Suicide and the Bible
Telamonian Aias is preparing to commit suicide. Reproducing illustration of an antique Greek black-figure amphora (colour litho), depiction by Exekias (530-525 BC) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Death by suicide claims the lives of more than twenty thousand people every year in the United States alone. Our awareness of its frequency is probably less than accurate simply because the obituary often reads, “She died at home,” or, “He died while on a business trip.” But hushing up the means cannot obscure the fact that thousands of people—believers and unbelievers alike—take their own lives. The Bible has some sobering things to say that are pertinent to suicide. SUICIDE BREAKS THE COMMANDMENT OF GOD The sanctity of human life is paramount in the sixth commandment, “ Thou shalt not kill ” (Ex. 20:13). Murder is condemned, and elsewhere in the law every act that endangers human life is condemned, whether the act arise from carelessness ( Deut. 22:8), wantonness (Lev. 19:14), hatred