Bible Discussion Thread

What does the Bible say about suicide

Hello Gwynette. There are examples in the Bible of those who suicided. One is in 1 Samuel 31:4, when King Saul wanted his armour-bearer to kill him as he was wounded in the battle. He refused, so Saul "fell upon his own sword" & his armour-bearer seeing this & the implications that would have upon him, also did likewise. There is also Samson ( Judges 16:26-30) who with his great strength from the Lord, pulled down the pillars of the building that he was prisoner in, thus killing himself & many Philistines that were gathered there. And we know about Judas Iscariot as well ( Matthew 27:3-5) who hanged himself after he realized his sin in betraying Jesus.

So even though we have instances of suicide, I don't believe the Bible ever talks specifically about it as being sin. Why some believe that suicide is sin, is because by definition, it is self-murder & murder in any form is sin. I know that one who contemplates suicide does so under very trying mental, emotional & physical conditions - a good friend of mine having taken his own life because of severe end-stage multiple sclerosis. I tried my best to encourage him & give him hope, but his continual body pain & loss of movement was too much & made existence meaningless for him. Every avenue should be resorted to so that such a desperate person may receive help & counsel & most cities have a Lifeline phone number to assist.