yes there has been a shift in view...ever since one of the annointed was found ready to jump off the brooklyn bridge...here is some latest info
Questions From Readers
If someone commits suicide, would it be advisable for a Christian minister to give the funeral talk?Each Christian minister would have to decide for himself whether he in good conscience could conduct a funeral for someone who seems to have committed suicide. When making the decision, he should consider the following questions: How does Jehovah view suicide? Was the death really a self-inflicted murder? Did a mental or emotional disorder trigger the suicide? How is suicide viewed in the locality?
As Christians, we are interested in how Jehovah views suicide. To Jehovah human life is precious and sacred. (Genesis 9:5; Psalm 36:9) The intentional killing of oneself is self-murder, and it is therefore displeasing in God?s eyes. (Exodus 20:13; 1 John 3:15) Does that fact preclude the giving of a funeral talk for a suicide victim?
Consider the case of King Saul of Israel. When he realized that he would not survive his final battle against the Philistines, rather than letting his enemy treat him abusively, "Saul took the sword and fell upon it." When the Philistines found his corpse, they fastened it on the wall of the city of Beth-shan. Upon finding out what the Philistines had done, the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead removed the corpse and burned it. Then they took his bones and buried them. They even fasted for seven days, a traditional mourning rite among the Israelites. (1 Samuel 31:4, 8-13; Genesis 50:10) When David, the anointed of Jehovah, found out what the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead had done, he said: "Blessed may you be of Jehovah, because you exercised this loving-kindness toward your lord, toward Saul, in that you buried him. And now may Jehovah exercise toward you loving-kindness and trustworthiness." (2 Samuel 2:5, 6) The divine record does not indicate that the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead were condemned for performing what may be considered a funeral rite for King Saul. Compare that with the case of those who were deprived of burial because of their wrongdoing. (Jeremiah 25:32, 33) A Christian minister may consider the account about Saul in deciding whether he can give a funeral talk for a suicide victim.
The minister may also want to consider the purpose of a funeral service. Unlike people who believe in the immortality of the soul, Jehovah?s Witnesses do not perform funerals with the erroneous idea of sending the deceased off to another world. Rather than to benefit the deceased, the main purpose of having a memorial service is to comfort the bereaved and to give a witness concerning the condition of the dead to those who attend. (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10; 2 Corinthians 1:3-5) Another important reason for having a funeral is to help all in attendance to reflect on the transitoriness of life. (Ecclesiastes 7:2) Will these purposes be served by performing the memorial service for the suicide victim?
Granted, some may feel that the person took his life intentionally, fully aware that he was sinning against Jehovah. But is there always a way to substantiate such a feeling? Could it have been a spur-of-the-moment act? Some who attempt suicide feel regret and do not go through with it. A person cannot after death repent for what he has done.
Another important factor is that of mental and emotional disorders that are involved in many suicides. These can really be called suicide victims. According to some statistics, 90 percent of those who commit suicide have some kind of mental, emotional, or addictive problem. Will Jehovah forgive the self-murder committed by people in such a mental state? We are not in a position to judge whether the deceased committed an unforgivable sin in the eyes of Jehovah. A Christian minister may take into account the circumstances and medical history of the deceased when he considers whether to perform a funeral service for the suicide victim.
There is one more aspect to consider: How do people in the community view suicide and the death of the person? This is especially of concern to the elders, who are interested in the reputation of the local congregation of Jehovah?s Witnesses. Depending on the general attitude toward suicide in the locality, and particularly toward the case involved, the elders may prefer not to sponsor such a funeral publicly or to have it in the Kingdom Hall.
Still, if a Christian minister is asked to preside at the funeral, he may feel that on a private basis, he can do so. If he decides to do so, he should be discreet in not making any firm statements about whether a resurrection might be possible. Any future prospect for the dead is in the hands of Jehovah, and no one is in a position to say whether the deceased will be resurrected or not. The minister can concentrate on the Bible truths about death and offer comfort for the bereaved.
The Bible?s Viewpoint
Suicides?A Resurrection?THE tragic news of a suicide does not close a chapter in the lives of relatives and friends; it opens one?a chapter of mixed feelings of pity and anger, sorrow and guilt. And it raises the question: May we entertain any hope for our friend who took his or her life?
Although self-inflicted death is never justified, never righteous, the apostle Paul did hold out a beautiful hope for even some unrighteous ones. As he told a Roman court of law: "I have hope toward God . . . that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous."?Acts 24:15.
Nevertheless, many theologians have long dismissed any suggestion that the resurrection of the unrighteous might offer hope for those who commit suicide. Why?
Theologians
Contradict Resurrection HopeWilliam Tyndale identified part of the problem in the foreword of his 16th-century Bible: "In putting departed souls in heaven, hell, or purgatory you destroy the arguments wherewith Christ and Paul prove the resurrection." Yes, centuries ago, churchmen introduced a non-Biblical concept: immortal souls that leave the body at death and go straight to heaven, purgatory, Limbo, or hell. That concept clashed with the Bible?s clear teaching of a future resurrection. As Baptist minister Charles Andrews asked: "If the soul is already blissfully in heaven (or is already justifiably roasting in hell), what need is there for anything further?" He added: "This inner contradiction has remained to plague Christians throughout the centuries."
One result of such errant theology was that "since Augustine?s time [354-430 C.E.], the church has condemned suicide as a sin," says Arthur Droge in the Bible Review, December 1989, "a sin beyond redemption, just like apostasy and adultery."
The harsh verdict of being "beyond redemption," or hopelessly consigned to hellfire, carried the judgment-at-death argument to its shaky extreme. Admits the National Catholic Reporter: "Two of the church?s greatest doctors railed against suicide?Augustine branding it ?detestable and damnable wickedness? and Aquinas indicating it was a mortal [unforgivable] sin against God and the community?but not all churchmen have agreed."
Happily, we can avoid such "inner contradiction" by accepting two compatible Bible truths. First, "the soul that is sinning?it itself will die." (Ezekiel 18:4) Second, the real hope for dead souls (people) is to live again through "a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous." (Acts 24:15) What, then, may we reasonably expect for people who commit suicide?
An
Unrighteous One to Be ResurrectedJesus told a criminal sentenced to death: "You will be with me in Paradise." The man was unrighteous?a lawbreaker rather than a distraught suicide victim?guilty by his own frank admission. (Luke 23:39-43) He had no hope of going to heaven to rule with Jesus. So the Paradise in which this thief could hope to come back to life would be the beautiful earth under the rule of Jehovah God?s Kingdom.?Matthew 6:9, 10; Revelation 21:1-4.
For what purpose will God awaken this criminal? So that He mercilessly can hold his past sins against him? Hardly, for Romans 6:7, 23 says: "He who has died has been acquitted from his sin," and "the wages sin pays is death." Although his past sins will not be accounted to him, he will still need the ransom to lift him to perfection.
Therefore, theologian Albert Barnes was wrong and misleading when he asserted: "Those who have done evil shall be raised up to be condemned, or damned. This shall be the object in raising them up; this the sole design." How beneath a God of justice and love! Rather, a resurrection to life on a paradise earth will furnish this former criminal (and other unrighteous ones) a golden opportunity to be judged by what they do after their resurrection.?1 John 4:8-10.
A
Merciful OpportunityStunned friends of a suicide victim may thus take comfort in knowing that "Jehovah has shown mercy to those fearing him. For he himself well knows the formation of us, remembering that we are dust." (Psalm 103:10-14) Only God can fully understand the role of mental sickness, extreme stress, even genetic defects, in a "suicidal crisis," which, the National Observer noted, "is not a lifetime characteristic [but] often a matter only of minutes or of hours."?See Ecclesiastes 7:7.
Granted, one who takes his own life deprives himself of the opportunity to repent of his self-murder. But who can say whether one driven to suicide might have had a change of heart had his fatal attempt failed? Some notorious murderers have, in fact, changed and earned God?s forgiveness during their lifetime.?2 Kings 21:16; 2 Chronicles 33:12, 13.
Thus, Jehovah, having paid "a ransom in exchange for many," is within his right to extend mercy, even to some self-murderers, by resurrecting them and giving them the precious opportunity to "repent and turn to God by doing works that befit repentance."?Matthew 20:28; Acts 26:20.
The
Responsible, Scriptural View of LifeLife is a gift from God, not something to be abused or to end at one?s own hand. (James 1:17) Hence, the Scriptures encourage us to see ourselves, not as immortal souls, but as valuable creations of the God who loves us, who treasures our being alive, and who looks forward with joy to the time of the resurrection.?Job 14:14, 15.
Love strengthens our recognition that suicide?though evading one?s own burdens?only heaps more problems on loved ones left behind. As far as the one who rashly took his own life is concerned, we humans cannot judge as to whether he will get a resurrection or not. How reprehensible was he? God alone searches ?all hearts and every inclination of the thoughts.? (1 Chronicles 28:9) But we may be confident that ?the Judge of all the earth is going to do what is loving, just, and right!??Genesis 18:25.
[Footnotes]
This article is intended for the survivors of suicide victims. For a fuller discussion of the subject of suicide, see The Watchtower, August 1, 1983, pages 3-11 and Awake!, August 8, 1981, pages 5-12.
Suicide My mother, a faithful servant of God, took her life after a month of deep depression. Her death left an indescribable burden and heartache for all of us who loved her. The thought that I might never see her again made the pain of her loss harder to bear. Your article ("The Bible?s Viewpoint: Suicides?A Resurrection?" September 8, 1990) made me feel more "normal" and happy inside, knowing that I can entertain the hope of her resurrection.
T. M., United States
The article was merciful. But might not distressed ones view such mercy as justification for taking the "easy way out"?
N. G., United States
