The Social Problem of Suicide: A Theological Perspective

Abstract

This study addresses suicide as a real problem for social communities. With the development of social and cultural societies, this issue of suicide has become more and more common and discussed. This study will analyze, in the first part of it, an explicit approach on the meaning of the notion of suicide. We will focus on the explanation that Vasile Dongoroz offers from the point of view of criminal law; Thomas Beauchamp from a philosophical point of view and Emile Durkheim from a sociological point of view. Then we will offer a medical perspective on suicide, focusing on the explanation of medical terms and processes by which certain suicidal acts are committed. In the third part, we discuss the philosophical approach to suicide, presenting an evolution of the discussions as we find it categorized in certain historical periods. In the fourth part, we will approach the theological perspective on the suicidal act. We will turn to the theological understanding of suicide through the prism of five subchapters, drawing on biblical principles to better understand the Christian view of suicide. At the end we will find three important moral issues to which Christian thinking, grouped in religious communities must proclaim answers for social life.