Insights on Suicide from Various Perspectives
Examining suicide from biblical, cultural, and societal viewpoints, this compilation delves into the prevalence, warning signs, and risk factors associated with suicidal ideation. The content underscores the importance of identifying and addressing mental health concerns to prevent tragic outcomes.
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BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVES ON SUICIDE
U;NEE 21/1/2007 40% of Korean Actors contemplated suicide from depression (Pak Jin Hee Thesis Yonsei Univ School of Social Welfare 2009 I felt every thing is empty. I am again walking down a path to reach a destination I don t know
SUICIDE IN MALAYSIA suicide rates have increased by 60% over the past 45 years 30,000 family members or friends
36% OF CALLERS WITH SUICIDE IDEATION TO BEFRIENDERS WERE AGED TEENAGERS TILL 29 YEARS OF AGE
Malaysia teen reportedly jumped to death after Instagram poll .Straits Times ..May 15 2019 69% voted for death
INSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH, MINISTRY OF HEALTH, KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA Kuang Hock Lim, Chien Huey Teh, Chee Cheong Kee and Sumarni Mohd Ghazali June 29, 2016 Prevalence of suicidal ideation among the adolescents was 6.2%. Risk factors Female Indians Loneliness Anxiety or worry
WARNING SIGNS Talking: If someone talks about dying by suicide, feeling hopeless, having no reason to live or being a burden to others, these could be signs that they are having suicidal thoughts. Behaviors: Increased use of alcohol or drugs, withdrawing from activities, isolating from people, sleeping too much or too little or giving away prized possessions are some examples of behaviors people might display if they're feeling suicidal. Mood:People who are considering suicide often display moods such as depression, anxiety, shame, anger, agitation, or even relief.
For the meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day, and from hour to hour. What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general but rather the specific meaning of a person s life at a given moment. Viktor Frankl
MARY CUSHMAN What a friend we have in Jesus All our sins and griefs to bear What a privilege to carry Everything to God in prayer Oh, what peace we often forfeit Oh what needless pain we bear All because we do not carry Everything to God in prayer
Elderly man despairing life jumps of a bridge Soldier captured in war takes a cyanide capsule to avoid torture and hide state secrets WHAT IS SUICIDE Truck driver in a truck where the brakes are out interntionally swerves off a bridge to avoid killing children and dies Cancer patient with 6 months to live shoots himself to save his family from unnecessary financial and psychological distress Terminally ill patient requests DNR if heart failure occurs again Jehovah s witness refuses blood treansfusion for religious reasons and dies of blood loss
DEFINITION An act is suicide if an only if a person intentionally and /or directly causes his or her death as an ultimate end of itself or as a means to another (pain relief), through acting (eg taking a pill) or refraining from acting (eg refusing to eat) when that act is not coerced and not done sacrificially for the lives of other persons or in obedience to God Acts of omission or commission Absence of coercion or sacrifice Intent to die
ABOUT SUICIDE Christian may do it but not loose his salvation Christian may do it but loose his salvation True Christian will never do it
BIBLICAL EXAMPLES Abimelech (Jdg 9:50-57) Ahithophel (2 Sa 17:23) Zimri (1 Ki 16:17-19)
Samson (Jdg 16:28-31) Saul's armour-bearer (1 Sa 31:5) Saul (1 Sa 31:1-4)
SUICIDE OF SAUL 1 Samuel 31:1-6 (ESV) Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 2 And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. 3 The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers. 4 Then Saul said to his armor- bearer, Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me. But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. 5 And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. 6 Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together
INTERPRETING OT NARRATIVES OT Narratives Pauline epistles Literary methods Didactic Narrative analogies
Narrative Analogies Saul David Disobedient Offers sacrifice independently Does not kill all livestock 1 Sam 13: 8-14; 10:8; 15:26.35 Obedient Grasping for power Wait Respects life Waits for Saul s death 1 Sam 26:10 Tries to kill David 1 Sam 18: 11; 19:10; 20:31 Orders army not to eat, ready to kill Jonathan for breaking his command 1 Sam 14:24-46 Throws spear at Jonathan who defends David 1 Sam 20:33 Kills priests of Nob 1 Sam 22:17-19 Refuses to kill Saul -1 Sam 24:6; 26:9-11 Disrespects life Deepening walk with God Alienation from God Consults necromancers for help instead of God 28:3-25 Best friends with Jonathan 18:1-4; 19:1, Michal loves David 1 Sam 18:28-29; 2 Sam 6:16-23 Wins loyalty of his men 18:7 Wins trust of Philistine king 27:1-7 Deterioration of relationships Jonathan has to choose btw Saul and David 14 :43-46 Michal has to choose to protect David 19:11-17 Enhancing relationships
Wounded on battlefield Alienated from David Alienated from God will not turn to Him SAUL S SUICIDE Diminished respect for life convinces him that death is only answer His own armor bearer refused to kill him because of respect for Lord s anointed He falls on his sword
His grasping for control alienated Saul from everyone Saul repeatedly violated Gods command to keep his throne and yet it is his final act which give throne to David TRAGEDY Here is a man who used death to deal with all his problems ..killing himself fits the pattern
Attempting to minimize the pain of divine judgment. and to alter the means of divine judgment. They cut off his head and stripped off his armor and impaled his body on the wall of Beth-shan in an effort to mock and ridicule the people of Israel TRAGEDY To commend his suicide is to misinterpret the purpose of the tragic narrative
DAVID KILLS AMALEKITE WHO SAID HE ENABLED SAULS SUICIDE 2 Samuel 1:14-16 (ESV) David said to him, How is it you were not afraid to put out your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed? 15 Then David called one of the young men and said, Go, execute him. And he struck him down so that he died. 16 And David said to him, Your blood be on your head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, I have killed the Lord's anointed.
SAMSON Flawed hero even though he might not have had God s intentions in mind God still uses him His character flaws leads him to catastrophes In his death he avenges God s honor..God gives consent by returning his strength? Martyrdom? Tragedy depicts a hero who is responsible for his own downfall since it has grown out of his own character flaw Ambiguity around this case
EGOISTIC VS COVENANTAL Judges 16:28-30 (ESV) Then Samson called to the Lord and said, O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes. 29 And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other. 30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines.
CONCLUSIONS 1. None are viewed in favorable light 2. All were responses to crises either in fact or perception..Saul and Zimri would have died in enemy hands in any event. Abimelech was mortally wounded and Ahithophel had loss of face and failure 3. All chose suicide with varying degrees of readiness or planning
ELIJAH 1 Kings 19:4 (ESV) But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.
MOSES Numbers 11:13-15 (ESV) Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, Give us meat, that we may eat. 14 I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. 15 If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.
JOB Job 7:13-16 (ESV) When I say, My bed will comfort me, my couch will ease my complaint, 14 then you scare me with dreams and terrify me with visions, 15 so that I would choose strangling and death rather than my bones. 16 I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are a breath.
JONAH Jonah 4:1-4 (ESV) But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. 2 And he prayed to the Lord and said, O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. 3 Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live. 4 And the Lord said, Do you do well to be angry?
EPICETUS I won t abandon old age if it preserves me whole for myself, or at least whole in the better part; but if it starts to shatter my mind and tear down its parts, if it does not leave me life, but mere breath, I will sally forth from the decrepit and tottering building.
When ones circumstances contain a preponderance of things in accordance with nature, it is befitting to remain alive; when one possess or sees in prospect a majority of contrary things, it is befitting to depart from life CICERO
AUGUSTINE OF HIPOO Duty of self care or self love Debt of love we owe others A refusal to trust God Unwillingness to endure suffering like Job Excludes the possibility of repentance
AUGUSTINE OF HIPOO Nomanshouldputanendtothislife toobtainthatbetterlifewelookforafter death,forthosewhodiebytheirown handhavenobetterlifeafterdeath (CityofGod)
MURDER Irreversible and permanent destruction of life which is the most precious possession an individual can ever have Assault on the image of God as we bear his image
Genesis 9:5-6 (ESV) And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. 6 Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.
HAUERWASON SUICIDE AND THE COMMUNITY Suicide deprives the community of the moral service to others that life can be endured Suicide deprives the community the opportunity to teach others how to die, how to face life , how to live well and how a wise man understands the connection between good and evil Suicide leaves the community with a morally unhelpful memory of the person who committed suicide..which could hurt those left behind who are trying to live well as individuals and in community with others
SUICIDE DUE TO BAD THEOLOGY God is impotent or unconcerned We are essentially good do not deserve evil
EMPATHETIC BUT POWERLESS GODFATE IN CONTROL God does not want you to be sick or crippled. He didn t make you have this problem and He doesn t want to to go on having it but he can t make it go away. There are somethings that too hard even for God Fate not God sends the problem and in the knowledge that we are not alone , that God is on our side ,we manage to go on
OUR SITUATION Romans 8:18-23 (ESV) or I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
ACCOUNTABILITY FOR STEWARDSHIP WHILE LIFE REMAINS Ecclesiastes 11:8 - 10 (ESV) So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity. 9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. 10 Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.
ACCOUNTABILITY FOR STEWARDSHIP WHILE LIFE REMAINS Remember not for sake of reminiscing but for revolutionizing their lives bring in conformity with God s eternal plan Ecclesiastes 12:1-3 (ESV) Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, I have no pleasure in them ; 2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, 3 in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed,
ACCOUNTABILITY FOR STEWARDSHIP WHILE LIFE REMAINS Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (ESV) 13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
ACCOUNTABILITY FOR STEWARDSHIP WHILE LIFE REMAINS Revelation 14:12-13 (ESV) Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. 13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Blessed indeed, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!
Venial sins Mortal sins Persons who commit suicides do not go to heaven
DOES A CHRISTIAN WHO COMMITS SUICIDE GO TO HEAVEN? Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV) For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Titus 3:4-7 (ESV) But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life
DOES A CHRISTIAN WHO COMMITS SUICIDE GO TO HEAVEN? Romans 8:37-39 (ESV) No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 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.
PAULINE DESIRE FOR SUICIDE? Philippians 1:18-26 (ESV) Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.
NATIONAL ACTION ALLIANCE FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION'S (NAASP) CAMPAIGN Ask:According to its website, asking the question "Are you thinking about suicide?" lets the person know that you're open to speaking about suicide in a non-judgmental and supportive way. It can open the door for someone thinking about suicide to talk about how they feel or what they're going through. Other questions could include, "How do you hurt?" and "How can I help?" NAASP advises that when asked, friends and family should not promise to keep the person's thoughts of suicide a secret. Keep them safe: NAASP says that it's important to find out whether the person in question has already done anything to try to die by suicide before being approached. Depending on whether they have a plan in place or if they have access to firearms or other potential weapons, people looking to provide support may need to take them to the emergency department or call the emergency services. Be there:This could be being physically present for someone or speaking with them on the phone, though it's important to follow through. This can be life-saving, according to NAASP. Help them connect:This could include developing a safety plan or a crisis plan, connecting the person with a health professional or calling a support line such as Befrienders Follow up:NAASP advises that this could be leaving a message to see how the person is doing, sending a text or giving them a call. This type of contact can increase feelings of connectedness.
