[timeforsleep]

Do people who commit suicide go to Hell?

[lenjan]

Some used to think so. I think faith traditions are more enlightened these days. I know the one I was raised in now teaches that people who commit suicide clearly are very ill and can't be held accountable and that God will forgive them.

Why do you ask?

If you are feeling suicidal please get help in real life. It's really important to talk to someone if you are feeling that way.

Campy

[MyBestKids2]

My daughters father commited suicide 1997. I was told by his best friend wife of her beliefs for his soul. She thought he would go somewhere and be at the "bottom" level, as family and friends prayer harder and harder for his healing and peace, he would move higher and higher up to the top. I like to believe its true.

[timeforsleep]

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mybestkids2 said:
My daughters father commited suicide 1997. I was told by his best friend wife of her beliefs for his soul. She thought he would go somewhere and be at the "bottom" level, as family and friends prayer harder and harder for his healing and peace, he would move higher and higher up to the top. I like to believe its true.

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So if no one prays for you, are you stuck there?

[MyBestKids2]

Not a clue timeforsleep...Perhaps it was just a friend being kind to me during such a difficult time.

[wanttoheal]

My T has said, the thing is, we don't know for sure, because no one has ever come back to tell us. So the best thing to do is to close the door on those thoughts and find other ways to cope with the pain. I hope you are able to get some relief. Please talk with your t.

[Perna]

I don't know what "Heaven" and "Hell" are for you timeforsleep, but I have trouble imagining if one wasn't in a good place on Earth that changing locations could make a difference? If one is aware, one is still the same person with the same sorts of difficulties and problems?

I hope you will be some professional help and consider other options. There is therapy and meds and they frequently can help change our way of thinking. xoxoxoxo

[Rapunzel]

I have been told, and maybe this is true, that hell is meeting the person you could have been. My understanding of hell is that it is more the limitations that our choices place on us which keep us from progressing, rather than a punishment that God places on us. I don't think that punishment is God's primary method of working with us, or that God is essentially punitive by nature. He wants us to do the best that we can, and will be disappointed if we fail to reach our potential, whether by choosing not to continue this life until He calls us home, or by choosing a path that doesn't lead us to Him. He wants us to return and to grow and progress and become like Him. But if what we choose is something different, God will not force us to make a different choice, and if we don't prepare to continue our progression beyond this life, we will limit our own options.

Most people who consider suicide are not happy with who they are and how life is, and they want something to be different. But if you die, you are still the same you that you were here, only this is a place of change and growth. I believe that change can still happen and there is still hope on the other side, but it won't be a shortcut. If anything, change will be harder there than it is here. Healing can still happen, but I don't think that it will be automatic.

[Perna]

[(JD)]

I think it matters whether you are a believer in Christ or not. Still, it is a debatable topic. I personally believe that, according to Scripture NOTHING separates us from the love of God once we accept His Gift of salvation. It specifically states: neither life nor death... and I include death by choice in that. There is no level of "sin" that God cannot forgive, except the one of not accepting His Gift of salvation.

Paul spoke of it being better to die and be with Christ...but that he stayed to be with the other diciples. That hints that he could have ended his own life and gone on without doing so much work and struggles here on earth.

If you are not a believer, according to the Bible, nothing can get you to heaven. And, yes, I believe in a hell. The book of Revelation speaks about the torment there, and on top of all of that anguish, you are never in God's presence or feeling His love or mercy.

Well, I dont know if this is true or not because no one can prove it, but i was told that suicide was a sin and resulted in hell.

I am not sure i agree with that though because you know what i seriously think God loves everyone no matter what! As a catholic, i have to believe there is a hell, but i dont have to believe there is anyone in it

But i am not saying to go kill yourself.. please dont...but i hope what i said makes sense.

[SerenityPlz]

I believe that God knows what is in our heart. If I am in enough mental anguish to take my own life I think God will look beyond that fault & judge me by my heart.

[youOme]

I personally don't believe there is a hell...

But, if a person commits suicide, they may live there after existent with immense regret. If you didn't appreciate your life the first round what will happen the second round? I couldn't possibly know.

[Kiya]

I personally do not believe in heven or hell. when my best friend died i wanted desperaltey to join him. i did however feel that if i committed suicide, i would forever mess up the timing between my best friend and i and we would never again be together (as we both know we have in several other lives). nothing, to me, is worth messing up the chance to be with him again.
kiya

[Kiya]

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Campanula said:
Why do you ask?

If you are feeling suicidal please get help in real life. It's really important to talk to someone if you are feeling that way.

Campy

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i agree completely, "time for sleep" it is not time to sleep forever more yet, dear friend.

[JustBJ]

This is something I've always wondered myself. I just posted in intro but I lost my brother to suicide, he just turned 14 years old. I'm Roman Catholic and I've been taught that yes it's a mortal sin and Mark won't get into heaven. I was taught that we are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of. But I can't believe that God would do that.

[Danialla]

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JustBJ said:
This is something I've always wondered myself. I just posted in intro but I lost my brother to suicide, he just turned 14 years old. I'm Roman Catholic and I've been taught that yes it's a mortal sin and Mark won't get into heaven. I was taught that we are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of. But I can't believe that God would do that.

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I can't believe that God would turn his back on people who are obviously hurting so much that they take their own lives.

I am so sorry about your brother. I am sure that it was an awful time and I really believe that if there is a God, that he/she is a loving and understanding one.

I also believe that if you are feeling suicidal you should ask for help, but sometimes that is much easier said than done.

[lenjan]

You might want to check out the most recent catechism (came out in the mid-1990s) -- Catholicism has changed its position on suicide to a much more loving one. (I was raised Catholic as well, but won't claim it anymore...but that's a whole nother thread or series of PMs.)

Here's the relevant portion from the most recent catechism.

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Suicide

2280 Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of.

2281 Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God.

2282 If suicide is committed with the intention of setting an example, especially to the young, it also takes on the gravity of scandal. Voluntary co-operation in suicide is contrary to the moral law.

Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.

2283 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.

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[JustBJ]

I don't know how to quote yet but those last two paragraphs sums it up. I wasn't aware of this. We never knew anything was wrong with Mark but he certainly must have been tormented to do this. I pray for him every Sunday that God will forgive him. Thank you so much for easing my mind a little bit.

[lenjan]

I am sorry for your loss.

My grandpa (mom's father) committed suicide in the late 1950s, before I was born, and the teaching of the church then was such as you described, that my mom has spent the rest of her life believing her father went to hell. He wasn't allowed to be buried in a Catholic cemetery, either.

Whatever you think of Vatican II (1962-65), at least it eased up on that one a bit and became a little more kind and loving.

Hugs, if OK. Please PM me if you'd like to talk.

Candy

[Rhapsody]

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timeforsleep said:
Do people who commit suicide go to Hell?

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All I can say is that....
I have never found any scriptures that state one will go to hell for suicide.

[mandazzle]

No, there is only one unforgivable sin and that is mocking the Holy Spirit.

[ibme]

There are so many ‘they says’ and I have to deal with my ‘methinks’ too. Christian beliefs cause me to structure my thinking. I’ve come to many things that are just too high for me and came to believe that God Knows and people suppose.

Over 30 years ago I truly wanted to die. Thinking was so distorted that I thought my child would be better off without me and took the matter into my hands and all the while prayed. Even then I knew my mind was going in two directions… asking for forgiveness and saying I just wanted peace. After surviving my attempted suicide I was given an opportunity to view life and death. No matter the ‘methinks’ or ‘they says’ I experienced that God is love. So, I’ve come to ask questions and seek for answers as best as I’m able.

Isn’t the word afterlife something worth pondering…afterlife, then what? Will ‘they says’ or ‘methinks’ ever have an answer for what’s after life?

As a Christian I have so many faults and failings that the only thing I know to trust is God Knows … I can only suppose. Even reading Scriptures generate questions for each person in their personal life. How do I think about afterlife? Living today the best I can do regardless of what is and is not going on… trusting in mercy and grace to be much more than I can comprehend.

I have Gratitude for failing in an attempted suicide over 30 years ago. And more important to me now, Gratitude for hope in life after this human journey. My spirit is going gently onwards even in the midst of all the unknowing about what’s after…Perhaps in knowing I don’t know, I begin to know that I don’t know as I ought to know. I think upon a verse found in the Bible about life (Ref: John 17:3). This share isn’t intended to bend anyone to think as I do. I’m only sharing my personal view and a belief preference.

Thank you, for l a place to respectfully share.

Gently Onwards,
Ibme