A family in our church buried their 19 year old son today.

He had committed suicide at home.

He was an atheist who according to the official church response, "believed Satan's lie that his life was worthless and not worth living".

But isn’t it the Church and his own family that drilled this into him year after year after year? How is this "Satan's lie" when the Bible and the Church openly teach this over and over again for anyone who cares to see it? The unbelievers in the congregation can surely see it clearer than anyone else because the finger of disapproval and condemnation is pointed directly at them every single day of their life, even by their own family members.

How many other children have killed themselves for not being able to live up to the standards in a Christian home, for being a constant disappointment to their parents and family, simply because of unbelief?

In the "inspired" Old Testament days his own parents would probably have been required to stone him themselves.

This was a good and loving young man.

What a senseless tragedy!

He will be dearly missed!

See this right here and many many other reasons is why ALL religion should be banned. And all the people involved should be charged with murder for forcing this kid into a corner that he saw no way out of this is what disgusts me about religion.

I told a Buddhist Priest I was atheist and he just said: Maybe you're right. So really, I think it all depends on the religion. I know my family are all Christian and they get a little leary around me. Certainly they don't want to talk about GOD but at the same time are worried about my mortal soul burning in hellfire for all of eternity. Kind of puts a damper on their whole nice life in heaven with me being in hell and all.... SO, I think it's also about the family and the religion. The Buddhist Priest I know has three daughters and no of them are religious - one said she didn't believe in Buddha. He said that was perfectly OK. I mean, he didn't think it mattered in the least. Each life supposed has it's own purpose and being a Buddhist doesn't have to be it in this one. Maybe fixing something else? Or whatever?

Don't blame religion. Blame people. I can guarantee you that any true practicing Christian family would have shown their son unconditional love regardless of what he had or had not embraced. The problem is that too many people, whether they are Christian, or Buddhist, or Atheist, are selfish clueless idiots.

The only truly judgmental Christians I've ever seen weren't Christians at all. They were either half arsed Sunday Christians who are condemned by their own Bible for being so lukewarm and hypocritical or they are those who've taken issue with a few fundamental aspects and twisted the entire religion into some unrecognizable and psychologically damaging mess.

Seriously, the worst thing about Christianity are the complete morons who pretend to practice it or who are in reality practicing something else entirely.

reminds me of the Hood (fort)

some people realize how wrong their admired (even family members) leading them are, and it hurts

I think you are interpreting his words in ways he does not mean them.

He is Japanese, and a Buddhist priest. He is not likely to get into any serious discussion with a Western lay person like you.

He is probably very polite to you and very acccomodating, but this doesn't mean that he believes what you think he believes.

The message, according to the Bible, is that anyone who is not a Christian is wicked, is living a life of hopelessness, worthlessness, is condemned by The Law, and is worthy to be thrown away and executed by stoning. This is foundational to Christianity and upon this “truth” the entire rest of the religion is built. This state is what you are saved from when you become a Christian. Remove this and the entire religion falls to the ground.

How can this not have a destructive affect on at least some people?

Ah, it's always fun to see the 'No True Scotsman' fallacy.

I fail to see how this boy's suicide had anything to do with his spiritual beliefs, atheistic or otherwise.

i do have to agree with cellar door, yes opinions can impact mood but its not really compleatly fair to blame the church for a suicide. What people really need to realise is that suicide is no more someones fault (including the person who does it) than death by any other disease would be. Depression is a potentually fatal illness and the way it kills is by suicide rather than by shutting down someones internal organs

so any atheist who commits suicide within a theistic family structure is doing so because of religious persecution or is there some reason why it is particular to this example?

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M*W: This young man's family was responsible for his suicide. They probably fed him eggs, toast and guilt, every morning. If he had a condition of chemical imbalance in his brain, they should have seen to it that he got treatment, but they probably only told him to pray for recovery. Come to think of it, I've never known anyone to commit suicide except for alleged "christians." Wonder why that is? I'm not talking here about Kamakazis or suicide bombers... just average folk.

He believed what he wanted to believe in, he believed in Satan, and died as a result.

He is an idiot.

Outside of being used as a war tactic isn't suicide a mental illness regardless to religion ?.

A soldier jumping on a handgrenade in a bunker to save his mates, is he a suicide victim?

There must be any number of reasons why a person might do this. Religion is only one of them.

In some cases Religion can prevent a person from committing suicide.

This family loved this young man. And this was a good family but...

I think that when someone is told over and over again from birth, by the very ones that love them, and by Church authority, that they are wicked unless they have faith, they can end up believing it and eventually even begin to loath their own thoughts and feelings and so themselves. That can be the seed of depression and eventually suicide.

Do you disagree?

This is the last thing his family wanted, because he might be in hell now according to their faith.

In my opinion......no..... .

Perhaps there should be a study done on this. I was wondering if anyone else has either seen this or felt like committing suicide because of their own belief or unbelief in Christianity.

It is already painfully obvious what Islam can do to people's minds in this area.

really MW? did you actually know this man and his family? or do you just automatically jump on any anti-christian bandwagon that comes along?

Islam ?.
Suicide is a sin in Islam .