UPDATED 4/30/2018
Two Husbands & Their Wives
Is Suicide Self Murder?
However, as a Bible believing Christian, I am going to discuss suicide within the Christian culture, because that is the culture I'm called to police, not worldly culture. Worldly culture tries to defend the suicide by saying they are not in their right mind, and so they didn't commit murder, they simply took their own life. So, what about Christian culture? Lately, I have come to feel that the topic of suicide is not dealt with properly in the body of Christ. And so, I think it is high time to stop pussyfooting around here, and call suicide what it is - - MURDER!
Definitions Are In Order
Suicide - n. 1: the act or an instance of taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally. 2: a person who commits or attempts suicide. - Medical Definition Merriam/Webster
Suicide- n.
1. the intentional taking of one's own life.
2. destruction of one's own interests
or prospects: Buying that house was financial suicide...
3 . person who intentionally takes his or her own life.
- verb (used without object), suicided, suiciding.
4. to commit suicide.
- verb (used with object), suicided, suiciding.
5. to kill (oneself). - Dictionary.com
The person who commits suicide may see his or her actions as some sort of solution to a severe physical or psychological dilemma.
- The Psychology Of Suicide-An Investigative Assessment
Murder - nounMurder - verb
- 1.the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another.
"the stabbing murder of an off-Broadway producer"
synonyms:killing, homicide, assassination, liquidation, extermination, execution, slaughter,butchery, massacre
- 1. to kill (someone) unlawfully and with premeditation.
"somebody tried to murder Joe" - Google
- 1: the crime of unlawfully killing a person especially with malice aforethought
- 2a : something very difficult or dangerous <the traffic was murder>b : something outrageous or blameworthy <getting away with murder> - Merriam/Webster
Murder Is Illegal
Who Owns You?
This touchy subject of whether suicide is a form of socially acceptable killing, or self-murder, is dependent upon what you believe concerning who has the legal right to decide if you get to live or die, you or God. The questionable legality of "voluntary" as relating to suicide; relies on our definition of who owns our person. So, the question of do you own yourself, or does God own you, needs to be answered. Do you believe that you are autonomous, and that you get to decided when and how you check out of this life, or do you believe that only God has the right to make that weighty decision? If you think you have the right to decided how and when you check out of this life, then think again, this is especially true for a Christian. God's word is clear, all souls belong to him, and he ultimately decides who lives and dies, as awful as the truth is for some to swallow.
Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign LORD comes escape from death.
Psalm 68:20
"For everyone belongs to me, the parent as well as the child--both alike belong to me. The one who sins is the one who will die." Ezekiel 18:4
Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person; for God's temple is sacred, and you together are that temple. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
As a society, when we take on the responsibility of deciding someone's fate, there had better be a very good reason for it. Legally speaking, deciding a person's fate when laws are broken is a responsibility that falls upon the broad shoulder's of an authoritarian or a governmental body, and this duty is to be carried out with the utmost sense of soberness and solemnity. And guess what? God decides who sits in the seat of worldly government! (Romans 13:1) God put within all of us a sense of right and wrong, that is why human societies have legal systems in the first place, and many of those legal systems frown upon murder, but suicide is negated, mostly because the deceased is not eligible for prosecution, not because there is no motive, victim, or perpetrator.
Christians are told that even though we are in this world, we are not to be of it. In other words, we are not to live like sinners in a sinful world. As sinful as the world is, there is still right and wrong, and in this world's justice system, evidence and motive assist the investigators in apprehending a murderer. I have learned from The Homicide Hunter (Lt. Joe Kenda) that there are only three motives for murder: sex, money and revenge. And some murder cases involve more than one of these motives. What about suicide?
Motives For Self-Murder
Why does a person feel compelled to murder them self, what is their motive? Are the motives the same for murder and suicide? Some may say, "No," because the note (if there is one) left by the murderer, usually explains why the person took their own life (therefore justifying the murder in the eyes of some) and it usually says or implies that the deceased just wanted to end their pain. I say, "So what?" Should all murderers get off on this and other such technicalities? "My wife was a pain, she stood in the way of my happiness with my secretary, so I got rid of my pain and suffering by killing her, what's wrong with that? Don't I deserve to be happy?" Yeah, she had it coming, right?
To humor the excuses of suicide, let's ask why they were in pain? Was it unrequited love perhaps, or were they dumped? Well, that would fall under the 'sex' category. Did they lose their fortune, or job, or were they in severe debt? Yes, that would be filed under 'money.' Were they trying to get back at someone who hurt them? This motive is of course, 'revenge.' Even the self pity anthem, "They will be better off without me," and other passive aggressive statements like: "They'll be sorry when I'm gone!" can also apply to revenge. The latter revenge category, I think, might also be reserved for those who attempt suicide, maybe even several times, but don't succeed. Or it may be a rather drastic and desperate cry for help from helpless person, thus the attempts are not successful. Still, it's not a good excuse, especially if they are in fact getting help, yet still kill them self.
When we see suicide in this light, it is indeed self-murder, but murder nonetheless since the motives are the same, and the act of killing is present, all be it this strange situation, done by the victim, which makes no difference, or at least, it shouldn't, because a person doesn't really own them self like many would like us to believe. So why are people so willing to justify or excuse the murderer in a suicide? It's because of the unnatural nature of this horrific crime, in that not only is the suicide the murderer, but they are also the victim. So rather than people demanding that the murderer be prosecuted as usual, by a process of emotional elimination, they instead focus on the victim; who is mourned while the murderer (who is the same person) goes unprosecuted, thus making suicide a socially acceptable form of murder, whether people want to admit it or not.
Justification For Our Sins
In the bitter end, a murder motive may explain why someone murdered another human being, but it certainly doesn't justify it-- ever! But does a murderer see it that way? In the movie Chicago (a movie I didn't care for), there is a very intriguing scene in the film, and the women who were in the slammer for murder didn't mince words about their motives. They danced and sang vehemently, "He had it coming," which means that according to them, their victims deserved what they got, and as they put it, "they have only themselves to blame." Wow! Dear reader, two wrongs don't ever make a right, but we humans are very good at justifying our sins, aren't we? Just look at our first parents. Who taught them to try and get out of their disobedience with excuses and justification? No one - - that ability was already there. I read a psychology article where an expert said our brains are rationalizing machines. We have a logical and reasonable answer for everything we do, or at least, we think we do. But is God convinced by our reasoning? Not hardly. Was God moved by Adam and Eve's reasoning and excuses? No way! He listened to their defense, and then like a good judge, he doled out their just desserts. So, why should suicide be any different than murder in this sense? I don't think it should be different at all. There is no justification for suicide anymore than there is for murder. Who gave the suicide the right to be the prosecutor, jury, and judge in their case?
Yes, there are people who have been devastated by a loved one's successful suicide, but that doesn't mean they should lose sight of the truth. Murder, no matter who commits it or why, is a crime. Even those who have survived an attempted suicide amazingly try to justify the crime. There is no good excuse for murder, even self-inflicted murder, the circumstances may explain why it happened, but again, those circumstances certainly don't justify it. This is definitely how I feel, but what does God's word have to say about it?
Killing In The Bible
"Thou shalt not kill." Exodus 20:13
I will address accidental killing briefly. In the Bible, cities of refuge that were supplied for the people who accidentally killed someone (Numbers 35:23-28/Deut. 19:4-7), were places where God said that they could flee to, in order to escape unjust retribution. But even then, inquiry had to be made, and the accident had to be proven, and then the fleeing person had to stay in that city for the rest of their life. There are people who accidentally kill themselves, and this is the only time I would concede to the person going to heaven when they die at their own hand, provided that they were a true Christian. They had no intent to die, their demise at their own hand was accidental. Thankfully, genuine stupidity isn't a crime, all though many people think that they should be! Criminal negligence is another matter entirely.
So again, why is suicide treated with kid gloves within the body of Christ, especially since the Bible is very clear that all murderers will be occupying the lake of fire (Rev. 21:8)? Incredibly, some pastors actually preach that "Christians" who willfully commit self murder, are now in heaven, simply because they weren't in their right mind, as if this was an accident. Wrong! At some point in our lives, we have to accept responsibility for our thoughts and actions, or lack thereof. So the "insanity," or "depression" pleas of suicide victims and their surviving loved ones must fall on deaf ears. If a person allows them self to remain in abusive conditions, or to entertain suicidal thoughts, then they are culpable. Why? Because they could have left the abuse, but didn't; they could have stopped those thoughts, or sought our help, but didn't. Now here is where it gets really deep...
Where Does Your Loyalty Lie?
"If your brother, your mother's son, or your son or daughter, or the wife you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods ' (whom neither you nor your fathers have known, 7of the gods of the peoples who are around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other end), 8you shall not yield to him or listen to him; and your eye shall not pity him, nor shall you spare or conceal him.…9"But you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.… Deuteronomy 13: 6-9
"Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." Matthew 10:37
I'm sorry, but God did not make any "mental state" exceptions for murder in his commandments; men made that loop hole, which they use to snare themselves and others with. God's law isn't flexible, so why should we be? Christians have a responsibility and commitment to obey God's word, and when we don't, there will be consequences for breaking the bond of our loyalty to God. Our ultimate comfort in times of trouble comes in remaining loyal to our faithful God, not trusting in the shaky loyalties we make with other human beings. Where is the surviving family's and friend's sense of betrayal in all of this? I know it's there, seething just under the surface of all that sadness. The suicide betrayed family loyalty, as well as loyalty to God, and that hurts a great deal, so we should not deny it, or bury it under layers of guilt.
Then there are those souls who have attempted suicide, maybe even before they came to Christ, who will now try to placate and pander to the feelings of the suicide's family members in an attempt to comfort them (or themselves really), either by out right saying, or implying that the deceased is in heaven by playing the two cards of: "God is merciful " or "we just don't' know the circumstances." Whether these well meaning harbingers of lying comfort and false doctrine know it or not, they are advocating self-murder, and putting the feelings of the surviving family members above the truth - another form of compromised loyalty.
The person who commits the selfish act of suicide, is only loyal to them self, not to their loved ones, and certainly not to God, who says murder is a sin punishable by the eternal fires of Gehenna. Selfishness has many disguises, it's up to us to police that destructive attitude that we give safe harbor to, but if we are not honest with our own self on a regular basis, then how can we ever be honest with anyone else? How can we change what needs changing, or ask for help when we need it, and even accept it? A stunning lack of honestly is found in liars, and guess where they will end up?
And a person who makes the suicide a martyr, is not loyal to the Lord either. For surely, the "victim" knew the intent of the murderer, and did nothing to stop it. Which makes them an accomplice, and thus, as guilty as the murderer. Well now, "cough...gag" that was another bitter pill to swallow!
The Very Bitter Pill of Truth
We have all had a splinter at some point in our lives, right? Does it feel good? No way! Not only does it hurt to have a piece of wood lodged deep in your skin, it can hurt even more while it is being removed! But the sweet relief experienced after it's out is well worth the pain that was endured during its removal! Whew! But if ignored, or improperly treated, the wound could fester and become infected, making treatment and healing that much more difficult, if not impossible. Like wise, the pain you are suffering hurts, and the truth may hurt more, but it's better to hear it and let it do its healing work, than placate feelings with lies, that will only expose the mourner to heresy, and bring about more hurt later on through the Lord's chastisement, that he will use to remove what he didn't plant (Matthew 15:13). And sometimes, the one who is hurt, and accepts a lie, will never recover. That is why it is SO IMPORTANT to speak the truth, even though it may hurt -- A LOT!
False (a.k.a.) "Relative" Truth
Anyway, she didn't like the comment I made about the apparent suicide of that husband in Ohio, who left his family in the lurch. I said that suicide is the epitome of the oxymoron: the brave coward. Meaning that a person is brave enough to murder them self, but too cowardly to face their difficult and often temporary circumstances. That obviously hit too close to home, because she felt the need to tell me that she had attempted suicide before she was saved. I'm sorry, but I just don't feel sorry for her, even though she was physically abused (some 30, or 40 years ago) by her then husband. No, that's not true -- I do feel bad for her that her husband was a coward and didn't lover and protect her. And if I had been in a position to do something about it, then I would have. But really, this is not the 1800's, and there is help available to those who want it. The people who knew she was being abused and didn't do thing one about it are accessories to it, and will get their just desserts. But two wrongs don't make a right. If she wasn't strong enough to leave, ask for help, or to even kill her husband in self-defense, but strong enough to try and murder herself, then guess what? She was a brave coward! I know (my flesh cringes when I say that), but it's the truth! My former friend then tried to put the blame of suicide on Satan and the lies he tells a person. Well, who believed his lies? Did Eve get off the hook by playing that defense? Nope. Why would a suicide be different? It's not, but people try to rationalize.
Especially in light of the fact that Matthew Warren, son of the high profile "America's (false) pastor" Rick Warren, killed himself and is now (according to said false teacher) in heaven. What a lie from Satan, and I won't be a party to it! Even if this was a gray issue (which it isn't), then it's far better to err on the side of caution, than to err based on the liberal assumption of God's mercy. King David paid a hefty price for committing the sin of presumption!
I want you to know that this is the same "friend" who told me "my truth" isn't welcome on her page, but felt compelled to tell me that my mother died of breast cancer and wasn't healed because she didn't have enough faith and that obviously she didn't want to be healed. Is that her truth, or God's truth? Yeah, you know the type -- a word of faith minion, quick to defend their false theology of health and wealth by blaming the deceased who faithfully followed their lies before dying. In their twisted minds, there's no way that their theology is wrong, it's the fault of the person who didn't get healed because they didn't really follow all of the rules and steps of their cult, right? What nonsense! I can systematically cut away their false teachings using the Sword of Truth, but that is not within the scope of this article. Anyway, admittedly I was so hurt and angry that I left her a few choice words, but apparently she never got them, or she would have unfriended me way back then. Oh well. The real truth is far more painful! God gave my mother breast cancer to force her to confess and repent of the sins of adultery and idolatry. Which she did do -- praise God! Then he killed her to save me from idolatry. What a savior! What human being would think to do that? We see something of the like when Solomon dealt with the two prostitutes claiming a living child as their own. God's wisdom is unsearchable! Who else can say they love God for saving them by killing someone they love? Please tell me I'm not the only one!
The relative truth, a.k.a. "the your truth" movement is New Age avoidance garbage, and people like this lady love it! The only one who can save her from the "name it and claim it" false gospel (a.k.a. witchcraft) is Jesus. But that usually involves a great deal of pain, usually via an emotional or physical catastrophe. I don't wish that on anyone, but the Lord will do what he has to in order to save any of his stray sheep. I aught to know, he did it for me, and I'm truly grateful to him for knowing who his little lost sheep are, and for knowing how to save them.
Why Does God Save Some & Not Others?
God clearly says of himself, that he does "evil" (Isa. 45:7), not that he IS evil, there is a difference. In the following verses of the same chapter, the LORD goes on to say that men have no right to strive with him, their maker, about his decisions. So are we going to be stupid and try it anyway? Not me! I mean really, does God need me, or anyone else, to defend his omnipotence and omniscience? No! God creates, allows, and uses evil in our lives to bring about good, because he is good (Psalm 100:5; 136:1), the Bible says so. Whereas Satan, who the Bible informs us IS in fact evil (John 8:44), creates evil to bring about more evil; that's the very big difference between these spiritual beings and their M.O.'s, isn't it? Let that truth heal any false theology we may be harboring about God's goodness and his wrath. This clearly shows us once more how his ways and thoughts are higher than ours, and what we think or say is evil, or what we deem to be not fair is not what God says is evil, or not fair.
Further more, Jesus knows the future, thus nothing is hidden from him. Only he knows how serious a suicidal person is, and in that I will concede to the quip, "We don't know their heart." So will Jesus spare them, or will he allow them to go through with it? To answer that question, I will say this: If the person wills to not receive help that is offered, or wills to not turn from their wicked desire to murder them self, then why should he stop them and let them live? The person intent upon suicide is a premeditating murderer. They will only rack up more damnation upon their head if allowed to continue living. So the most merciful thing he could do as the omniscient and just judge, would be to allow them to murder them self to lessen their future sentence, while judging their crime at the same time! Shocking isn't it?
How much better it would be for them to ask God to kill them instead, like many of the prophets did, rather than sinfully taking that right from him, like faithless Saul, and Judas did. The prophets who wanted to die by having God kill them were often spared, and some were even given great victories over their enemies; the very ones who caused them to despair of their life in the first place. I want us to see the absolute wickedness of suicide, and to stop perpetuating the myth that these people are eligible for heaven due to the man-made technicality of "emotional and mental problems."
A Permanent Solution To A Temporary Problem
The Truth and LIes of N.D.E.'s
He honestly didn't know if he had died, or if he was just hearing things after being left for dead after a stoning. According to him, only God knows if he was dead or not. So let's not put our own ideas into his account, let's just take it as he tells it. Let's also not forget that Paul was saved at the time, he was not Saul of Tarsus. Even though Paul reveals to us that to be absent from the body is to be present before the LORD, he was still unsure of his bodily status in his recounting of his remarkable experience. In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul says that a man (presumably himself) was caught up into Paradise, and he heard (not saw) unspeakable words unlawful for men to utter. Well, that's different huh? Usually, those who have N.D.E.'s can't wait to spill their guts to Oprah Winfrey or a publishing company about what they saw and heard when they died, right?
Paul purposefully refused to acknowledge that the man he knew was himself; he would rather boast of his infirmities, instead of the glorious things that "the man" heard. He then says that even if he did boast about what he heard in Paradise, he wouldn't be a fool, because he would be telling the truth. He tells us that he refrained from boasting specifically about this event in particular (or why even mention it?) so no one would think more of him than what is warranted, due to all of his great revelations, especially this heavenly one! Wow! Isn't that what happens with N.D.E.'s? People that have them are elevated above what little Scripture tells us about heaven. There are many books on Christian bookstore shelves that boast of heavenly experiences, and not all of them match what we know from the Bible, nor do all of them corroborate with each other. They can't all be true, which means someone is lying, and it's not God, that's for sure!
First of all, I must know why he was scared while sitting on " Jesus' " lap until the angels started to sing to him. You've got to be kidding me! Would Jesus show up to a three year old like he did with the grown up prophets and apostles, all aflame in terrifying fiery glory? I don't know, but even if he did, a saved child would be comforted by the Lord himself, not by angel's singing Queen's battle cry: We Will Rock You! If I were sitting on Jesus' lap, there would be trouble of a different kind, they wouldn't be able to pull me off of it! That alone is enough to tell any sound Christian this Burpo kid is full of malarkey! Speaking of malarkey, there is the kid whose last name is actually Malarkey, and he too has a book out about going to heaven. However, both he and his mother objected to the book that his father embellished for publication. And now the boy bravely admits he made the whole story up... it's malarkey. The irony --no?
"Oh that's so mean, he is only a little kid, and he went to heaven." Why am I mean for questioning a three year old kid's story? And the other child admits he lied, so naturally, I'm wondering if or when the Burpo kid will recant at some point. And as for being "a kid," all the more reason to doubt his stories, especially a three year-old's, since three year olds aren't usually known for veracity in their story telling. Did Burpo really see all of those things he told us about? Perhaps, but that doesn't mean he saw Jesus or heaven. Satan can give people false visions or inspire them to lie. Catholics, Mormons, and Muslims all have had "visions," but they aren't from God. So it is up to the Berean to see if what they say is so, according to God's word. Like the Malarkey boy said, "They should read the Bible, which is enough. The Bible is the only source of truth. Anything written by man cannot be infallible.” Hear that Colton Burpo? According to Colton, Jesus' horse is rainbow colored and not white like the Bible says. Oh, okay Colton, I guess the Apostle John was mistaken, thanks for clearing that up. You're a WAY more credible witness than an apostle of Jesus Christ.
If there are people who have been allowed to visit heaven (after the time of the prophets and apostles), or have had a Satanic counterfeit vision, and then blab about it, they do not represent everyone in the world. If you are not saved, then you will not go to the real heaven, especially if you murder yourself -- period! How do I know that? Because that is what God's word makes clear. God is in charge of the after life, not us or Satan. And so, it's high time for the body of Christ to deal with suicide like they should, and call it what it is -- murder! If your loyalties lie with the deceased, and their family, or the feelings of the family, then you are no loyal friend of God who says that murder will get you a one way ticket to the Lake of Fire! It's like Joshua, Solomon, and Jesus said:
Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:16-17
Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.
Proverbs 29:25
"I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him." Luke 12:4-5
Don't Do It!
DON'T DO IT!!! DON'T DO IT!!! DON'T DO IT!!!
The satanic lies that you are listening to, that say you will go to a better place, or that you will stop hurting are not true! Or the person who thinks, "No one knows the truth, I'll just see" you are gambling with your life, a life that you don't own outright, and you are going to be found guilty of murder by the one who does own you, and by the one who knows for sure - the Lord Jesus Christ! Stop entertaining suicidal thoughts, and be brave enough to ask for help, and keep asking until you get it. I am here to tell you the truth, and the truth is that if you think this life is hard, painful, unbearable, and hellish, well, you haven't seen or felt anything yet! Your problems will be just beginning if you murder yourself, Hell awaits you, and you won't want to go there. The prophet Isaiah and the Lord Jesus both said that it is a place of eternal fire, and torment, where the worm doesn't die, does that sound like a better place?
"Then they will go forth and look On the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm will not die And their fire will not be quenched; And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind." Isaiah 66:24
“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where“ ‘the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.’d Mark 9:42-48 (Jesus is quoting Isaiah 66:24)