Why or how is suicide sinful? (moral, tradition, doctrine, church)

[Ozzie]

I consider suicide sinful because it is against life. I am interested in religious opinion on why or how suicide is sinful, or not.

[Guitar's Cry]

This is not so much a religious opinion as a personal one (I hope you don't mind), but I cannot abide the act of suicide because of my compassionate nature.

Committing suicide is a personal decision that affects so many more than the individual. If I were to take my life, I would be leaving those who care about me with much pain and suffering. Much more so, I believe than if I were to die of in a way that weren't self-inflicted.

The obvious objection to my opinion would be "What of those individuals who have no loved ones? Is it still sinful for them to take their own lives?" To that I would argue that while they live, there is still a chance for them to find loved ones that would perhaps give them a reason to live. By committing suicide, they lose any chances at anything. Rather than destroying themselves, these individuals could focus all their energy on making a positive change in their life.

For those who simply do not want to live anymore, I must wonder at why. With nothing to lose, they have everything to gain. But this is a personal observation and I have no real argument to present. I personally considered suicide at a very young age, but decided that doing so would change nothing. By staying alive, I did have everything to gain and the positive impacts I could have for the benefit of my loved ones and the world was well worth the pain I thought I suffered.

[michel]

Originally Posted by Guitar's Cry

This is not so much a religious opinion as a personal one (I hope you don't mind), but I cannot abide the act of suicide because of my compassionate nature.

Committing suicide is a personal decision that affects so many more than the individual. If I were to take my life, I would be leaving those who care about me with much pain and suffering. Much more so, I believe than if I were to die of in a way that weren't self-inflicted.

The obvious objection to my opinion would be "What of those individuals who have no loved ones? Is it still sinful for them to take their own lives?" To that I would argue that while they live, there is still a chance for them to find loved ones that would perhaps give them a reason to live. By committing suicide, they lose any chances at anything. Rather than destroying themselves, these individuals could focus all their energy on making a positive change in their life.

For those who simply do not want to live anymore, I must wonder at why. With nothing to lose, they have everything to gain. But this is a personal observation and I have no real argument to present. I personally considered suicide at a very young age, but decided that doing so would change nothing. By staying alive, I did have everything to gain and the positive impacts I could have for the benefit of my loved ones and the world was well worth the pain I thought I suffered.

My last two attempts were for the benefit of my loved ones...

As far as I was concerned, I had logically evaluated that
a) My wife was young enough, and good looking enough to re-marry.
b) by my death she would be able to have a "propper" husband.
c) that by my death, my children would have a better/ good Father.

As to the Christian thought; wiki comes to the rescue:-
Modern Catholicism

In Catholicism, death by suicide has been considered a grave and mortal sin. The chief Christian argument is that one's life is the property of God, and to destroy that life is to wrongly assert dominion over what is God's. This argument runs into a famous counter-argument by David Hume, who held that if it is wrong to take life when a person would naturally live, it must be wrong to save life when a person would naturally die, as this too seems to be contravening God's will. Some mitigation of this contrast may exist when examining the Catholic doctrine of extraordinary means: the Catholic Church teaches that there is no moral obligation for a person to chose extraordinary methods of saving one's life in the face of possible death.

[mostly harmless]

Originally Posted by michel

My last two attempts were for the benefit of my loved ones...

As far as I was concerned, I had logically evaluated that
a) My wife was young enough, and good looking enough to re-marry.
b) by my death she would be able to have a "propper" husband.
c) that by my death, my children would have a better/ good Father.

People dealing with horrible chronic pain tend to have those types of thoughts, but then you remember that your family loves you as you are. Bad days and all. You are GOOD ENOUGH. You are ENOUGH, as you are, for your family.

I don't think of suicide as a sin. I think it is horrible for the people left behind, and no matter how much pain I am in, I can't bear the thought of hurting my daughter by taking myself away from her.

[Stairs In My House]

Originally Posted by Guitar's Cry

Committing suicide is a personal decision that affects so many more than the individual. If I were to take my life, I would be leaving those who care about me with much pain and suffering. Much more so, I believe than if I were to die of in a way that weren't self-inflicted.

There was a suicide in my extended family a couple years ago and I have to say that you are absolutely correct about the degree of pain and suffering it causes. It is simply devastating to the people in the victim's life. It is a horribly destructive, selfish act, and it causes much more pain than any other kind of death would.

However, I do say "victim" because I honestly believe that most suicides are the result of mental illness, not some kind of moral failing or sin. That doesn't make it any less painful for the people who are left behind, of course, but it's important to remove the stigma and shame that surrounds suicide, because those things make it that much harder for those left behind to cope. Fortunately, most religious traditions are coming to understand suicide this way.

[Guitar's Cry]

Originally Posted by mostly harmless

People dealing with horrible chronic pain tend to have those types of thoughts...

It is interesting to note that Lawrence Kohlberg, the psychologist who developed the theory that morality is a stage process similiar to Piaget's theory of cognitive development, committed suicide after contracting a debilitating illness. I remember reading in a sociology class that his reasons for doing so came from a desire to ease some of the financial and emotional burdens of his loved ones.

It is not a path that I would have taken. It is with suicide that I use Kant's categorical imperative method of ethics: I would not want suicide in order to save loved ones some pain to become universally acceptable.

[Stairs In My House]

Originally Posted by michel

My last two attempts were for the benefit of my loved ones...

As far as I was concerned, I had logically evaluated that
a) My wife was young enough, and good looking enough to re-marry.
b) by my death she would be able to have a "propper" husband.
c) that by my death, my children would have a better/ good Father.

If you ever find yourself engaging in this sort of "logic" again, consider that families are horribly scarred by a loved one's suicide, nobody ever really recovers from it, especially children (even when they're adults), and that a suicide in the family significantly increases the likelihood of suicide for other family members. There is absolutely no benefit to anyone, especially if children are involved, no matter what your problems are it will only heap a huge amount of pain and guilt on everyone around you no matter what you tell them in your note. I have seen it, I have been a part of it, and it is truly horrible.

If you ever have thoughts like this you should seek help immediately if you love anyone in your life at all. They will not just pick up their lives again and go on without you. It is an unbelievably traumatic experience.

[doppelgänger]

I am profoundly saddened for anyone whose suffering is so severe that it overcomes their will to live.

To me, judging someone for those feelings just adds to the sadness.