Every religion being holistic is based on the fundamental acknowledgement that reality is a whole entity whose focal point is God from whom all other elements are emitting: human and cosmic, animate and inanimate, rational and irrational. Life belongs to the divine element of reality that determines the rhythm of all begins in the scale of existence. Each of them is incorporated and subordinated in the cycle of life and death, which is ruled by God. Man has no right to upset the cycle of life, therefore murder, both assassination and suicide, is prohibited. The self-determination of life, therefore of death, seems as the rebellion of man against God, and for this reason it is condemned as a serious disturbance of the vital harmony of universe. By reason of its holism, religion deprives man of the right to self-determine his body. Life is the most valuable possession of man, which in the consciousness of the believer emanates from the divine element alone. Thus, the human intervention at the expense of life itself is automatically considered as an insult to God, because it levels life and divinity. The act of taking somebody’s life, regardless of the way, is flatly condemned; therefore the religious tradition reinforces the absolute affirmation of life with a series of banning measures, as in the case of the suicide who is altogether deprived of the ecclesiastic funeral (burial, memorial services).
Suicide and Religion
30 Aug 2012
by Archaeology Newsroom
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