Devon DickA.M. ANSARI of Nashville, Tennessee, who in a gracious letter, posed some interesting positions and left some interesting questions for me to answer on the issue of suicide (Letter of the Day April 27, 2002). He calls for support systems for person with suicidal tendencies and tries to analyse the mind of a persons who would contemplate suicide. Both of us are trying for find an appropriate response to suicide and I will respond to three issues that arises from his letter, 'God, suicide and sin' which is a response to last week's article, 'Suicide: a difficult call'.
Ansari writes a response to Suicide: A difficult call (April 23, 2002) which argues for persons who are going to commit suicide to be more considerate of relatives by discussing the issue with them. The writer, however, feels that "This just doesn't sound realistic." But just yesterday, April 29, the BBC World News reported that Diane Pretty did just that. Diane is paralysed from the neck down and is suffering great pain from a disease. After the British courts refused to allow her husband Brian to assist her in committing suicide, she took her case to the European Human Rights Court, which denied her application for her to commit suicide. Her husband has agreed to assist because she cannot do it by herself, being paralysed from the waist down.
She, who has an alert mind, discussed the issue of suicide with her husband, lawyers and is in fact discussing it with the wider community in Europe
The Court ruled that she was not suffering due to inhumane conditions inflicted by a government but is being afflicted with a disease.Her request was denied.This is the way forward; the suicidal person should discuss it with relatives. Many persons are alive today because they spoke to someone.
However, on the other hand 19-year-old German, Robert Steinhaeuser killed 17 persons, including a third of the faculty of his former school and then killed himself without his parents knowing of his intentions. It is also claimed that this expelled student had few, if any, friends. Life for his parents would have been different if he had just discussed it with them. One 12th grader, Michaela Seidel sums up the dilemma for all concerned, "At this time, none of us understands anything." Suicide is a complex issue but dialogue could help all concerned.
Ansari also said, "I do not see how removing the stigma associated with suicide would reduce suicides. What we should remove is the stigma associated with seeking help." I agree with the reader from Tennessee that the stigma associated with seeking help should be removed, but, the point is, if the stigma is removed from suicide it might help people to seek help. At present, attempting suicide is a criminal offence. That should not be because that person needs help and is a harm to himself or herself. Attempting to commit suicide should be decriminalised. In fact, when last have you heard anyone being charged with that crime? Remove that stigma and treat it as a different kind of problem. Treat that person as someone who needs counselling rather than imprisonment.
Ansari proceeds to state emphatically, "No I don't agree that we should pamper the person who's thinking of suicide by saying that God understands and will forgive them." That is not what I said. What was said was that "to believe that the last act that one commits, even if it is a sin, will determine our eternal fate is weak." In others words, if the last act a Christian committed was to tell a lie, steal or engage in a sexually immoral act and then dies, it does not mean that that Christian would not go to heaven. Our eternal residence is determined by repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. Frightening people about their eternal fate has not prevented suicides. A suicidal person feels hopeless and feeling that there is no hope with God is not helpful. Nevertheless, Ansari correctly asserted about forgiveness after suicide when he said, "we have no knowledge of that. He (God) may or may not." He is leaving the door open for such a possibility and I can live with that.
The command is thou shall not engage in pre-meditated murder. Suicide is indeed a very serious act. However, my reader Ansari, which is worse: suicide or priests sexually involved with minors?
Perhaps, just perhaps, if persons would talk with relatives and the attempt to commit suicide is decriminalised and there is no attempt to scare people with an inadequate interpretation of the Bible, then there might be fewer suicides.
The Rev. Devon Dick is pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church.
