If a person has a mental illness and commits suicide will they still be allowed into Heaven?

Answer 1

• I remember a response given by Jesus in the New Testament. Jesus taught that the only unforgivable sin was blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. So if you are a Christian who believes in his heart (not his head) that Jesus was the Son of God, He was crucified for our sins (new covenant), died and rose again then suicide is not blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and is forgivable by God. Unless the act is a direct challenge to God, or as spite to God and His Trinity. Most religions teach that suicide by someone with a mental illness, such as depression, is not considered a sin. It is considered an act that was caused by the illness and was beyond their control. The answer rests in your faith and if you believe your God would punish someone who was not responsible for their actions or welcome them Home.

• Mental illness can be a consequence of social morales. It is estimated that about one third of all suicides in teens are the result of our cultural negativism towards homosexuality. Freud suggested that repressed desires result in neurotic manifestations. It is axiomatic that all repressed desires will manifest themselves in a pathological manner. IE., in a form of destruction. Destructive drives can only be externalized or internalized, or sometimes a combination. Ever wonder about all the ways people kill themselves slowly; smoking, starving, overeating, taking drugs? When repressed desires are brought forth, they must be recognized in order to be healed. That means you have to deal with them, accept them and embrace them as a part of you, and know that many others have the same desires, To be sure, mental illness can be a product of an apparent physiological defect resulting in insufficient or excessive production of various hormones; transmitters for neurons to process data, operate cellular functions in normal sequences. Logic should tell one that the only people who don't have to worry about being admitted to Providence are the young victimized by self hating individuals and the organized zealots of hatred that preach against Gods' most unique creations. Logic should tell you that the answer to your question is affirmative: Yes, God is the creator, and his creations are not subject to the judgment of mortals. No human could know the design or purpose of such activity, but Providence surely has such matters as part of the scheme of life. Providences judgments are clearly upon those who choose, and who choose to do evil, to preach hate, to make judgments outside of their right to do so and against Gods' purpose. I think this is what the Greeks call Hubris. Is there a biblical answer...why is it important...the Bible is a guide...its not everything. Do you think the Lords knowledge could be held in your hand in a single book? Say a prayer for the soul your concerned about and know you too have a purpose in knowing such a soul.

• 'If' there truly is an unforgivable sin it would have to be suicide. Simply put the scriptures make no mention of suicide. One of the commandments is 'Thou shalt not commit murder'. In actual translation it means you shall not commit premeditated murder. If a person is truly mentally deranged and is not aware that he/she is going to kill themselves it can hardly be considered premeditated.

• In any moral, or immoral, act there are two important factors to be taken into consideration: (a) freedom and (b) understanding. 1. Freedom Two 8 year olds throw stones at a defenceless animal; one does it simply because he wants to, whilst the other is threatened with harm by a 16 year old if he does not throw the stones. The one who is threatened has less freedom and so is less culpable. Pressure can come from inside as well as outside. A person on drugs has less freedom than one who is drug free and one who has a psychotic disorder has less freedom than one who does not. 2. Understanding Two people throw stones at a defenceless animal: one person is 8 years of age and the other is 16 years of age. It is obvious that the 16 year old has more understanding of the situation and is therefore more culpable. However, if the 16 year old has severe mental problems then he will be less culpable than the 8 year old. It is also important to remember that understanding and morality are strongly influenced by upbringing and social environment. A child who is raised to believe that dishonesty is acceptable will be less culpable than one who has been taught to value truthfulness. 3. Conclusion Bearing these things in mind, it could be argued that a person who habitually considers suicide is not in a healthy emotional state because the instinct of self-preservation is one of the most basic that humans possess. A depressed emotional state reduces a person's freedom and thus their culpability. If mental illness is added to the scenario, then the level of responsibility (and thus freedom) is diminished even further. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states in paragraph 2282: "Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide." In short, from the perspective of Catholicism and indeed most religions, a person who suffers from a mental illness (or even depression) does not have a sufficient amount of freedom for the act of suicide to be considered a sin, much less murder. Therefore, it is inconceivable that God would keep such a person from entering Heaven. This is absolutely regardless of whether or not a person is a Christian, or even believes in God. "We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives."(Catechism paragraph 2283)

• I am a Christian and I do not believe people are punished for committing suicide. A person that does so is in deep emotional pain (like any pain in the body) and thus, if God saw fit to do otherwise then it would be done. I agree with the poster that said, "Their sins are forgiven." We all sin so this is not pointing to just suicide. No one has the right to tell another person whether they should live or die when it comes to a serious illness of endless pain and suffering. No one has the right to make that person feel guilty for thoughts of taking their own life. One can reason with the person and we should do the best they can. We are all so individual and we all have our own opinions on this subject. For those that want to go on living to their last breath, pain or no pain; be it mental or physical pain then that is up to that individuals right. There is nowhere in the Bible where is states God will punish you for taking your own life. He gave us the right to think for ourselves. Most people who commit suicide do not decide upon this for selfish reasons, but are either mentally exhausted, living with great pain and no hope of survival and it's a peaceful way out. I am by no means encouraging anyone with emotional pain to think suicide is the "in thing" because there is help out there for this.

• I believe sins have to be confessed in order to be forgiven and if you commit suicide then how will you confess if you are dead?? So how can an unconfessed sin be forgiven?
• In an attempt to answer the above concern regarding an unconfessed sin: (1) In sin it is the person who walks away from God; God never walks away from anyone. (2) God loves unconditionally and forgiveness is obviously part of that love. (3) God's forgiveness does not depend on anything we do - including repentance. In other words, God forgives us even if we are not sorry; as God is love itself, He cannot do otherwise as such a thing would go against His very nature. (4) In truth, God loves us even while we are in the midst of sin. This does not mean that God loves the sin; but God does love the sinner. (5) The word 'confess' means to 'tell the truth' and when we confess our sins we accept the truth that we have walked away from God, and allow God's forgiving love to heal our wounds; this is called reconciliation.

God is Love, but also consuming fire. He is HOLY. "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness NO ONE will see the Lord." Hebrews 12:14 "If its hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?" 1Peter 4:18 As HARD as it is to believe that anyone can go to Heaven, it can't be that way.

Brethren, why so many lengthy discords on such a question. Do you not know that Christ knows why people commit suiside. We can no longer judge a person for dong so than we can fly to the moon. Let He who knows all judge and let that be an end to the matter.

AnswerIf the person is saved, then no matter what he or she does, he or she still goes to Heaven. Nothing can separate us from God's love.

ANSWER

You have to realize that the Bible teaches that we ALL have sinned.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

It tells us what the payment or penalty for sin is.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death;

Obviously, we all eventually die, but the Bible also tells us what this death is that is the ultimate punishment for sin.

Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

We see here that even a "little" sin, like a lie, is what will send us to hell. We have all lied, which is a sin, and so we do not deserve to go to heaven which is a perfect place that God created and cannot have sin in it.

So how do we get to heaven??? It's found in the end of one of the above verses.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins. He paid that payment of death so that we can live in heaven one day. Just like any gift, we have to accept it, or we will not receive it or the benefits of it. We must truly believe in our hearts and say with our mouth that Jesus died for us and that he rose from the grave. We don't deserve this gift. We deserve hell, but God in his grace and mercy has allowed us to go to heaven when we die.

If you DO pray and ask Jesus to take away your sins, thank him for his sacrifice, ask him to take you to heaven, and TRULY mean it and desire to live for him, then you are saved FOREVER!! Eternal life means just that, ETERNAL. We obviously pray that no one commits suicide. It is a sin. We all sin, though, and God has not said that he'll go back on his promises to us if we sin. If someone was truly saved and then committed suicide, they will still go to heaven, regardless if they were mentally ill.

Above someone mentioned that the unforgivable sin is suicide. That is not what the Bible says.

Mark 3:28-29 Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:

Someone else said that suicide is not mentioned in the Scriptures, but the Bible does tell us of people that committed suicide. King Saul and Judas are two that come to mind.

If you are considering suicide, please do not. Ask for help, go to a friend, family member, doctor, and a pastor to get encouragement and help.

If someone you know has committed suicide, you can be reassured that suicide will not keep you from heaven. Sadly, any sin will, but if they were saved, then they are in heaven, now.

God's sense of justice is perfect. He is loving. God is Love. He always takes our imperfection into account when judging. If someone is mentally ill and this can cause them to do things they normally would not do doesn't this relieve them of some responsibility. Even mankind recognize that it would not be fair to judge someone that is mentally ill the same as someone who is not. God is much wiser, just, and loving than anyone in mankind. Also please note that hell is not a firery place where people are tortured forever. To imply that God would do that to any part of his creation as punishment is complete nonsense. The Bible does not teach that he does.

AnswerProvided they are repented of, ALL sins can be forgiven, and this includes suicide. Otherwise you fall into the same trap as the Pharisees with levels of sin and grading people accordingly.