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Category Archives: suicide

Looking at Suicide from a Christian Doctor’s Perspective

26 Thursday Jul 2018

Posted by Alex Tang in Biomedical Ethics, Pastoral care, suicide, Uncategorized

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BeritaNECF.suicide01

The suicide of American television celebrity, actor, chef and author Anthony Bourdain on June 8, 2018 shock many people when the news hit the social media. Bourdain who was handsome, respected, successful, popular, and at the prime of his career should choose to commit suicide was a shock as we often think that suicide occurs only to ‘other people’. As many years before, the suicide of popular actor comedian Robbin Williams raise similar existential questions which was rapidly displaced by other distractions of our fast paced interconnected world. Kim Jong-Hyun, a popular member of the SHINee, one of Korea’s top boy bands, shocked his young fans worldwide by his suicide in December 2017. In his suicide note, Kim cited loneliness and depression. Suicide is a taboo subject in our culture and is not widely discussed unless in association with the publicity of celebrities. This article will discuss the prevalence and causes of suicide and how we as a church can help these who are contemplating such act as their final solution.

The World Health Organization (WHO) gives the statistics of 800,000 suicide occurrences per year which makes for one suicide in every 40 seconds! The highest suicide rate is in the 15-29 years and in the >70 years old age range. In the last 45 years the rate of suicide has increased by 65% worldwide. There are no reliable statistics for Malaysia as suicide is a crime here and hence not often reported. From anecdotal and accounts from NGOs such as The Befrienders and hospital sources, the prevalent rate of suicide in Malaysia is keeping pace with the rapid increase elsewhere in the world.

To act to commit suicide is an act of desperation. To kill oneself is again our natural instinct for self-preservation. People commit suicide to escape from a situation where they can see that there is no other way out. The pain they experience are so overwhelming and self-consuming that they see death as the only answer. Pastor Rick Warren who lost his son Matthew to suicide in 2013 said, “Suicide is a permanent, irreversible attempt to solve a temporary problem. You don’t have to die to end your pain.” The pain they feel may be physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. Some people who suffering from intractable cancers or other chronic disease may be in an unending physical pain state that often anti-pain medication may not help. Depression is an important cause of emotional pain that is often overlooked or missed by others. The pain is the numbness of a cloud of darkness that suffocate the life of those who suffers it. Depression is all consuming. It is often impossible for one to come out of depression by will power alone. Emotional pain of loss and abandonment caused by loss of children, spouses, and of divorce can be crippling. Mental pain may come from financial disasters, addiction, and loss of self-esteem. Suicide as a solution to avoid paying a crippling loan from the ‘Ah Longs’ or moneylenders may not be as rare as we think. Spiritual pain is the existential pain of loss without God that manifest as an emptiness in our lives. It is often confused with depression. The spiritual pain associated with celebrity suicides are only the tip of the iceberg. As we look at suicide, it is important to remember that it is an act of desperation. We should view such people with compassion. Even the best of us may be driven by circumstances to the blink of this abyss.

As Christians, what should our thoughts be about suicide? Surprisingly, the Bible has little to say about suicide. There are seven incidents of suicides in the Scriptures: Abimelech (Judges 9:52-54); Samson (Judges 16: 29-30); Saul and his armor bearer (1Samuel 31: 3-5); Ahithophel (2 Samuel 15:31b); Zimri (1Kings 16:18-20); and Judas Iscariot (Matt 27:3-5)
It is interesting to note that of the seven suicides recorded in the Scriptures, the suicides of Abimelech, Saul and Zimri were recorded as direct judgement of God on their sins, even going so far as to say that God killed Saul. The Scriptures were silent on the other four suicides though the ignoble context in each case speaks for themselves. Therefore the Scriptures thus offer no specific guidelines on suicide, allowing each situation to speak for itself. Theologian Karl Barth noted in his multivolume Church Dogmatics, “a remarkable fact that in the Bible suicide is nowhere explicitly forbidden.”

In certain Christian traditions, suicide is regarded as an ‘unpardonable’ sin and those who commit suicide are not given the rites and burial in the church grounds. They are usually buried outside the church and regarded as being condemned to hell. What is the origin of this belief?

The root of this belief may be traced to Thomas Aquinas, one of the greatest theologians of the church. In his thesis, On Suicide, Thomas Aquinas argued that to commit suicide is to sin against God, family and community. God is sovereign, and He decides when we are born and when we die. To commit suicide is to usurp the sovereignty of God over our time of death. Suicide deprives children of their parents, and community of the contribution of that person. Thomas Aquinas never said that suicide is an unpardonable sin. Unfortunately Church traditions made it into an unpardonable sin. The unpardonable sin is stated in Mark 3:22–30 and Matthew 12:22–32 as sinning against the Holy Spirit; suicide, is not.

What can we offer to those who are suicidal? To consider suicide is an act of desperation. There are several ways in which we can help.
Firstly, Christians must be educated on suicide so as to be remove the taboo on it. Education gives a clearer perspective on how desperate are those who consider it; they need more help and is not to be shunned or rejected.

Secondly, Christians must be willing to walk alongside those in pain. Suicidal persons then to withdraw from human contact. Often they are loneliness and became entangled inside themselves. They need someone to talk to, and to befriend them. That is why the Befrienders and other such voluntary suicide hot-lines are so effective to talking persons out of suicide. NGOs are just the frontlines and need to be able to refer to churches. At present, unfortunately, not many churches are registered with them to offer help. Help is not just the offering of platitudes but a journeying together for a period of time. It needs commitment

Thirdly, Christians have to learn to recognize the warning signs of a person who is suicidal. Usually such person are talking about ways to kill themselves often in great details, in unbearable pain as described above, withdrawn, increasing use of alcohol or drugs, giving away their favorite things, and experiencing extreme mood swings.

Fourthly, Christians should know when to call in help. A suicidal person should not be left alone, and may need to be committed to a psychiatric facilities. Depression and other pain may need the help of professionals such as psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and counsellors.

Finally, all the above action must be saturated with prayers. There are many occasions I have observed the power of prayer penetrating the hard shells that these desperate people had built around them.

Suicide will become increasing common in our high pressured society. Euthanasia or assisted suicide for the terminal ill has been successfully lobbied to become law in many countries recently. There is much Christians can do to help people who are suicidal. Any suicide will have serious ramification to the immediate family, community, and society. In this case, prevention is the only solution.

This article was published in Q3 2018 Berita NECF

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Pain and Suicide

19 Tuesday Jun 2018

Posted by Alex Tang in Church, Culture, Euthanasia, suicide

≈ 1 Comment

Anthony_Bourdain

The suicide of American television celebrity, actor, chef and author Anthony Bourdain on June 8, 2018, shocked many people when the news hit the social media. It was a shock to us that Bourdain who was handsome, respected, successful, popular, and at the prime of his career would choose to commit suicide.  We often think that suicide occurs only in ‘other people’.  Likewise, it was not long ago that the suicide of popular actor-comedian Robin Williams raised similar existential questions but we were too busy in our fast-paced lives to search for the real hard answers. Kim Jong-Hyun, a popular member of the group SHINee, one of Korea’s top boy bands, shocked his young fans worldwide by his suicide in December 2017. In his suicide note, Kim cited loneliness and depression. Suicide is a taboo subject in our culture and is not discussed much in public except in high profile celebrity suicides. This article will discuss the prevalence and causes of suicide and how we as a church can help those who might view and contemplate suicide as the solution to their problems.

The World Health Organization (WHO) gives the statistics of 800,000 suicide occurrences per year which makes for one suicide in every 40 seconds! The highest suicide rate is in the 15-29 years and those above the 70 years old age range. In the last 45 years, the rate of suicide has increased by 65% worldwide. There are no reliable statistics for Malaysia as suicide is a crime here and hence not often reported. From the anecdotal accounts of NGOs such as The Befrienders and hospital sources, the prevalence of Malaysia suicide rates is increasing together with the rising suicide rates in the world.

The act of committing suicide is an act of desperation.

The act of committing suicide is an act of desperation. Ironic as it may seem, it is an act of self-preservation where the natural instinct is to kill oneself to escape from a situation where they cannot see any other way out. The pain they experience is so overwhelming and self-consuming that they see death as the only answer. Pastor Rick Warren who lost his son Matthew to suicide in 2013 noted, “Suicide is a permanent, irreversible attempt to solve a temporary problem. You don’t have to die to end your pain.” The pain they feel may be physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual.

  • Some people who are suffering from intractable cancers or other chronic diseases may be in a constant state of never-ending physical pain where anti-pain medication has ceased to offer any relief from the pain.
  • Depression is also an important cause of emotional pain that is often overlooked and missed by others. The pain is like a cloud of darkness that envelopes and suffocates the lives of those who suffer from it. Depression is all-consuming, leaving a numbing emptiness within. It is often impossible for one to come out of depression by willpower alone. The emotional pain of loss and abandonment caused by loss of children, spouses, and of divorce can also be crippling.
  • Mental pain may come yet from financial disasters, addiction, and loss of self-esteem. People committing suicide to avoid paying a crippling loan from the ‘Ah Longs’ or moneylenders may not be as rare as we think.
  • Spiritual pain is the existential pain of the loss of God’s presence that manifests as an emptiness in our lives. It is often confused with depression. The spiritual pain associated with celebrity suicides is only the tip of the iceberg.

As we look at suicide, it is important to remember that it is an act of desperation. We should view such people with compassion. Even the best of us may be driven by circumstances to the brink of this abyss.

As Christians, what should our thoughts be about suicide? Surprisingly, the Bible has little to say about suicide.  There are seven incidents of suicides in the Scriptures: Abimelech (Judges 9:52-54); Samson (Judges 16: 29-30); Saul and his armor-bearer (1Samuel 31: 3-5); Ahithophel (2 Samuel 15:31b); Zimri (1Kings 16:18-20); and Judas Iscariot (Matt 27:3-5)

It is interesting to note that of the seven suicides recorded in the Scriptures, the suicides of Abimelech, Saul and Zimri were recorded as a direct judgement of God on their sins, even going so far as to say that God killed Saul. The Scriptures were silent on the other four suicides through the ignoble context in each case speaks for themselves. Therefore the Scriptures thus offer no specific guidelines on suicide, allowing each situation to speak for itself.  Theologian Karl Barth noted the following in his multivolume Church Dogmatics : “a remarkable fact that in the Bible suicide is nowhere explicitly forbidden.”

In certain Christian traditions, suicide is regarded as an ‘unpardonable’ sin and those who commit suicide are not given the rites and burial in the church grounds. They are usually buried outside the church and are regarded as being condemned to hell. What is the origin of this belief? The root of this belief may be traced to Thomas Aquinas, one of the greatest theologians of the church. In his thesis, On Suicide, Thomas Aquinas argued that to commit suicide is to sin against God, family and community. God is sovereign, and He decides when we are born and when we die. To commit suicide is to usurp the sovereignty of God over our time of death. Suicide deprives children of their parents, and community of the contribution of that person. Thomas Aquinas never said that suicide is an unpardonable sin. Unfortunately, Church traditions made it into an unpardonable sin.  The unpardonable sin is stated in Mark 3:22–30 and Matthew 12:22–32 as sinning against the Holy Spirit; suicide, is not.

“Suicide is a permanent, irreversible attempt to solve a temporary problem. You don’t have to die to end your pain.”

Rick Warren who lost his son to suicide

Suicide is an act committed in sheer desperation.  What can we offer to those who are suicidal?  There are several ways in which we can help.

Firstly, Christians must be educated about suicide so as to remove the taboo associated with it. Education gives a clearer perspective and understanding of the utter hopelessness and despair that drive people to suicide; they need our help and are not to be shunned or rejected.

Secondly, Christians must be willing to walk alongside those in pain. Suicidal persons tend to withdraw from human contact. Often they are lonely and are entangled in their loneliness within. They need someone to talk to and to befriend them.  Befrienders and other such voluntary suicide hot-lines have proven effective in tackling and helping to get potential suicidal persons to abort their suicide attempts because they provide that much-needed listening ear.  That being said, the NGOs are mere frontlines who should be able to approach the church to help these broken persons. Help is not just the offering of platitudes but the offer to journey together for a period of time. It needs commitment. Unfortunately, not many churches are registered with them to offer such help at the present moment.

Thirdly, Christians have to learn to recognize the warning signs of a suicidal person. We need to be able to pick up on cues such as excessive talks and obsession with details on ways to kill themselves, the increasing use of alcohol or drugs, the sudden giving away of their favourite things. We should be extra vigilant of those in unbearable pain as described above, those withdrawn, or those who are experiencing extreme mood swings.

Fourthly, Christians should know when to call for further help. A suicidal person should not be left alone and may need to be committed to a psychiatric facility. The help of professionals such as psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and counsellors may be required to deal with the person’s depression and other pain issues.

Finally, all the above actions must be saturated with prayers. There are many occasions where I have observed the power of prayer penetrating what often is an impenetrable hard shell that a suicidal person had built around him/her.

Suicide will become increasingly common in our high pressured society. Euthanasia or assisted suicide for the terminally ill has been successfully lobbied to become law in many countries recently. Any suicide, however, will have serious ramification to the immediate family, community, and society. Christians can do much to help people who are suicidal and prevent their suicide attempts.

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Is it an Unforgivable Sin to Commit Suicide? (2)

07 Thursday Oct 2010

Posted by Alex Tang in suicide, Theology

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Previously we looked at the Biblical record concerning suicide. Read more here.
Is there so grave a sin that God cannot forgive? The Bible notes that God has forgiven all our sins–past, present, and future (Colossians 2:13-14). Paul says in Romans 8:38-39 that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. The Bible does not use the phrase “unforgivable sin” but however there are some verses which are frequently associated with the “unforgivable sin.” These are Mark 3: 22-30, Matthew 12:31-32, Luke 12: 8-10, Hebrews 6: 4-8, and Hebrews 10: 26-29.
Mark 3:22-30
    “And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, ‘He has Beelzebub,’ and, ‘By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.’ …’Assuredly, I [Jesus] say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation;’ because they said, ‘He has an unclean spirit'” (NKJV).
Matthew 12:31-32
“Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come” (NKJV).
Note that in the above two passages and in Luke 12:8-10, Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees who had set themselves against believing that Jesus is the Messiah. The driving out of demons by Jesus is a demonstration of His being the Messiah. Instead the Pharisees attributed the work of the Holy Spirit to the work of Satan!
Obviously, this “unforgivable sin” has nothing to do with committing suicide. Suicide is the last thing on these Pharisees’ minds as they planned to resist Jesus which ultimately let them to plot Jesus’ murder. So what does Jesus means when he mentions a sin that cannot be forgiven?

Pastor/Theologian John Piper defines this “unforgivable sin” as “the unforgivable sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is an act of resistance which belittles the Holy Spirit so grievously that he withdraws for ever with his convicting power so that we are never able to repent and be forgiven.” Listen or read his excellent sermon, Beyond Forgiveness: Blasphemy against the Spirit here.

In summary, suicide is not the unforgivable sin. It is however a sin against God who created us in his own image. It is also sin against our spouses, families and communities because of the tremendous emotional and psychological scars a suicide leaves behind.

Related articles by me

Down and Out and Suicidal

“Please Let Me Die” – Mercy Killing

Random musings and reflections on life, God and all that stuff (movies, comics, science fiction, spiritual formation, Christian education, biomedical ethics, post modern parenting, books, theology and philosophy)

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Is it an Unforgivable Sin to Commit Suicide? (1)

06 Wednesday Oct 2010

Posted by Alex Tang in suicide, Theology

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We shall consider this statement in by searching the Bible to see what was written about suicide and an unforgivable sin. There are seven incidents of suicides in the Scriptures.
1. Suicide of Abimelech
The first chronologically mentioned is Abimelech. After capturing the city of Thebez, he attacked a fortified tower in the centre of the city. The Old Testament noted “ Abimelech went to the tower and stormed it. But as he approached the entrance to the tower to set it on fire, a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and cracked his skull. Hurriedly he called to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and kill me, so that they can’t say, ‘A woman killed him’.” So his servant ran him through, and he died.” (Judges 9:52-54). Scripture neither approves nor disapproves of this act of assisted suicide. It was noted as a fitting end to an evil man. “Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelech has done to his father by murdering his seventy brothers.” (Judges 9:56).
2. Suicide of Samson
The next suicide though arguably as there was a good cause and with divine sanction, was that of Samson. “Then Samson reached towards the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on one and his left hand on the other, Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived” (Judges 16: 29-30) Scripture passed no judgement on his act of suicide.
3. Suicide of Saul and his armour bearer
The suicide of Saul and his armour bearer elicit more comment.
‘The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him critically. Saul said to his armor-bearer, Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through and abuse me”. But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. When the armor-bearer  saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his own sword and died with him.’  (1Samuel 31: 3-5).
Saul is condemned in 1 Chronicles 10:13-14, Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord; he did not keep the word of the Lord and even consulted a medium for guidance, and did not inquire of the Lord. So the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.
Even though Saul killed himself by his own sword, the chronicler noted that God himself killed Saul for his unfaithfulness. His armor-bearer chooses to die with his king, an example of suicide by identification. There was no comment on it in the Scriptures.
4. Suicide of Ahithopel
Ahithophel was King David’s counsellor. He became Absalom’s when Absalom rebelled against his father. David prayed that God would turn Ahithphel’s counsel into foolishness (2 Samuel 15:31b). When Ahithophel found that his advice was ignored by Absalom, he hanged himself.(2 Sam 17:23). Again, there was no comment in the Scriptures about his actions.
5. Suicide of Zimri
Zimri came to the throne of Israel by assassination. The Israelites rebelled and besieged his city of Tirzah. “When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the royal palace and set the palace on fire around him. So he died, because the sins he had committed, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord and walking in the ways of Jeroboam and in the sin he has committed and had caused Israel to commit.” (1Kings 16:18-20). Here it was noted that his death was judgment for his sins.
6. Suicide of Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot was the only suicide mentioned in the New Testament. When Judas saw that Jesus was condemned, he was filled with remorse and tried to return the money. Then he went and hanged himself. (Matt 27:3-5) There was no further comment on Judas in the Scripture, except that his apostleship was given to Matthias (Acts 1: 23-26).
It is interesting to note that in this brief survey of the seven suicides recorded in the Scriptures; the suicides of Abimelech, Saul and Zimri were recorded as direct judgment of God on their sins, even going as far as to say God killed Saul. The Scriptures were silent on the other four suicides, although the silence of Scripture is not the basis for positive argument, especially when the ignoble context in each case speaks for themselves.
we shall consider the unforgivable sin tomorrow
Random musings and reflections on life, God and all that stuff (movies, comics, science fiction, spiritual formation, Christian education, biomedical ethics, post modern parenting, books, theology and philosophy)

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Alex Tang

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