Suicide, sin, and modern tribalism

It has been a couple of years now since a man pulled his car diagonally across the busiest intersection in south Baldwin County at AL-59 and US-98, got out, took a seat on top of the trunk, and, in broad day light, shot himself in the head. Traffic was backed up for hours as locals tried to figure out what had happened to shut down the road. Rumors swirled, but all we heard was that an incident had occurred which required the intersection to be closed for several hours. Ultimately, the final say on the matter was that “the media does not report on suicides.” This is still, by and large, the case. The media does not report on suicides, unless it is the death of a major figure in politics or entertainment.

There was a time, a very long time, in the not too distant past, in which the Church (I use a capital “C” very intentionally here) condemned suicide as an unpardonable sin. The theology, such as it was, behind it stated that because suicide is a blatant violation of the Sixth Commandment (Thou shalt not kill) and is therefore a sin and because the sinner cannot ask for forgiveness after the sin was committed, then one who commits suicide died as an unrepentant sinner and was therefore condemned to hell for eternity. Let’s be clear about something, this is a terrible and damaging theology. Nevertheless, it was the prevailing understanding of suicide in the the Church for about 1,960 years (+/-).

The questions surrounding how we handle suicide as a culture have come under the bright light of the news media in the past few days as we’ve collectively mourned the loss of comedic legend Robin Williams. From the international back lash surround Shepard Smith’s suggestion that Williams was a “coward” to a local op-ed piece on the unpardonable sin, Williams death has opened up a long overdue conversation about depression, addiction, and suicide. Thankfully, the Church has walked alongside advancements in psychology and physiology over the past half century, and, at least on this matter, we don’t sound like barbaric cave men spouting ignorance in the name of Jesus. We can now say that depression can kill just like cancer can, and respond with compassion and grace rather than condemnation and law.