23) On Suicide

“For to me, to live is Christ, but to die is gain... I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far. But it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. (Philippians 1:21, 23b, 24 NIV) This notion, that dying is gain, is important to the Christian. Note also how Paul notes that suicide is inherently selfish. “It is more necessary for you” makes this point clear. However, I disagree with those Christians who say that suicide is an absolutely damning sin. I believe that in most cases those who choose to kill themselves are risking something terrible. However, I believe that it is the motive that God judges, rather than the sin. Therefore, in my opinion, a heroic sacrifice as in a war movie will not necessarily bring hell upon you, but an overdose after absolutely rejecting the Christ idea will. This is not a recommendation to commit suicide, but rather a simple questioning of the presuppositions involved. I would also like to point out that Christ himself could easily have avoided the cross (Due to his Roman citizenship), making his death rather close to suicide without him sinning.