do you think God will forgive someone who has depression, which is a mental disorder, and commits suicide? everyone says that suicide is a sin, but how can it be a sin if the cause of suicide is a mental disorder? There was once a priest (Catholic) in my home town that committed suicide, and he had depression. So does that mean God will not forgive him eventhough he lived his whole life doing good? He was ill, it wasn't his fault. This is very confusing to me.
What do you think? Is there anything in the Bible that talks about mental illness and suicide? There has to be an exception. it just doesn't seem fair that God will not forgive someone for something that is beyond a persons control (depression IS beyond someones control, it takes over a persons life and they are unable to live a normal life).
2007-07-24 07:06:56 · 47 answers · asked by rudie_can't_fail 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I can only say that I trust God to judge the heart. Its highly possible that there have been suicides that God has forgiven and those He has not. A blanket answer for everyone cannot be given because in all things, the heart is what matters most.
2007-07-24 07:11:50 · answer #1 · answered by impossble_dream 6 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Well Actually That Is A Sin Even If You Have Depression But If You Do It Once And Never Again God Will Forgive You.
2007-07-24 07:10:43 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Although it is a 'cardinal sin' in the Catholic church to commit suicide (and always has been), in today's Catholic church ANYONE who commits suicide is considered 'mentally ill' (why would you want to kill yourself if you had good mental health?) and so even suicides can be buried on 'hallowed ground' (in a 'religiously owned' grave or mausoleum).
Yes, depression is a SERIOUS ILLNESS that affects EVERYONE, not just 'non-Catholics' ... but many churches don't consider 'mental health' to be a 'real' illness and so they consider 'suicide' a sin.
As for God ... God is more LOVING and more FORGIVING than any human could or ever will be ... and I think that what we do here 'in Earth's universe' has NOTHING to do with what God 'does' in his universe, which we call Heaven. I think that ALL OF US will go to Heaven in the end ... but some may need to 'serve some time' in Purgatory/Hell so that they can 'learn all they need to know' to be able to 'live' in Heaven.
2007-07-24 07:14:14 · answer #3 · answered by Kris L 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Somewhere in the bible it seems like it talks about how God knows the amount of days you will live here on earth. So I would say that by committing suicide you'd be taking away from God's control. Yes, taking your own life would be a sin. But if you have accepted the gift of salvation, then any sin is forgiveable. But I know that God would be very saddened by a person who committed suicide. If this is you, you're talking about, seek help. There's things that can be done.
2007-07-24 07:11:23 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
I believe that sometimes people are pushed to extremes of emotional agony where death seems like the only release. Depression of that depth can indeed push a person to suicide.
I also believe that it's a matter between that person and their God. As a Wiccan, I would usually shy away from suicide because it violates the Wiccan Rede ("If you harm none, do what you will", and suicide harms not only the self but those one leaves behind), but I've also suffered depression deep enough that suicide felt like the only option. When you're down that deep, rational thought is impossible. I would hope that whatever God exists is capable of seeing into the human heart and mind and recognizing that the person who suicided was of diminished capacity at the time.
2007-07-24 07:21:14 · answer #5 · answered by prairiecrow 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If you credit God as an omnipotent god, then the mental illness is his creation. However, nowhere in scripture will you find exceptions for punishments based on mental illness.
A literal interpretation of the Bible insists that suicides are in Hell. Regardless of their reason for doing so.
Thre is certainly evidence that God will not forgive people for things beyond their control. Take the big tsunami that hit around Christmas a few years ago. Killed all sorts of non-Christian kids. Outside of their control, they were born to non-Christian families, and didn't convert before being killed. Again, to a literal interpretation, they are all in Hell.
2007-07-24 07:17:12 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I don't buy into the whole "sin" thing, but if suicide is a sin then it is a sin even if you are mentally ill because everyone or nearly everyone is mentally ill if she/he commits suicide.
Given that this sin was named before treatment was available, it would especially be a sin today since there are plenty of treatments for depression. There are even treatment centers that deal with hard to treat depression.
According to Christian religion, God does forgive sins and no one is perfect, so this priest helped people but he was unable to seek appropriate help for himself. Additionally, since no one close to him reached out to him, I would think that Christianity might identify a few more sins than his.
2007-07-24 07:15:21 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I work as a nurse specialist in community mental health - I have seen so many take their own lives, which is a very sad event, which brings so much pain and heartache to others... the mercy of God extends beyond our ability to understand... I do believe that suicide is the ultimate form of self-destruction - when someone commits suicide you bring destruction to the image of God; you are created in His image and likeness, suicide by ones own hands is the destroyer of that image... Working with the mentally ill has been an eye opener and one can clearly see the reasons for suicide; in some cases people are driven to suicide by reason of the voices that they hear - which is quite common in patients diagnose with schizophrenia or who experience profound psychotic symptoms... quite often these people lack what we would called insight... I would believe that God would Judge each case by His own will and would have mercy on whom He will and pardon whom He will...
2007-07-24 07:24:09 · answer #8 · answered by Pastor David 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If a person is truly saved then for whatever reason commits suicide they will be in heaven. Suicide is a illness but remember God is the great healer before a person gets to that point they should seek the Lord.
2007-07-24 07:18:26 · answer #9 · answered by Boomrat 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
To me this is a question that's different with everyone. I would like to belive that if you had a mental illness and commited suicide that God would forgive you. I belive that God will forgive because it wasn't their intial fault. It may be a sin, but if God is as forgiving as he seems, then he would forgive them. It all kind of depends on what you belive I guess.
2007-07-24 07:12:46 · answer #10 · answered by skiszxz8 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋