Blessed Are Those Who Mourn Suicide

Caring for people in pain requires a rich theology of suffering.

According to the World Health Organization, 703,000 people commit suicide each year.

In 2020, “suicide was the twelfth leading cause of death overall in the United States. … [In addition, suicide] was the second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10–14 and 25–34, … and the fourth leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 35 and 44.”

Although churches are becoming more sensitive to suicide issues, the topic has at times been limited to concerns over salvation and damnation. If a person takes his or her own life, will that person go to heaven?

We’re not equipped to fully answer that question, of course. Jesus is the only one who has the power of divine judgment. And more importantly, debating someone’s eternal fate misses a larger opportunity. Suicide is the heartbreaking cry of “My Father, why have you forsaken me?” As believers, we have a chance to meet those who feel forsaken and be Christ to them.

Put another way: Our theology of salvation matters. But at least initially, our theology of suffering matters more, in terms of caring for those in our congregations who are thinking about ending their own lives.

As an aspiring sociology scholar, I spent four months of undergrad studying this issue for a research project at the University of Oxford. One of the key questions I wanted to ask was “How should theodicy—or making sense of suffering from a Christian perspective—inform our approach to suicide?”

“When analyzing the preponderance of cases of suicide beyond physician-assisted death, one is faced with the formidable role of mental illness, a factor that Christian theologians have often downplayed,” ...

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from Christianity Today Magazine
Umn ministry