Modern Day Church’s View of Suicide as Opposed to Islamic Views Essay

Suicide, the foreknowledge that a person’s death will result from self caused actions, has reached epic proportions in recent decades. The World Health Organization states â€Å"more people are dying from suicide than from all the armed conflicts around the world. † (Donnelly, 106). This practice presents an ethical dilemma that is ultimately a matter of values and how they are reasoned. Religion provides a framework through which these views can be expressed. It is especially important to understand the Christian and Islamic perspectives on suicide by tracing their primary texts and traditions. The Biblical View of Suicide As the primary text of Christianity, the Bible has a code of moral instructions, spanning from the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament to the Sermon on the Mount and the great commandments in the New Testament. What gives moral values such as love and human dignity, and the commandment â€Å"thou shalt not kill† such compelling force is more than the forbidding of murder, even self-murder. These precepts reveal the obligation to demonstrate practical respect for the value of human life (Mahohel, 2). Although there are several suicides mentioned in the Bible: Saul(1 Samuel. 31:4); Ahitophel(2 Samuel 17:23);Zimri (1 Kings 16:18); and Judas (Matthew 27:5), the Bible doesn’t specifically condemn suicides. However, it does condemn murder in the 6th commandment and that is what suicide is: self-murder. A Christian who commits suicide will not lose salvation and end up in hell because John 3:16 demonstrates that a person is eternally secure. Romans 8:38-39 says that no circumstance can block God’s love to Christians. Therefore, if no created thing can separate a Christian from God’s love, then a Christian who commits suicide is a created thing and not even suicide can prevent God’s love. Jesus died for all sin. If an authentic Christian were to commit that sin, Jesus died for it. Nevertheless, it is self-murder and constitutes a serious sin against God (Stewart, p. 31). Suicide in the Christian Tradition The Christian tradition repects life. Although the early Church issued few official dictums against suicide, the prevalent viewheld that suicide was seen as murder and sometimes worse. In the 4th century, Augustine was the first to make that prohibition absolute, denouncing it as a â€Å"detestable and damnable wickedness,’† (Stewart, 34) echoing the other church fathers such as Tertullian, Justin Cyprian, Clement of Alexandria, and Lactantius who all rejected suicide. John of Chryostom issued a statement that posited if it were base to destroy others, it was much worse to destroy oneself(Amundsen, 98). Although Christian leaders praised martyrs who held onto their faith even unto death, they criticized those who rushed too eagerly to a martyr’s death. The goal of martyrdom was to remain faithful, not to intend one’s death (Ibid, 109-111). Aquinas and the medieval Church expressly prohibited acts of suicide. In his Encyclical Letter (March 25, 1995) Pope John Paul II states: â€Å"The Church’s tradition has always rejected suicide as a gravely evil choice. † The present day Church still adheres to that perspective because of two predominant frameworks. The first says that man and woman are created in the image of God, â€Å"Imago Deo,† (Genesis 3:26) and as such, share in the Divine likeness. Thus, humans participate in dominion over the rest of the physical creation, commissioned to exercise active stewardship and initiative as God’s vice-regent. Not only are humans God’s creation, they are His property, defined by such terms as potter-clay and shepherd-sheep. Since life belong to God, it is wrong to take it. Additionally, there is a Christian perspective which states that life is a gift from God. The ultimate moral foundations of Christian doctrine: creation, sin, salvation and fulfillment reinforce this view. The decision to die is God’s alone (Stewart, 33). The case versus suicide states requires that God’s gift of life is not an outright gift, but a restricted one, and humans are not to consume or destroy it at their discretion. In this perspective God will demand a full account for determining when to choose to end life. The suicide equivocally tells God that He will simply have to take the deeds performed in the body instead of regarding life as a trust, by not abandoning it, or denying that God is worthy. The choice of suicide seems to violate the duty to live life in a way which indicates gratitude towards what has been given ( Camenish, 216). Since God is transcendent, ultimately all things, even suffering will be made well. The Qu’rannic View of Suicide The Qu’ran expressly prohibits suicide, regarding all life as sacred. The sanctity of human life is accorded a special place. The Qu’ran states that the first and foremost basic life of a human being is the right t Take not life, which God has made sacred, except by way of justice and law; thus doth He command you, that you may learn wisdom (Qu’ran 6:151) Additionally, the Qu’ran states: If anyone slew a person, unless it be for murder, or for spreading mischief in the whole land, it would be as if he slew the whole people-and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of a whole people. (Qu’ran 5:32) Thus, the Qu’ran is totally clear where it stands on the taking of life. The Islamic Tradition and the View of Suicide In light of the Qu’rannic perspective of respect for human life, how then did the popularity of suicide bombers come to pass? Blowing oneself up and frequently killing innocent victims in such a terrorist manner absolutely refutes the Qu’ran. Yet a religious perspective can supersede the traditional perspective. This religious perspective is jihad, or the call to a holy war, first issued by the founder of Islam, the prophet Mohhammed. Mohhammed received a â€Å"naskh,† a new revelation which replaced the previous ones in the Qu’ran. Surah 9:5 cancels all previous revelations, admonishing his adherents to practice war and coercion to the present day. Basically Surah 9: 5 posits that Muslims must fight anyone who chooses not to convert to Islam. Because Islam is a religion of works, the jihad is a great duty and honor that aims to convert the infidel by force. Jihad is behind every suicidal terrorist who commits these acts in the name of Islam. If doesn’t matter if they win or if they die in the jihad, because they will be successful regardless: if they win, they receive victory; if they die, they are honored by God. Modern jihad came from Sayib Qutb, born in 1906, who visited the U. S. and saw that the Americans were not totally devoted to religion and that the American Muslims also had a lack of conviction. He started the radical Islamic movement that reverberates to this day. Bin Laden and Al Qaida learned their suicidal techniques form the movement of jihad in Iran, Eygpt and Sudan (Gabriel, 1). In Ha’aretz newspaper (December 9, 2001) Sheik Akramek Sabri said that sucide bombers are justified and should be encouraged, critizing other religious leaders who issued an Islamic ruling (fatwa) against suicide attacks. The sheik of the Mosque of Cairo ruled that Islamic law does not condone suicide attacks against innocent victims. A prominent mufti in Saudi Arabia issued a similar opinion. However, Omar Rahman, leader of al Jihad and the mastermind behind the World Trade Center bombing of 1993, noted that jihad and killing are the head of Islam and that if they are taken out, so is the head . By following the philosophy of submission, a Muslim is one who submits to Allah, the suicide attacker appears to be around for a long time(Ibid, December 9,2001). Overview Although both Christianity and Islam’s official positions prohibit suicide, the present day outcomes differ. While the Bible has the sixth commandment and other verses and the Qu’ran has 5:32 and 6:151 which respect life, Christianity remains consistent through the ages in viewing suicide as negative. For Christians, life is a gift and thus humans are God‘s property. Islam , however, has further revelations which supersede the previous ones found in the Qu’ran. These additional revelations include a call to jihad or holy war, thus making self-killing permissible and even honored. Conclusion It is necessary to study the frameworks of both Christianity and Islam to obtain more than a superficial view of their perspectives of suicide. Although Church tradition doesn’t change it’s position of self killing in Christianity, as shown by the early church fathers calling it an abomination and stating that killing oneself is even worse than killing others down to the later medieval church and Aquinas stating that it is unnatural ; thus forbidding the taking of one’s own life. Pope John Paul II’s encyclical letter states that suicide is a â€Å"wicked sin,â€Å" holding life sacred and as a trust. Current church traditions, while not as harsh and proclaiming true Christian suicides will go to heaven, nevertheless compare Christians with God as a figure of authority. He is the owner of the Christian, their creator and the potter who molds the clay, the shepherd who guides the sheep. Additionally, God has given all humans the gift of life, which is to be regarded as a sacred trust and not to be tampered with through the early taking of it. Only God, and God alone, can determine when life is over. If a Christian takes their life prematurely, they are robbing God, telling Him He must be satisfied with only the works they have performed to that stage. Since Christianity has at its heart the major doctrines of creation, sin, salvation and fulfillment, nothing can separate the Christian from God, either in this world or the world to come. God is both immanent and transcendent and He will make all things ultimately turn out for the best, thus reassuring the Christian to hang on and not commit suicide. On the other hand, official Islam proclaims one message while practicing another. The Qu’ran states that all life is sacred and that all humans have dignity. Several verses refer to this fact. However, even though Mohammed wrote these verses down, he also wrote additional verses that failed to be consistent with the original message. These verses , which he wrote after an added revelation, replace the earlier ones of respect for one’s own and other life. Through these additional revelations, Mohammed thus started the concept of jihad, or holy war. Using this concept he encouraged fellow Muslims, who are followers of Allah, and must submit to His teachings, to commit these holy wars, to convert or kill the infidel regardless of whether one’s own life was lost in the process. From the early 20th century, when Muslims visited the U. S. and saw what they perceived as less than perfect devotion, the jihad was operating at full force. Although present day sheiks and muftis in several countries have issued fatwa against suicide bombers and the taking of innocent life, suicidal terrorists continue, thinking that they are honoring Allah and their cause by killing themselves and others. References Amundsen, C. (1967). Medicine, Society and Faith in the Ancient World. Baltimore: John Hopkins. Cavadini,B. (1999). â€Å"By the Renewing of Your Minds,† Theological Studies, Vol. 60.Camemish, P. (1998). â€Å"Suicide,† Journal of Religious Ethics,17, no 1, Spring. Donnelly, J. (1998) Suicide: Right or Wrong. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books. Gabriel, M. (2005)â€Å"Islamic Terrorists,† CNN Fact File, Virginia Beach, Va. Mahohel, J. (2003). â€Å"Christian Doctrines and Ethical Issues,† Theological Studies, vol. 64 Neusner, J. (2000) Jewish and Christian Doctrine. London: Routledge. Pope John Paul II. (1995),†Encyclical Letter,† Evangelium Vitae. March 25. â€Å"Terrorism,† (2001). Ha’aretz newspaper, December 9. Smith, G. (2005). â€Å"The Insurgent Word: Suicide. † Swans Commentary, September 12.