Your view on suicide.Controlling how you die.

I bring this up because I keep meeting so many people who are dying a slow death from Cancer.
The chemo treatments and radiation along with the results of poisoning yourself to kill off the cancer has me wondering. about half of those getting treatment live a bit longer is what i have experienced. I have heard suicide is a sin but don't remember reading this in the bible. For those who are not religious, I would like to hear from you also.
My wife has breast cancer and just keeps plugging along. Her cancer is in remission, But I think if the treatments were stopped it would all come rushing back.The doctors talk about extending her life, not curing anything.Two years and about 20 plus chemo treatments have taken a lot out of her. She gets dizzy and is weak. She tries to do some house cleaning and some cooking like she has done for years. The family helps her and tries to ease her life as much as possible. My wife never mentions taking her life but I wonder if I were in the same boat if I could take all the pain and suffering she has.

 

IMO when it's your life it's your decision.

Suicide is considered a sin as it's a murder, but the taking of a life is not always murder. Taking your life to escape the consequences of your actions is one thing but taking your life to protect others something entirely different. From a Judeo Christian perspective taking your life in the first case is ending your life with a sin and no chance of redemption. In the second case you have not committed murder.

If staying alive for a few days/weeks/months meant hardship for the people I left behind I would consider it my duty to end my life in order to take care of them.

My own beliefs are that He keeps making you come back until you get it right/learn/experience whatever it is that got you sent here in the first place. This world is boot camp/remedial education for our responsibilities in the afterlife.

 

Personally, it is my life and if I wish to end it then I do not believe anyone has a right to interfere. My wife could asked me not to do so but if I felt it was for the best for her and my niece then I would deny her wishes. Why? Because Health Care here will eat away at one's life savings in moments and I will not impoverish my family for my account. I have already made this decision. My wife is younger than me by quite a bit and, God willing, should easily outlive me. My niece is but 25, Software Engineer, no children (yet) and, again God willing, we hope she will be one of the first chosen to immigrate to the states when the laws are finally changed to the Merit system (finally something sensible!) as it is a roll of the dice now with the Lottery System which is both unfair and plain stupid for the country. Both of these individuals are my responsibility and have all my love and devotion. I will not abandon them to poverty trying to save myself or by prolonging something that is inevitable costing their financial security. So, that is my decision...

EDIT: As far as God is concern, I think she/he will understand, perhaps even praise me for my decision. As far as religion, I really don't care what they think.

 

Suicide is not murder, churches try to say it is instead of being truly able in helping the person.
Suicide is doing something that is a permanent solution for a temporary condition.
Suicide by a parent tells the off spring that it is OK, not something anyone with a clear mind would ever teach their kids. This often leads to suicide by the children.
Suicide in some cases is the short road in a bad life.

As to the cancer, 1978 was the start, with love and care she passed in 2000. Few people have such a long and successful marriage.
She refused further medical care and died a natural death.
We never talked of suicide, only our next anniversary.

 

Look into a cancer research Doctor named Brashinski in Houston.

I guess I hate to say it but as you mentioned suicide is not a sin and I am follower / believer in Christ.
It is not so easy as to say it is right or not, it is in the mind of the person there are selfish reasons and there are loving reasons,. Only those that tread that path have the obligation to balance it with their conscience and Jesus . Jesus, He is a rather large obstacle our lives are not just our own, he bought all of us on the cross, the strength of character it takes to push on for either party is also a path for growth both for spiritual and the soul, for all involved.

Then there is other issues to contend with that are worldly if a person takes their life, insurance will not pay, there is also the real threat that the survivor could be implicated in a wrongful death and sued by family members. Let us just say that the legal issues are to be seriously considered by the person considering taking their life for those that will be left.

I have know many people that died from Cancer and other dread diseases I have not walked a mile in their shoes, I cannot judge or can I say I favor a person taking their life, but I would be a fool to say I would never, I think and hope I would fight that with every fiber of my being, but fights in this life are won and lost. I do not have all the answers and never will, that is why I have Jesus and hope eternal, I will allow Him to take the lead and I will follow, because for a long time I ran point and that didn't always work out well, this is only an opinion. Lastly I have seen and lived suffered watched other die, too many to dwell on it makes anyone melancholy or black temperament with a possibility of being possessed so either choose to live by faith and life or death will run you down figuratively mentally spiritually and there is nothing so dark and deep as self pity, despair and hopelessness because that is what it is when you live and not give thanks to the God who created you and Jesus that laid down his life for your eternal salvation. Yes there is a time for sorrow and grief even death but it is not a job to retire on, there are no benefits and the pay sucks.

People are born to die only one choice that counts, did you choose Jesus like the thief on the cross he had no time to get baptized join a church or do works and still as it is written in Acts 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Again in Romans 10:13 The hard to impossible part for people to get into their thick skulls is that it's free no charge no waiting no lines no work that has to be done no paperwork nothing nada all you have to do is ask and Jesus will save you / forgive you of all your sins PERIOD, but once your saved he will make you a new person and in that you will do things you never thought possible or even that you would or could of course this is only an opinion... because I have done it.

 

Have had several members of family and friend die of "failure to thrive" as that is the best the Dr's can handle it when you have had enough and just refuse to eat or drink and instead take pain killers etc and just die in a couple days. Is it suicide? Don't know, but insurance is paid and no crime has occurred. Have to have your ducks in a row with the legal end to keep the medical system at bay and they will prolong your life, some hospitals, clinics, nursing homes are worse than others as they see it either their duty or their bottom line in profits to keep you alive as long as possible.

 

Its each individuals choice and i think its a good idea to discuss it with family so that they can morn and be prepared.

on the other hand if you have family that is violently opposed to suicide, you might not want to discuss it with them as they may have you restrained

just depends on your circumstances

Planning for the after math is a good idea so that you dont leave the people around you in bad shape

 

I think it's the ultimate personal choice and as long as it's done properly with minimal impact upon the ones staying behind I can't argue with that person's choice as I am not them, their life is not mine.
Sass and I have plans for end of life. What will happen all depends on what is the cause of it.
Like I said above it's a personal choice and so I'm not going to comment on what those plans are other than to say we have all preps in place no different than planning for any other situation and that there will no fallout to any innocent party.

 

Euthanasia is long sought after through out the world to justify thinning the population.
The problem is those power tend to abuse that power much like Hitler and others that deemed whom ever the wished of less value than them selves.
No doubt UN Agenda 21 has it's roots in this .
If you don't understand , here is a query , At what point is a life void of potential ?
You might have inherited diabetes , not your fault , it is what it is.
But if the powers that be happen to determine that in order to eradicate that gene from society sake ,those with that malady are either sterilized or disallowed medical treatment.
Or say you are a C student ,considered of less value than B students , so you are denied medical treatment based solely on that Grade, because some manufactured statistics indicate your not going to amount to much .
I realize that this is pushing the extremes , however, knowing the government they don't know where to stop ,once you've opened the door in one direction.
BE it suicide or euthanasia it is a slippery slope from which there is not likely to be any recovery.
Technically you can put, "do not resuscitate" on your driver's license . and be an organ donor , so under these premise one can surrender their life for the good of others.
Is it suicide if a person goes into the armed services knowing the probability of being killed in battle ?
Or being a fireman , or policeman, or any other profession that is potentially life threatening ?

In the light of scriptures, Jesus came to die on the cross.
He knew from the beginning what and where and how He was going to die.
He came to GIVE His life as a delivery system of the Holy Spirit to those that believe in HIM , no one else.
Some might call that suicide , walking right into a trap you made for your self .
Of course He knew He was going to rise from the dead in 3 days . So I guess you could say ,He cheated death.

A man without God's influence has only his earthly influence, him self and others . blind to his potential from an eternal prospective.
Jesus having provided the Holy Spirit to His believers, have the potential of God's influence and direction for life, ranging from the simple to the significant .
I have a good friend right now that has reached this precipice ,weighing whether to continue with dialysis, or stop altogether and let life expire naturally .
She loves the Lord ,and She knows HIs love for her .
She has been under doctor's care for most of her life, so there is a struggle between this and the eternal plane.
I on the other hand have a stubborn faith, that if God want's me He will take me when He's done with me here, not reliant on modern medicine to keep me alive .

 

I don't think I am brave enough to kill myself due to disease. But, I've not been in that position before. Hard to say. To give my life to save the lives of others, without a doubt, I could. I would.

 

This. There is no scripture that calls suicide sin in the accepted protestant text. My understanding (not an expert, please correct me if I'm wrong) is that suicide is sin in Catholicism because one doesn't receive last rites. I have been told the Catholic church has relented on this officially. Life is precious and holy. It is designed to be within the purview of the Lord. Thus, I'd say whether or not it is sin is entirely based on context; and even in that case scenario, I trust Jesus to make the right decision.
Kiss your wife and enjoy this moment. We haven't been promised one more minute on this planet, and finding someone you can build your life with is its own miraculous mystery. I'd keep chattering, but I think I'm going to go smooch my guy now.

 

You can find the following people; and the information they have to offer about cancer on the internet. Personally, I've found their advice well worth reading.

Dr. Max Gerson He actually cured Albert Schweitzer and his wife of cancer! It is, also, popularly believed that he was murdered by 'Big Pharma' in order to close him, and his cancer treatments down. (Remember: Cancer treatment is really BIG BUSINESS for numerous large international corporations!)

Dr. Joseph Mercola who insists that cancer (or the FUNGUS that is now believed to cause cancer) can be 'starved to death' and/or greatly retarded by simply eliminating all refined sugar, and processed white flour (which converts very easily into various forms of sucrose) from the patient's diet.

Both Drs. Gerson and Mercola recommend a diet that is very high in fresh cruciferous vegetables and dark greens, and very low in meats—especially in processed (delicatessen) meats and cold cuts. (Stay away from pork in all of its various forms, and avoid all nitrate-treated meats like Thanksgiving turkeys.)

Please pay attention to what I'm about to offer you: 'Big Pharma' does NOT want this information to gain in popularity. Consequently there's a large number of contradictory articles and disinformation that's also floating around, out there, in cyberspace trying to discredit: Gerson, Schweitzer, Mercola, et al. While I encourage everyone to keep an open mind; at the same time, I caution everyone to be especially bewary of today's heavily corporate-invested 'fake news'.

The annual corporate profits generated from modern methods of cancer treatment are HUGE, and measured in the TRILLIONS of dollars! This is a very serious game that has to be approached with an investigative and circumspect mind. (You're going to have to wade through a lot of phony information and slanted prejudicial medical studies.)

NOTES: The OP has mentioned the Holy Bible's teachings (if any) on suicide. I can tell you this: King Saul committed suicide after he, both, flagrantly disobeyed and contemptuously disrespected The Lord God's Will on three separate occasions:

(1) Saul didn't execute King Agag (One of the evil Persian minister, Haman's grandfathers) as the Prophet Samuel had ordered him to do. Instead, in an attempt to gain ill-advised popularity, Saul attempted to spare Agag's life (and, thereby, legitimately distribute his many possessions as well).

(2) Saul committed a cardinal sin—an outrageous sin of pride, arrogance, and extreme disrespect for The Lord— by, vaingloriously, ordering the deaths Ahimelech and the other eighty-four priests of Nob. (A sin which even Saul must have realized God would NOT forgive him for!

(3) In a deliberate act of, both, religious disobedience and outright contempt for the faith of his birth, Saul deliberately sought out the services of the infamous Witch of Endor and, thereby, disturbed the Prophet Samuel's 'rest' in the grave. (The biblical penalty for dealing with a witch was (and still remains) death—A dire fate which King Saul, thereafter, almost immediately received!)

Then there's the well-known suicide of Judas, the apostate disciple who betrayed The Christ. Of Judas, Christ said, "It would have been better for that man if he had never been born." (Matthew 26:24)

There are, in all, seven distinct cases of suicide listed in the Holy Bible. None of them, in any way, are positive in nature, or had a pleasant outcome. In fact, about the best of these biblical suicides is the death of Samson. This mighty Judge of Israel, at least, was given an opportunity to repent BEFORE he died—A divine courtesy for which Samson appears to have been extremely grateful. (Judges 16:30)

In a more positive vein of thought, the Holy Bible also states, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." (I Corinthians 10:13)

That I wish the OP and his brave wife well should be obvious. I will offer up prayers for the both of them.

 

Suicide can be a sensible act in the case of chronic and terrible illness. I get that. I would probably never take chemo for the sole fact I plan to go to heaven and do cool stuff like hang out with my dad and sister again and get to know my mom. I have a DNR.

However, suicide can be a shitty and selfish act with the culprit off Scot free and the friends and family left to discover a grossly dead loved one and spend a lifetime trying to figure out the puzzle that caused such an action. A dozen lives may be tainted with false guilt and a misplaced sense of failure. That's pure bullshit.

 

I was taught it is the only unforgivable sin. Obvious reason being, that you cannot ask for forgiveness after having killed yourself. Who really knows for sure? I mean, couldn't one say, "Father, forgive me for what I am about to do?" Personally, I don't want to try that out. What if I am wrong? I mean, I like warm temperatures. I live in SEA, for Pete's sake! But, I don't want to be in eternity, in a Carolina Reaper kind of hot.

 

The meaning of "Thou Shalt Not Kill" is "Thou Shalt Not Do Murder". Murder is the shedding of innocent blood. I know of no where in the Bible where suicide is condemned. I think it is related to the manner of death Judus chose and he ending up in hell.

When my mother, at 85, learned she had the same cancer her mother died from, as well as a sister, she smiled and simply stopped eating. Her life, her choice. She never wavered and never complained.

 

Suicide was taught to me to a unforgivable sin by my Mother and church at a early age. Now I’m 75 with severe chronic neuropathy pain,can hardly walk,I will never commit suicide for any reason because of my Mother’s teachings. Life is not easy or sure but suicide is the cowards way out and it is against the Bible. My Mother died a long cruel death of cancer and she never said a word of suicide,she always wanted a another day. Suicide is lazy,stupid and the cowards way out,nothing else. By the way my brother-law put a pistol in his mouth and pulled the trigger,the cowards way out,just because he couldn’t handle life.

 

Thanks for the replies. Interesting replies. My wife has never brought the subject up. I just thought about what I would do or consider if I were in her shoes. It's been really strange how I keep meeting so many people who know of someone who has cancer or a family member who has it or passed away from it. Before the wife was diagnosed it just wasn't on my mind. What I see is a cancer and diabetes epidemic.

 

My wife had the upper lobe of her right lung removed due to cancer several years ago. She says if she's diagnosed with cancer again, she'll refuse any sort of treatment. She has post polio syndrome, chronic headaches and two types of colitis - a lot of medical problems unrelated to cancer.

She has to stay on expensive drug therapies that keep life worth living for her, and they do work. They took a long time to find.

As painful as that is to me, it's her decision. I will respect it and have told her so. At some point it is up to the affected individual as to whether they are prolonging life, or prolonging misery, pain and death. But the choice belongs to them, not to some government agency or insurance company.

 

If I were in a situation I would hope that the people here would be giving the advice, all very thoughtful and respectful .