Comments for Suicide at http://www.calvaryefc.org , comment 0 to 4 out of 4 comments http://www.calvaryefc.org Sun, 06 Jul 2008 07:33:02 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.calvaryefc.org/content/view/706/791/#pc_52 Having worked for several (like 33 years) as a nurse in a variety of positions at Mayo, I have encountered mental illness, especially depression among the patients I cares for on a regular basis. One in 4 individuals at some time in their life will experience clinical depression. Nine out of ten suicides are directly related to untreated depression. Of those who have depression, 50 per cent never get help due to stigma/shame, lack of knowledge of what they are dealing with and also lack of insurance coverage/money. Not all depression requires medication, however, of those who seek treatment for their depression, 80 to 90 per cent get well. In other words, depression is more successfully treated than heart disease! This is something we Christians don't really like to address because we should be able to "overcome our mind and thoughts!". However, through research and advanced brain scanning and imaging, we can now see the brain chemistry activiy and evaluate many of the mental disorders. As many of you know, I am a huge advocate for raising awareness and bringing hope to people regarding mental illness and getting evaluation and treatment to live well with the disease. Certainly, Christians with depression should pray more, read the Bible more and exercise, etc. So should those with diabetes, hypertension and heart disease! There are many, many individuals in our body of Christ who live well with the disease of depression but also are very open about how difficult this disease is when it flares up. A sister in Christ who is very sucessful in her profession, etc., shared with me recently that when her depression was really flared up, she had constant thoughts of self injury and that death would be so much better than life. She prayed, she knew God's truth but the thoughts remained. When she got the correct treatment for her depression (which sometimes can take awhile), the suicidal thoughts and thoughts of self injury were totally gone. Just as some believers will have complications from high blood pressure or diabetes even though they follow their treatment plans, so can believers with depression contemplate suicide as part of their illness. That is where the body of Christ is so important. We need to be open about the mental illnesses and come along side those who are learning to live with these challenging diseases. I totally agree with Pastor Todd's perspective of suicide. It is so devastating to those left behind, but salvation comes through faith in Christ alone. Having had 2 of my very close relatives attempt or closely attempting to end their lives, I have no doubt of their faith in Christ but always the difficulty of living with their illness. Please feel free to call me with questions about the information above. God is a God of HOPE and he never fails us...never. Blessings. Faye - Faye Wendland Sun, 06 May 2007 22:22:14 +0100 http://www.calvaryefc.org/content/view/706/791/#pc_51 As a 10 year old boy I walked in with the family for my dad's 1st cousins funeral, he had shot himself, His 3 sons road the school bus with me and we all attended the small church of 125 . Our hometown only had 320 residents. About 6 months later another family friend from the same EUB church, also a farmer, shot himself. The cemetaries / churches often would have suicide victims. buried in the far corner of the grave yard.( I'm thinking that wasn't the case here. It casuses you to think about serious things at a young age. I do know that depressed folks have suicidal thoughts at times. However i surely agree with Pastor Todd's thoughts. Curt - Curt W Wed, 02 May 2007 18:43:22 +0100 http://www.calvaryefc.org/content/view/706/791/#pc_49 darin, about death row prisoners or terminally ill patients, they all have the same choice= to choose God as their Savior or reject God. That is what it comes down to. the thief on the cross was essentially, 'on death row' and Christ said, "today you will be with me in Paradise," and this is because Christ knew the thief's heart and knew he had surrendered to Christ. I think God would obviously be deeply saddened by one taking their life. But how is it any different than rejecting God's gifts in everyday life. (besides the lasting concequences that suicide would bring). I don't believe you can lose your salvation once you are in God's hands. I do believe you can still sin after you become a Christian, and therefore, commit suicide and still be a Christian. Misguided and completely not getting God's plan, and yet still be in His eternal hands. I didn't understand Lutzer's comment when he said, "...it is presumptous to commit suicide on the premise that all will be well on the other side." His first statement says either you aren't a believer or secondly, you forget that God will review your sins after you die. the second part does not mean that God will not have died for that sin. I guess that confuses me. maybe the review of our sins won't be pleasurable, but all of us have sinned, and all of us will have a list to go through. i can't imagine anything more pleasurable than finally ridding myself of all the worldly influences and being only with God and His perfect holiness. but then in reality, it just comes back to being obedient to living for Christ's work and living in His power to get through the bad stuff. through His spirit not being swayed by the worldly things and our sinful nature. It reminds me that we can only live through His Strength and not our own. and then my mind understands that I need to keep working at this life with His help. in His time, He will call us home. I think you can be a Christian and take your life, but you are very off track, self absorbed and missing out on being part of God's work here on earth. Our individualities each can contribute to God's unique tasks of furthering His kingdom on earth. If we truely hated the pain and discomfort of earth, we would channel that energy to prevent others from having worse pain in eternal punishment later. when i think of a christian contemplating suicide= i think of a teen who is so wrapped up in their immediate surroundings that they forget to see the big picture which is God's perspective (no offense to any people within that poplulation, i can relate even still to being caught in my own little bubble). it is a christian who is still learning their idenity in Christ, as a teen, who is learning their identity in this stage of their life. - name Tue, 01 May 2007 10:40:45 +0100 http://www.calvaryefc.org/content/view/706/791/#pc_47 I have alway thought that if you take your own life no matter what that you go straight to hell. Another thing What prisioners who are on death row or temionally ill patiants where they go when they die? - darin padgett Sun, 29 Apr 2007 13:38:13 +0100