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NASB | Exodus 20:13 ¶ "You shall not murder. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Exodus 20:13 ¶ "You shall not commit murder (unjustified, deliberate homicide). [Gen 9:6; Ex 21:12, 14, 18] |
Subject: Can one who commits suicide be saved? |
Bible Note: Andes, Some who commit suicide are mentally ill, not necessarily all. You are correct that God does not send a person to hell because they are sick. The particular circumstances may diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide. The ancient Catholic custom of refusing Christian burial to those who committed suicide was not a judgement on whether or not they were saved or sane. It was a judgement on the sin of despair and the teaching that we do not give ourselves life nor are we allowed to take our own life. We commanded to love God and love our neighbor as ourself. Suicide may also involve the sin of giving scandal. The refusal of Christian burial also has a practical purpose, which is to deter people from committing suicide. It is often if not always an effective deterent. Studies indicate that clinically depressed people with suicidal ideation who have been taught that suicide is a mortal sin which leads to damnation often do not follow through on their thoughts for that very reason. As for the deminished resposibility of the menatlly ill: it is for this reason some are now granted a Christian burial. And that does not even touch on the current issues of assisted suicide and the ever more popular "mercy killing -suicide" and murder-suicide. Emmaus |