Suicide and the Christian Worldview -- By: Gary P. Stewart

Journal: Conservative Theological Journal
Volume: CTJ 01:3 (Dec 1997)
Article: Suicide and the Christian Worldview
Author: Gary P. Stewart


Suicide and the Christian Worldview

Gary P. Stewart

U. S. Navy Chaplain, Libertyville, IL
&
Timothy J. Demy
U. S. Navy Chaplain, Newport, RI

Introduction

“Not to be fortified with good ideas is to be victimized by bad ones.”1 These words, written by evangelical theologian Carl F. H. Henry, describe the chaos and collapse of contemporary society. His words are as true of individuals as they are of cultures. Whether espoused or realized in private or in public, ideas have consequences. Good ones have good consequences, bad ones have bad consequences. Truth begets truth and error begets error. One such bad idea, prevalent in our day, is suicide in all its forms (self-murder, euthanasia, physician-assisted). The personal choice an individual makes to terminate life is being encouraged by “right to die” proponents in philosophical, medical, and legal arenas, then fortified by the courts and finally sent to the people in euphemistic terms for acceptance. Like a ripple that comes from a stone thrown upon still waters, the tolerance and acceptance of suicide is gradually widening and its noose is around the throat of an entire culture.

Though there are many avenues we must take to counter the rippling effect caused by suicide proponents (legal, medical, philosophical, biblical, and theological arguments), the primary front we must establish is personal. What do I know and believe about the issue? What is my position and why do I hold it? Am I vulnerable to the intellectual and emotional pressures that those who consider suicide confront, or am I somehow shielded from those pressures? What is my worldview and can I, or will I, always be consistent with it?

Present training in suicide prevention expends much of its energy on statistics and signs that trainees need to assimilate in order to identify potential victims of suicide: e.g. changes in behavior, health, job, and relationships. Not only have we failed to realize that this training is presented to potential victims and that they have, over the years, mastered the ability to shade their struggles from those attempting to identify them; we have also failed to adequately understand the process that leads to suicidal gesturing, ideation, and ultimate execution. We have been unintentionally lured into believing that suicide is an act someone else would consider or accomplish. The focus is external rather

than internal, impersonal rather than personal. The truth of the matter is that human nature’s inclination toward self-preservation has been corrupted by the fall of our original parents; under certain and varied c...

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