Christ Puts Death to Death: Does Suicide Give Life to Death?

By Adriane Dorr

Our culture is obsessed with selfinduced death. Type “suicide” into Google and find websites like “The Top Ten Songs to Kill Yourself To,” or “Suicide— Give It a Chance,” or even a toy for sale called “Suicide Bomber Barbie.” A sense of intrigue surrounds men such as Dr. Jack Kevorkian who, after becoming infamous as the physician who assisted others in killing themselves, claimed, “When society reaches the age of enlightenment, then they’ll call me and other doctors Dr. Life.” 1 Religions like Islam garner attention by promising that “he who gives his life for an Islamic cause will have his sins forgiven and a place reserved in paradise.” 2

The culture does not realize, however, that God did not create man to die. Men were never intended to view death as something natural. Instead, suicides are a consequence of our first parents’ sin which caused us to be “the prey of death forever.” 3

The delicate subject of suicide is cloaked in mystery within the church. While the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod does not have an official stance on what happens to the souls of those who kill themselves, Dr. Martin Luther wrote that suicide ought to be seen as “sinful as well as foolish and cowardly. He who commits it robs himself of the opportunity to repent, and leaves others to bear the burdens from which he shrank.” 4

Indeed, suicides are serious matters. Several, such as Saul’s and Judas’s, are mentioned in the Bible. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 reminds us that we are not to do harm to our bodies for “You are not your own; you were bought at a price.”

In light of this, Dr. Luther wrote that men ought not anticipate death or work actively to bring it upon themselves. “Great saints do not like to die. The fear of death is natural, for death is a penalty; therefore it is something sad.” 5 As punishment for the sin of Adam, death is “evidence of the wrath of God.” 6

Simply put, sin tampers with the body and soul, the holy handiwork of God. It makes death appear to be our welcome friend. It entices us to choose the hour in which we die, claiming that we can be masters of our own destiny. It does away with the Fifth Commandment: “Thou shalt not kill.” But all this is a lie from Satan. For in the end, sin itself is our killer.

However, there is another side to the issue. During Luther’s time, the Roman Catholic Church held that any individual who committed suicide was going to hell since he had no chance to repent of his sin. But Luther, seeing both sides of the matter, found no proof for such a belief and, in fact, wrote that, “I don’t have the opinion that suicides are certainly to be damned. My reason is that they do not wish to kill themselves but are overcome by the power of the devil.” While not reducing the danger and weightiness of suicide, Luther knew that God, not the church, sees the hearts of men upon their death.

In the recently released Luther movie, a scene portrays the newly ordained Luther burying a young suicide victim amongst the bodies of the churched saints. His Roman Catholic parish was aghast and heard with astonished ears what the young priest preached on the next Sunday. “Those who see God as [solely] angry do not see him rightly. We have a God of love.”

Dr. Luther wrote that believers may cling to one comfort when faced with the tragedy of a suicide: our Lord is gracious. We have hope since Christ has already swallowed up death forever in His own death upon the cross. Through one’s baptism, death has already been defeated and Christ has gifted us with new life.

The particulars of suicide may well remain a mystery to those who attempt to reason it out in this life. Ultimately, we can not know what happens to the souls of those who kill themselves since death was never meant to be man’s intended end. Those who desire to bring it upon themselves quickly step into uncertain territory since, as Thomas Aquinas wrote, our death “is subject not to man’s free will but to the power of God.” 7 But, thanks be to God, Christ has “come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). In this alone the Christian can find comfort and peace in the face of suicide.

Adrianne Dorr is currently a junior at Concordia University Wisconsin. She is majoring in English with a double minor in Theology and Writing.

1 ABC News interview. Dec. 8, 1993 http://abcnews.go.com/reference/bios/k evorkian.html 2 Ellis Shuman. “What Makes Suicide Bombers Tick?” http://www.israelinsider.com/channels/security/articles/sec_0 049.htm 3 Ewald Plass. “What Luther Says – An Anthology” (St Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959), 363. 4 Martin Luther. “An Explanation of Luther’s Small Catechism by Joseph Stump.” (Philadelphia: United Lutheran Publication House, 1907). 5 Ibid, 368. 6 Plass, 368. 7 “Suicide as Murder.” http://www.catholic-forum.com/ luxveritatis/AquinasLessons/ aq102598.htm 1.7.2004

The fate of Judas

One of the hardest teachings in the Scriptures is that Judas is in hell. We don’t like that. We are moved by his regret and remorse. We want him to get off the hook like the repentant thief or the woman caught in adultery. But he doesn’t. He dies in his unbelief.

We know this because our Lord says of him that it would be better for him if he’d never been born. (Mark 14:21).” Our Lord does not say that of His lambs. Not being born is not better than being in heaven. Judas died an evil death. He died in a last act of rebellion against the Lord of Life. He didn’t repent and throw Himself upon the Lord’s mercy as Peter did. He didn’t pray that the Lord remember him the way the repentant thief did. Instead he tried to take control and take care of himself.

That is not to say that Judas went to hell because he committed suicide. Though a dire and most dangerous sin, suicide was just one of Judas’ sins, sins for which Our Lord died. Judas went to hell because he rejected Jesus as the Messiah and did not trust in God’s mercy and love. That is the only reason anyone ever goes to hell. It is always unnecessary, because there is no one that Jesus does not love, no sin He has not already forgiven, no soul that He has not already reconciled to the Father. But He won’t force Himself. He allows us the freedom to reject Him. And thus the case of Judas as a warning. But, also, thanks be to God, the cases of Peter and the penitent thief as a promise.

– The editors