is certainly putting himself in great risk of getting killed.

But, in general, this is not how people view suicide. Suicide is commonly associated with a loss of hope and personal loss. And when a girl or boy kills oneself because of this, it is wrong.