Even a cursory summary of such characteristics suggests ways in which a compassionate, selfless Christian can be helpful. Do not be naive; this can be harmful. The person seriously intent on causing his own death should be encouraged to seek professional help. Yet there are two types of people we can en courage. First, you can befriend someone who threat ens suicide while you attempt to persuade him to seek treatment. To know you care may be just the port he has sought during this storm. Second, certainly we can rescue the despondent and the disappointed. The ministry of prevention is trying to stop people from plunging into a preoccupation with death. The following are four suggestions which may help us in becoming lifeguards. 1. Recognize where we have failed. The organized church has taken a rigid position on suicide for centuries. In the first centuries the condemnation of this act was necessarily harsh and also effective. While considering suicide as justified under a few situations, such as impending martyr dom, the church soon allowed for no circumstance and as a result, as Christianity spread, suicides de creased. Unfortunately, such an over-reaction resulted in the most cruel of practices. Centuries later some countries would confiscate the property of a suicide victim, some mutilated the bodies and even hung them on stakes along the highway to dissuade others. In our own country, one New England state passed a law in 1660, prohibiting the burying of such a body in a Christian cemetery. Thus, aspects of the Chris tian church have colored our present attitude to the subject. 2. Examine our attitudes. Someone has said that there is no death in our society filled with more guilt scars than death self- inflicted. You can feel the shame hang like fog when the family of a young man who died by his own hand wants a five-minute service (if any), the casket never to be opened, the family to come only for the service and the body to be cremated. While we want in no way to encourage suicides neither should we promote such a feeling of disgrace. It is estimated that nearly 400,000 people are “ survivor victims” each year from suicides. That is a lot of unnecessary guilt. To hear good Christians express doubt that such a per son could be saved is unfair and damaging. Surely, many who contemplate suicide do not go to a church, a Christian or a pastor for assistance because they are afraid of the condemnation and shame of even having thought about it. Two things might help reshape our attitudes. One, a man named Samson asked God for the strength to kill the Philistines and he asked if he could die with them. He did. Two, James 2:10 states that all sins are equal before God. One murders, another hates; they are the same. Suicide is not the unpardonable sin.
SUICIDES CAN G0
by William h.
W hen a newspaper columnist in the Midwest of fered those thinking of suicide “ Godspeed,” he shocked many people and received a great deal of mail. Yet, in reality he may have been expressing the feelings of thousands of cold, indifferent Chris tians. Suicide is something you want to forget. It seems shameful, nasty, even contagious. Suicide is spreading rapidly across our country. Last year at least 25,000 people completed the act and you can only guess how many attempted it. One- half of all the college age deaths In our country are self-inflicted. Children are not immune, as one source reports that 550 under the age of 14 chose to die rather than live. If the average Christian wants to, he can do a great deal more than merely shake his head and sigh, “ Isn’t that terrible?” A quick glance at some general characteristics of suicides in our country may offer us some suggestions for help. While we all know of people who have committed suicide in rural areas, the fast-growing cities furnish the most fertile soil. In the light of the megatropolises of tomorrow, this cause of death may run to un imaginable numbers. According to some sources, the type of person in mind is generally finding it difficult to relate to friends. In short, he is lonely. If he could discuss his problem with someone who understands and cares, some of his difficulties would not loom so large. Many have weakened group ties so they do not feel part of the society that goes whistling past. The second interesting characteristic is that most such victims do not want to die. Why do 80% tell someone before they attempt the act? Why are most suicides committed in a setting which makes pre vention possible or probable? Certainly, the person standing on the ledge of a multi-story building is ask ing someone to talk him out of it.
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THE KING’S BUSINESS
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