Venting Thank Abrahamic morality for the stigma surrounding suicide.

[brokenspirited]

I want to preface this by stating that I do not object to all Christian teachings, and many Christian teachings have certainly done a lot of good for the world.

In Abrahamic (Christian, Muslim, and Jewish) tradition every life is considered sacred and had to be preserved at all cost, even against one's will.

Suicide was traditionally considered a grave sin in Christianity, despite the Bible not addressing the matter and lacking any passages condemning it. Cases of suicide recorded in the Bible are mentioned without any moral judgment. Those who died by self-inflicted means were denied the dignity of a proper burial and the privilege of resting on consecrated ground. The rise of Christianity ingrained this view in the Western world.

The dominance of Western civilization made it have a great influence on the world, spreading its culture and ideas around the globe. The influence went beyond moral and ethical frameworks, with movies, shows, literature, and music reaching worldwide audiences. Western legal systems, institutions, moral views, and practices were exported globally, shaping those in other societies, bringing with them western attitudes about suicide.

Even today, suicide is still viewed negatively by much of society. Instead of being treated like a criminal, they consider you a madman, absolved of responsibility for the act by your perceived insanity.

In Eastern tradition, the sanctity of human life doesn't exist as an unbreachable religious concept. Suicide is undesirable and discouraged, but it's understandable. There are even specific protocols for ending your life "virtuously" or as a form of ritual sacrifice.

To be continued...

 

[alwaysalone]

I disagree to an extentt. It's actually not abrahamic morality. It's the catholic church who decided suicide was evil.

 

[bl33ding_heart]

I want to preface this by stating that I do not object to all Christian teachings, and many Christian teachings have certainly done a lot of good for the world.

In Abrahamic (Christian, Muslim, and Jewish) tradition every life is considered sacred and had to be preserved at all cost, even against one's will.

Suicide was traditionally considered a grave sin in Christianity, despite the Bible not addressing the matter and lacking any passages condemning it. Cases of suicide recorded in the Bible are mentioned without any moral judgment. Those who died by self-inflicted means were denied the dignity of a proper burial and the privilege of resting on consecrated ground. The rise of Christianity ingrained this view in the Western world.

The dominance of Western civilization made it have a great influence on the world, spreading its culture and ideas around the globe. The influence went beyond moral and ethical frameworks, with movies, shows, literature, and music reaching worldwide audiences. Western legal systems, institutions, moral views, and practices were exported globally, shaping those in other societies, bringing with them western attitudes about suicide.

Even today, suicide is still viewed negatively by much of society. Instead of being treated like a criminal, they consider you a madman, absolved of responsibility for the act by your perceived insanity.

In Eastern tradition, the sanctity of human life doesn't exist as an unbreachable religious concept. Suicide is undesirable and discouraged, but it's understandable. There are even specific protocols for ending your life "virtuously" or as a form of ritual sacrifice.

To be continued...

I don't think suicide should be demonised but I don't think it should be seen as a good thing either. The fact that some people are in so much pain that they have to end potentially the one and only chance they get to exist is tragic, and should be treated as such. If society started having a more positive outlook on suicide it would most definitely encourage people that have the potential to overcome their problems and live happy lives to die instead. Even a fairly neutral outlook would probably be quite dangerous unfortunately.

 

[Scenegirlshooter]

Suicide being a sin is the most fucking fervant lie ever told to humanity in general. How the FUCK is it a sin to take HOW long we live AND how WE die into OUR hands? disgusting.

 

[moodyboohoohoo]

In Abrahamic (Christian, Muslim, and Jewish) tradition every life is considered sacred and had to be preserved at all cost, even against one's will.

We're experiencing the hypocrisy of this rn across the world - in Gaza, Ukraine, Syria, Sudan, Mexico, Russia... Too many to mention. Human life has never been less sacred in countries populated by said Abrahamic religions. You can't kill yourself, but someone else with power, can.

 

[brokenspirited]

I disagree to an extentt. It's actually not abrahamic morality. It's the catholic church who decided suicide was evil.

It's not just the Catholic Church. Most christian denominations have a similar view, albeit with more nuance.

Suicide is also explicitly forbidden in the Quran.

"O believers! Do not devour one another's wealth illegally, but rather trade by mutual consent. And do not kill ˹each other or˺ yourselves. Surely Allah is ever Merciful to you."

- Surah al‐Nisa, 4:29

Suicide being a sin is the most fucking fervant lie ever told to humanity in general. How the FUCK is it a sin to take HOW long we live AND how WE die into OUR hands? disgusting.

It's fucking messed up that killing someone to get executed was more acceptable than just killing yourself.

 

[systemspace]

But the stigma did originate from Catholicism, specifically Saint Augustine. It's an interpretation of "thou shalt not kill". Suicide used to be so condemned that the corpses of those who died by it would be subject to public humiliation. It's sad.

 

[Unsure and Useless]

In my opinion, people just use religion to justify their shaming of suicidal people. You can't feel bad about telling a suicidal person they're a coward and going to suffer eternal damnation if some all-powerful deity gave you the go-ahead to do so. It's disgusting, and I wish more people in these religions actually took a second to critically think about their beliefs around suicide as well as how those beliefs influence the way they treat suicidal people. If they did, they would realize that at least half the things they say only make the situation worse.

 

[Dejected 55]

Abraham... as in the dude who was going to kill his own son because God told him to do it, until God said "never mind." That Abraham?

Also, the religions noted (Christianity, Islam, Judaism) CLEARLY have no issues killing anyone who doesn't follow their doctrine to the letter... and it isn't ancient history either, it's happening right now! So... the whole "sanctity of life" thing... that's almost more of a myth than the existence of God. At least religious people are consistent that they believe in God... they just aren't consistent any anything else about their religion or what God wants.

 

[masterofnone]

Growing up Catholic they were so vehemently against suicide and even crazier on a tirade against EUTHANASIA. I could never understand it.

 

[telekon]

People Who Died by Suicide in the Bible

1. Saul (1 Samuel 31:4–5)

• King Saul falls on his own sword after losing a battle to avoid being captured and mocked by the Philistines.
• His armor-bearer also kills himself after seeing Saul die.

2. Ahithophel (2 Samuel 17:23)

• Former advisor to King David who sides with Absalom. When his strategic advice is rejected, he goes home, sets his house in order, and hangs himself.

3. Zimri (1 Kings 16:18)

• After a military coup, he realizes he's lost power. He locks himself in the king's palace and sets it on fire while inside.

4. Samson (Judges 16:29–30)

• Technically a suicide mission: Samson pulls down the pillars of a Philistine temple, killing himself and thousands of enemies.
• Seen more as a sacrificial act of vengeance than pure suicide.

---

People Who Wished for Death (but didn't die by suicide)

5. Job (Job 3:11, 6:8–9)

• After immense suffering, he curses the day of his birth and begs God to let him die.
• Job never takes his own life — but he deeply wants to die.

6. Elijah (1 Kings 19:4)

• After fleeing Jezebel, Elijah prays: "I have had enough, Lord. Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors."
• God does not rebuke him, but instead offers rest, food, and presence.

7. Jonah (Jonah 4:3, 4:8–9)

• Angry and despairing after Nineveh is spared, Jonah says: "It is better for me to die than to live."

What happened to Judas?

After betraying Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, Judas felt deep remorse. Here's how it's described:

Matthew 27:3–5 (NIV):

"When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse... So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself."

So, Judas felt guilty, returned the blood money, and then died by hanging.

---

Alternate account in Acts 1:18 (written by Luke):

"With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out."

This sounds different from Matthew. Scholars generally believe:

• He hanged himself, and later the body fell and burst — possibly after the rope broke or as a graphic exaggeration.
• The "bought a field" part may mean the priests bought the field in his name with the returned silver (called the Field of Blood).

---

Was Judas condemned for suicide?

The Bible doesn't explicitly condemn Judas for the act of suicide. What he's criticized for is:

• Betrayal of Jesus
• His failure to seek forgiveness or redemption

In contrast:

• Peter also betrayed Jesus (by denying him 3 times), but repented and was restored.
• Judas was overwhelmed by guilt but didn't stay to receive grace.

 

[Manfrotto99]

The Bible states that killing is a sin. Suicide is an act of killing. Yet we all fall short and sin...all the time. Even David murdered a man who was married to a woman that he wanted for himself - but was still forgiven by God. The Bible never says that the act of killing is an unforgivable sin. If God can forgive someone who takes a life simply for one's own benefit and pleasure, surely he can forgive someone who takes their own life in order to relieve pain and suffering when there is no way out?

 

[Gustav Hartmann]

I disagree to an extentt. It's actually not abrahamic morality. It's the catholic church who decided suicide was evil.

Right, it has to do with the Catolic practice that you have to confess your sins. Suicide is a sin you cannot confess. Therfore suicidal people commited sometimes a crime in order to be executed.

 

[unluckysadness]

The Bible states that killing is a sin. Suicide is an act of killing. Yet we all fall short and sin...all the time. Even David murdered a man who was married to a woman that he wanted for himself - but was still forgiven by God. The Bible never says that the act of killing is an unforgivable sin. If God can forgive someone who takes a life simply for one's own benefit and pleasure, surely he can forgive someone who takes their own life in order to relieve pain and suffering when there is no way out?

To me, suicide is just a consequence of a disease called depression. Some people die from cancer or other deadly disease and nobody will shame these people. Nobody should shame someone who dies from suicide. If you commit suicide, it means you were very ill. I doubt that God makes a difference. If you die from cancer or from suicide, in both cases your family is devastated. It's just life that kills... (just my opinion)

 

[Forveleth]

Many major religions are against suicide. Do some research.

 

[deathisapanacea]

I think all the religions condemn suicide. Because all religions need more people.

 

[TheVanishingPoint]

You have a very clear and well-structured view of the Abrahamic religions, and I respect the way you've expressed it. Mine, however, is radically different perhaps even diametrically opposed.

When I hear about "sacred life" in the Christian, Jewish, or Islamic traditions, I cannot forget the historical cost that this concept has carried: crusades, forced conversions, inquisitions, colonization, genocides, and the systematic erasure of native cultures and preexisting spiritualities.
I don't see the sanctity of life in its preservation at all costs, but rather in the right of each person to decide whether their own existence holds meaning. I find that the condemnation of suicide in the Abrahamic world and its pathologization in the West is a form of expropriation of the individual: life and death no longer belong to us.

The West didn't merely "influence" the world with its values; it imposed them often violently. Many of the cultural models we now consider "global" were not shared but enforced.
In this sense, I have deep respect for certain Eastern traditions, where suicide is not celebrated, but neither is it demonized. Where it is recognized that one may die with dignity, not only live out of obligation.

I'm not seeking conflict, nor do I think one perspective should triumph over another. But what you describe as a "heritage of values," I perceive as the forced transmission of ideology. And what you call "moral influence," I interpret as the negation of the right to self-determination.

Two different ways of looking at the same wound.

 

[badatparties]

Life is not sacred in these religions lol, it's cheap. They used to kill people (and still do) at the drop of a hat for bullshit like sorcery, blasphemy, heresy etc. The god of the Hebrew bible is a genocidal maniac.

Galileo was placed under house arrest for saying the sun, not the earth, was the center of the universe. Any religion that burns people at the stake or otherwise produces those kinds of results in the behavior of it's followers is clearly not from god. Being against suicide is just more of their freak control tactics.

 

[Dejected 55]

I think there's something in the bible too about having the right to beat your slave as long as he doesn't die. I mean, there is crazy shit in there if you know where to look.

Also, when we say "bible" which one? The Christian bible is some variation of the New Testament, and Christians can be weird about how much of the Old Testament still "counts." As in... you find people quoting lots of stuff from "the bible" about what you can and can't do... but most of those quotes come from the Old Testament... but if you confront many Christians with something they don't like in the Old Testament, they conveniently say "it doesn't count because God made new rules for us."

 

[Manfrotto99]

To me, suicide is just a consequence of a disease called depression. Some people die from cancer or other deadly disease and nobody will shame these people. Nobody should shame someone who dies from suicide. If you commit suicide, it means you were very ill. I doubt that God makes a difference. If you die from cancer or from suicide, in both cases your family is devastated. It's just life that kills... (just my opinion)

Yes I agree but I dont want to appear as If I am implying a sense of shamefulness. I was simply stating that it's considered a sin from a Biblical perspective because the commandments state "thou shall not kill" and it is going against the SI that God made us with. So therefore, Biblically it is sin. But if you believe that, then you must also believe that Christ took our sins and shame and bore them at the Cross... He takes all past, present and future sins and puts them to death at the cross so that there is also nothing we can do of ourselves that "can tear us from the love that is in Christ". Therefore there can be no shame.

These things are rarely spoken of in religion and society - instead we are told its an unforgivable sin that we must bear the shame for all eternity. This is used to control and oppress people, in a sense it is blespheming the work of the cross (which is the unforgivable sin) and is Biblical untrue. In my opinion it is our unjust society that kills. I hope this kind of makes some sense that I was not implying shame at all.