Some of you may have had loved ones or friends who committed suicide, so it may be a sensitive subject for you. Feel free to skip this post, but I hope that this post is ultimately encouraging and helpful.
Many (most?) Christian sects envision Jesus as God Incarnate, i.e., God in the flesh. In the Easter story Jesus allows himself to be arrested and then crucified (followed of course by the resurrection). This is all according to God’s own plan. In Matthew 26:53 Jesus is quoted as saying he could summon legions of angels to save him if he so chose, but he did not. So is Jesus’ death a suicide? Or more specifically, suicide-by-proxy, since the Romans actually did the killing?
One of the most basic human rights is self-determination: being free to make your own choices about your life. Yet throughout history that right seems only seems to apply to life, not death. There is a stigma about choosing to end one’s own life. The ancient Greco-Roman philosophers were divided on the issue, but it was considered reasonable in some situations, such as in military defeat, guilt over crimes, humiliation, and physical suffering and it was, and is acceptable to sacrifice oneself to save another. In some Jewish teachings suicide is frowned upon, based on passages such as:
For your lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning; of every beast I will require it and of man; of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for God made man in his own image.
Genesis 9:5, 6
I find this passage a bit ironic since God states this right after He slaughtered all the people and animals on earth except those on the ark, and He goes on to command His people to slaughter many others in His name. Some believe it is to apply even to taking one’s own life, not just the taking of others. However, in the Jewish community a person is not typically blamed or criticized for suicide, but rather it is an occasion of mourning for a lost life. And there is a well-known story of suicide in Jewish history: in 73 CE during the First Jewish-Roman War a community of almost a thousand people committed mass suicide in the mountain fortress of Masada in Israel lest they be overrun by the Romans, an act viewed as noble rather than dishonorable.
For much of the history of Western civilization the attitude towards suicide has not been so forgiving. For example, in 1670 Louis XIV of France passed a law that if one committed suicide then his body would be dragged through the streets and his possessions confiscated (not that the victim would care, but his family might!). The church had wavering views on the matter, which I suspect might be in part because of the issue of Christian martyrs, especially those who seemed to seek martyrdom, which could be considered a method of suicide-by-proxy (like Jesus?). The apostle Paul may have unintentionally planted the seed for such an idea:
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.
Philippians 1:21-24
I know one Biblical scholar who thinks Paul may have been contemplating suicide, not just martyrdom, based on this passage. Later it came to be thought that those who were martyred went straight to heaven without having to wait for the resurrection of the dead at the end of time. This idea may be present in the book of Revelation where it depicts the martyrs being given a white robe and a place in heaven (6:9-11). This may have been a significant motivation to seek martyrdom, as a sort of suicide-by-proxy, since outright suicide might be a sin.
Suicide came to be looked on as a mortal sin, an unforgiveable sin, since it is the taking of life without a chance to repent of it. (Although I suppose if you jumped off a tall building you could give yourself time to repent before you hit bottom; a bit of a loophole there.) In recent times the Roman Catholic Church has taken a more compassionate view of suicide, as in 1992 the Catechism of the Catholic Church stated:
“We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives.”
Personally, I have an issue with the idea that God is said to have authority over your life, and therefore it is a sin to take your own life. But then God is not blamed for the problems in your life or the suffering in your life. If God is going to claim authority over a life then He needs to take responsibility for what goes on in that life, including the suffering. I fume when I hear people say, “God doesn’t put on you more than you can handle!” Nonsense. Then why do we have over 40,000 suicides (forty-thousand!) in the U.S. per year? Clearly many people are suffering more than they can handle.
What does the Bible say about suicide? There are several notable examples. In the book of Judges we have the very entertaining story of Samson, known for the strength derived from his long hair and his betrayal by Delilah. Eventually he is captured by the Philistines, blinded and then put on display at a feast:
Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me just this time, O God, that I may at once take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes.” Then Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and braced himself against them, the one with his right hand and the other with his left. And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he pushed outwards powerfully, so that the house fell on the governors and all the people who were in it. And the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he killed during his lifetime.
Judges 16:28-30
I suppose you could argue his intent was to kill the Philistines and he was just collateral damage, but he specifically asks to “die with the Philistines” so his intent is clear: he wants to die. I don’t blame him, and historically he doesn’t seem be blamed for wanting to die in his awful situation.
Also in the book of Judges is a less well-known story of suicide, which is almost humorous (if suicide can ever be humorous). Abimelech was the king of Shechem and this is how he meets his end:
So Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it, and approached the entrance of the tower to burn it down with fire. But a woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, crushing his skull. Then he called quickly to the young man, his armor bearer, and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, so that it will not be said of me, ‘A woman killed him.’” So the young man pierced him through, and he died.
Judges 9:52-54
I say this is kind of humorous because Abimelech is dying and his concern is that people would think he was killed by a woman: the ultimate disgrace! See Judges 4 for another good story of a general being humiliated by having a woman kill him, and the opposing general was also shamed because his opponent escaped him but then was killed by that woman.) Of course, it was actually his armor bearer that killed him, so this was technically assisted suicide.
The first king of Israel ended his life by suicide, and note again that his armor bearer was expected to help with this duty, although it plays out differently:
The battle went heavily against Saul, and the archers found him; and he was gravely wounded by the archers. Then Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and pierce me through with it, otherwise these uncircumcised Philistines will come and pierce me through, and abuse me.” But his armor bearer was unwilling, because he was very fearful. So Saul took his sword and fell on it. When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died with him. So Saul died with his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men on that day together.
1st Samuel 31:3-6
As mentioned earlier, in military defeat suicide was usually deemed acceptable; after all, who would want to suffer the humiliation and possible torture if you fell into your enemy’s hands? In these two stories there even seems to be an expectation that this was a duty of the armor bearer. So assisted suicide apparently was acceptable in such situations, or in Saul’s case, outright suicide.
There was an advisor to the second king of Israel, David, and this is what happens when David refuses his advice:
Now when Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out and went to his home, to his city, and set his house in order, and hanged himself; so he died and was buried in his father’s grave.
2nd Samuel 17:23
That seems like a rather drastic measure to take, but note that he was buried in a proper place as would not have happened later in Europe, so there is no hint in the story of disgrace in his demise. He suffered humiliation, so the noble way out was suicide. Later there came a man named Zimri who ruled Israel for only 7 days and then:
When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the king’s house and burned the king’s house over himself with fire, and died.
1st Kings 16:18
Again, suicide seems to be an option after military defeat, although I cannot think of a worse way than dying in a fire. Poor choice, Zimri.
Then we can go to the New Testament for one of the most famous suicides in history: Judas Iscariot. I assume you know that Judas was blamed for betraying Jesus resulting in his arrest and crucifixion. As an aside, most people think Judas betrayed Jesus’ location, but that seems odd to me since Jesus was not in hiding that week in Jerusalem. Bible scholar Dr. Bart Ehrman has suggested a better theory: Judas specifically betrayed what Jesus was teaching his disciples: that he was soon going to be the King of the Jews. Jesus was not teaching this in public, and yet that was the accusation at his trial and the charge placed on the cross with him. How did they know this? Perhaps indeed Judas was their informant. But even more curious is that we are given two possible methods of suicide:
Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? You shall see to it yourself!” And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and left; and he went away and hanged himself. The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put them in the temple treasury, since it is money paid for blood.” And they conferred together and with the money bought the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers. For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.
Matthew 27:3-8
But in Luke’s version he tells it differently:
Now this man acquired a field with the price of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out. And it became known to all the residents of Jerusalem; as a result that field was called Hakeldama in their own language, that is, Field of Blood.
Acts 1:18, 19
So Matthew thinks Judas hanged himself and the chief priests take the “blood” money and buy a field which therefore is called the “Field of Blood.” Luke however says that Judas fell into a field and burst open, spilling his blood on it which is why it was called the “Field of Blood.” So there appear to be two different methods of suicide and two different reasons why a particular field got its name. I know people try to mash these two versions into one (he hung himself off a cliff but the rope broke…) but doesn’t it seem more likely that nobody knew the real story of what happened to Judas? (Mark and John make no mention of Judas’ fate.) A bit later than the Gospels an early Christian writer named Papias gave his own interesting version of the story:
Judas lived his career in this world as an enormous example of impiety. He was so swollen in the flesh that he could not pass where a wagon could easily pass. Having been crushed by a wagon, his entrails poured out.
There is a longer gorier version of this but I will leave it to you to look it up online if you choose (e.g., “Papias” on Wikipedia). The point is that even after the Gospels were written there were other ideas circulating about what happened to Judas. Take your choice. Maybe the writers thought this was an appropriate end for such a scoundrel, however it happened.
Now to get to the title of the article: what about God? Suicide? What a ridiculous concept! Well, hold on. In traditional Christianity Jesus is said to be God Incarnate. So, on the one hand Jesus was arrested by the Jews and then transferred to the Romans who crucified him for claiming to be the King of the Jews. That was clearly an execution, not suicide. But traditional Christianity also holds that all of this was part of God’s necessary and foreordained plan. So, God in essence became a human with the intent of dying on the cross. This was to serve as the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of humanity. But why would God have to sacrifice Himself in order to get Himself to forgive us? Who made up that rule?! If God was compelled to offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sins, then what moral force compelled Him? If there is a moral authority to which even God is subject then He is not the ultimate moral authority which seems to go against conventional Christian doctrine. Some might respond, But it’s just God’s nature and He can’t go against His own nature. I think that is just another way of saying that there is some moral authority to which even God is subject, rather than the supreme God defining all moral principles. We people can forgive one another without requiring blood sacrifices. Suppose your child did something wrong, but then asked for your forgiveness. Would you tell them, “Okay, but first you have to kill your dog.” I don’t think many Christians would say they we are morally superior to God, so why would God require a blood sacrifice as a condition for forgiveness when we can forgive without requiring blood? In the Lord’s Prayer even Jesus himself alludes to our ability to forgive one another and uses it as leverage to ask for God’s forgiveness: “And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.” (Luke 11:4) Jesus told Peter to forgive others not just 7 times, but 77 times (Matthew 18:21, 22). If we don’t demand blood in order to forgive one another why would God?
Is there an alternative way to understand the death of Jesus? Several, at least. A purely secular view would be that Jesus claimed that he was going to be the king in God’s new kingdom on earth but the Romans caught wind of it and executed him; a simple political execution without theological significance. Another possibility is that Jesus’ death was meant to be symbolic: he was the last of God’s prophets who was yet again disrespected and ultimately killed by us humans. This should therefore move us to repentance and seek God’s forgiveness. It is not that Jesus’ death paid for our sins (atonement), but rather it is intended to move us to the repentance that brings God’s forgiveness. If you read Peter’s speech to the crowd in Acts 2 (in particular Acts 2:36-38), which represents the start of the Christian age, that seems to be the point. (It has been suggested that this view of Jesus’ death is consistent throughout the Gospel of Luke and his sequel the Book of Acts, but that’s a whole ‘nother discussion.)
A final possibility harkens back to Genesis 6:6 and the time before the flood: “So the Lord was sorry [repented] that He had made mankind on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.” Was God so sorry about how the world turned out that He decided to eventually come to earth in human form, to experience life and then death from a human perspective? So was it, in a sense, a divine suicide, brought about by God’s sorrow and repentance for the suffering in this world that He created and for which He accepted responsibility? I know few Christians will go in this direction, but to me it makes more sense than God thinking that the monstrous sin of us killing His own son is the solution for our other sins. It would be like a judge telling a petty thief to pay off his previous crimes by robbing a bank. Does that make sense?
Maybe you don’t accept that God committed suicide. I get that. But what about us humans committing suicide? Is it ever justified? We looked at some examples in the Bible that show no sign of disapproval. What if one is suffering terribly with no possibility of relief, as with certain terminal diseases? What if you are suffering as a political prisoner being tortured for the rest of your life, like Samson? Consider this: we think it noble for a soldier in combat to fall on a grenade in order to save others from suffering and death. Why is it not also noble, or at least acceptable, for one to “fall on a grenade” in order to save themself from suffering? Is the life of that individual not as valuable as those soldiers and therefore deserves to be saved from suffering?
Think of a movie scene were the agent is cornered on top of a building. He knows that if captured he may be tortured or drugged to reveal vital information, so he jumps to his death. Did he do wrong? I think most would agree that his act was noble, not sinful. And there are real-life examples: people caught in tall buildings on fire who jump to their deaths rather than suffer being burned alive. Did they do wrong? That may be a crude analogy, but there are similar principles that we all support. Here in America we learn of patriot Patrick Henry declaring before our war for independence, “Give me liberty, or give me death!” We acknowledge some things, like freedom, are more important than life itself. I think the right to make decisions about one’s own life (self-determination) is one of those. I think that right extends also to death and includes the right to seek alleviation from suffering. What constitutes “suffering” is subjective and will vary between individuals, but it is not up to me, or you, to enforce our views on others in this regard.
I do not advocate for or encourage such a course of action, but neither do I condemn those who use such an option. I think we all have the right to determine the course of our lives without undue interference from others, even when it comes to the time and method of our deaths. However, the vast majority of those 40,000-plus suicides that happen here in the U.S. each year do not fall into the situations I have mentioned. They are due to mental distress. I have a sad story from my medical practice that relates. One of my patients was a middle-aged woman who owned a plant nursery that was struggling, but she did not appear to me to be in any great distress. She was in basically good health. Some time later one of her friends informed me that her plan was to continue until her money ran out and then end it all. And so she did. I can’t imagine killing oneself over financial insecurity, but who knows what was going on in her mind below the visible surface. And for some people perhaps having no tangible means of support is as devastating as a deadly disease. Suffering comes in all sorts of varieties for different people.
Like the death of Jesus perhaps all these unnecessary deaths can also move us to look upon one another with greater compassion and sensitivity. We cannot prevent every suicide, but I am reminded of this story:
After a big storm a man was walking along the beach and he saw a small boy picking up starfish that had been washed up onto the beach and throwing them back into the water. The man said to him, “Look at all these starfish! You’ll never save them all. What does it matter?” And as the boy picked up another and tossed it into the water he replied, “It matters to this one.”
If you can help one person, it matters. Just being a friend and being ready to listen can help, even if you don’t think you have any “answers.” Every community has opportunities to volunteer your time to help people in simple ways, like preparing or delivering meals with a smile and a friendly chat as a simple example. Obviously some people need more intense help and familiarizing yourself with resources in your community so that you can share them with others can be most helpful. Even how you vote can matter, when it comes to supporting programs that provide needed medical and mental health care like Medicaid and Medicare or nutritional help like Meals on Wheels or school lunches. And there is now a nationwide suicide and mental health helpline available by calling 988. If you don’t know what else to do for a person in distress you can at least help them place what could be a life-saving phone call.
And if you happen to be that person suffering some form of mental anguish, reach out and ask for help, without shame or reservation. After all, if God can be driven to suicide then it can happen to the best of us.
(Be sure to leave your comments and questions below!)
Thinking exercises:
1. Go online and make a list of community resources that you can share with those in need: medical help, mental health clinics, food resources, etc. Better yet, also find an organization you can volunteer with or help in some way.
2. If you had a family member or friend suffering from some condition without hope of cure or relief, how would you respond if they asked for your help in ending his or her life?
3. Although the Bible has several stories of suicide it never directly and specifically addresses it, to either support or condemn it. What is your view? If someone asked you about a loved one that had committed suicide what would you say to them?