THE BIBLE ON SUICIDE

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Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death worldwide, with over 1 million occurring each year. It is estimated that between 10 and 25 non-fatal attempts occur for every suicide death.

 

Within the United States, there is an average of 1 suicide every 17 minutes. The highest rate occurs among the elderly. Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death among young people between the ages of 15 and 25.

 

What does the Bible say about suicide?

 

Suicides in the Bible

The word ‘suicide’ does not occur in the Biblical text. However, seven instances of persons ending their own lives are recorded there. These are:

 

1. Abimelech (Judges 9:50-54): Abimelech succeeded Gideon as ‘judge’ of Israel by killing seventy of his brothers. He later attacked the town of Thebez and attempted to set fire to its defensive tower. A woman crushed his skull with a millstone. “Then he called hastily to his armor-bearer, and said to him, ‘Draw your sword and kill me, lest men say of me, a woman killed him.’” The young man ‘thrust him through’ and he died.

 

2. Samson (Judges 16:23-31): Samson spent much of his life battling the Philistines. Eventually, the blinded Samson was forced to ‘entertain’ about 3,000 Philistine men and women at a banquet held in honor of a pagan god. Samson prayed for God to allow him vengeance for the loss of his eyes: “Let me die with the Philistines.” As he struggled against the pillars of the house where the people were gathered, the building collapsed, killing both Samson and the Philistines. His name later appears with the Old Testament ‘heroes of faith’ (Hebrews 11:32).

 

3 & 4. King Saul and his armor-bearer (I Samuel 31:1-6): In a battle with the Philistines, three of Saul’s sons were killed, and the arrows of the enemy badly wounded Saul. Hoping to avoid capture and ridicule, Saul asked his armor-bearer to kill him. The armor-bearer was afraid to kill the king; consequently, Saul fell upon his own sword. The armor-bearer then fell upon his own sword and died with Saul.

 

5. Ahithophel (II Samuel 17:1-23): During Absalom’s rebellion against his father, King David, he followed a counselor named Hushai at a crucial juncture in preference to Ahithophel’s advice. Ahithophel, with his best effort to guide Absalom rejected, went home, “set his house in order, and hanged himself”.

 

6. Zimri (I Kings 16:15-20): Zimri reigned for seven days as King of Israel before being replaced by Omri in a coup d’etat. Under siege by Omri’s army, Zimri went into the citadel of the royal palace, set fire to the palace, and died in it. Suicides by defeated leaders were common in history.

 

7. Judas (Matthew 27:3-5; Acts 1:15-18): Matthew gives the only account of the death of Judas, Jesus’ betrayer, in the Gospels. Judas hanged himself. Acts of the Apostles adds a brief note about what happened to his body.

 

There are also two “would-be” suicides in the Bible, both of which were averted: Jonah (“Take me up and throw me into the sea”, Jonah 1:12), and the Philippian jailer, (“… he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped”, Acts 16:27).

 

It is noteworthy that several of these persons are criticized in the Biblical text for specific sins they had committed. Yet neither of the above individuals was explicitly condemned for the action of taking his own life. What does this mean? At the least it suggests that we should not rush to judgment, with our necessarily limited knowledge, when a person takes his or her life.

 

What Biblical Texts Have Been Used To Condemn Suicide?

Scriptures that have been commonly used to show that suicide is wrong include the following:

• Exodus 20:13: “You shall not kill”
• Deuteronomy 30:19: “… choose life, that you and your descendants may live”
• Job 1:21: “… the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away’’
• I Corinthians 6:19: “… your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you … ”
• Ephesians 5:28: “For no one ever hates his own flesh …”
• Revelation 3:5, 12, 21; 21:7: “He who conquers [overcomes, endures]” will receive blessing from God.

 

These texts teach deep respect for human life. The Bible does not condone, excuse, or advocate taking action to end one’s own life. Suicide is not God’s will for our lives.

 

Reasons Commonly Given to Condemn Suicide

In Biblical lists of sinful actions, such as Romans 1:28-32 and Galatians 5:19-21, suicide is never specifically mentioned.

 

There are Christian writings as early as the 2nd century that explicitly condemn suicide, but the first extended treatment of suicide by a Christian writer was by Augustine (356-430 A.D.). The occasion for his writing was that a heretical group of believers in North Africa (where he lived) were urging new Christians to die in purity (by suicide) rather than risk sin in their lives. Augustine countered that suicide was a worse sin than others they might commit if they continued living.

 

Arguments that later became common in efforts to show that the Bible condemns suicide include:

• Biblical commands that forbid taking life, especially “Thou shalt not kill”, are believed to condemn suicide, in that suicide amounts to ‘self-murder’.
• God created all life; consequently, only God should end life.
• Suicide is an injustice, in that it robs the community of the victim’s contributions and Christian example.

 

These arguments were tested, especially by unusual cases. Eusebius, a 4th century Church historian, gives an account of martyrs at Antioch. He tells of a mother and her two beautiful daughters, all Christians, who were captured by soldiers. The mother regarded rape as the most awful thing that could happen to a person. Realizing their plight as captives of pagan soldiers, the three ladies modestly asked to be excused for a moment. They slipped away and threw themselves into a nearby river and drowned. Eusebius approved their action. Similar actions were often approved during times of persecution.

 

Is Suicide Forgivable?

Reasons given for suicide today are very different from reasons one sees in suicides in the Bible, or even in most historical accounts. Samson, for example, was not “ill”; he knew exactly what he was doing, and God granted him the strength he prayed for. Saul, Abimelech, Ahithophel and Zimri were protecting their own valor. Judas, who may have had other motives to betray Jesus in addition to his desire for money, was later filled with remorse.

 

Suicide today often appears to be the result of a powerful, if not overwhelming, emotional or psychological disturbance. From “early onset” depression among teens and young adults to lack of dignity and worth sometimes experienced in old age, mental distress may result in irrational action. Warnings have become common in recent years that some useful medications, although they may be helpful in dealing with a malady, may lead to side effects, including suicide.

 

When we ask whether suicide is forgivable, we are left with many serious questions, such as the following:

• Are there situations that allow us to respond differently when someone has taken his/her life, or does the law that one should not take life allow no forgivable exception?
• Does God understand better than we the real reasons why individuals make the choices they make?
• Will a loving, caring God judge a person whose life has been characterized by faith and goodness, only in terms of one act, performed in fright or distress?
• Does God condemn anyone who is not fully aware of what he/she is doing?

 

Suicide should never be romanticized, idealized, or encouraged. Having said this, attempting suicide is typically an act of a desperate person and it should be met by us with compassion rather than condemnation.

 

What Can We Do to Help When Suicide or Attempted Suicide Occurs?

Howard Clinebell was a longtime teacher of pastoral counseling at Claremont School of Theology in California. A half-century ago he told students who were training for ministry that in a church of 500 adult members, representing a cross-section of America, one could expect that 25 would have been hospitalized for a major mental illness, 24 would be alcoholics, 50 would be handicapped by some neurotic symptoms, and 115 would answer ‘yes’ to the question, “Have you ever felt you were going to have a nervous breakdown?” He further warned that every other year, one member of that ‘typical’ church would commit suicide.

 

These numbers appear larger than those in our experience. Actually, since Clinebell wrote, suicide rates, especially among teens/young adults and the elderly have escalated.

 

What might we do to help hurting persons who may be having suicidal thoughts, or whose loved one has committed suicide?

• We can be better informed in ways to identify suicidal behavior and seek to recognize when and how to intervene.
• We can be more compassionate to those who are grieving and help to remove the stigma that is associated with suicide.
• We can take an active role in support opportunities for all concerned.
• We can, with grace, attempt to share with others this promise: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we are comforted by God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

• A Final Thought

• William Phipps relates events from the life of William Cowper, an 18th century English poet and hymnodist. Cowper had a long struggle with an impulse to commit suicide. As a young lawyer, in a fit of madness, he attempted to strike his heart with a penknife, but the point was broken. He tried to hang himself with a garter, but the garter slipped off the nail. After spending 18 months in a mental asylum, Cowper became a friend of John Newton, who suggested that they jointly publish a hymnbook. Amazing Grace became Newton’s most famous contribution. God Moves in a Mysterious Way became Cowper’s best-loved entry.
• Cowper wrote this hymn after another mental breakdown. He felt that God demanded that he kill himself; he compared himself to Judas. Eventually, he rose out of this gloom and became the most popular poet of 18th century England. Yet he ended his life in a mental institution where he wrote a now-famous poem of despair entitled The Castaway. Would we think differently of Cowper’s beautiful hymn if he had succeeded in his suicide attempt? Our most urgent need today is not to sit in judgment on what may well be a misguided cry for help. It is rather to deal, as God helps us, with the spiritual and mental struggles that drive some people we love to despair of life itself.