Suicide: My View (Part 2 - Unforgivable Sin)

   In part one, I spoke on an actual incident of suicide and how I feel along with a quick opinion on mental health. For this post, part 2,  I want to focus on my personal experience and a belief that is very important to me.
   I am not sure where this started, but I remember growing up and hearing that, "those that commit suicide will not go to Heaven!" So, naturally I believed it until I had someone close actually commit suicide. My world fell apart because like I had always heard, they could not go to Heaven. I was both heartbroken and mortified to be young and wrestle with this belief. Well, again, this statement came up as I read comments posted to Facebook about this students suicide. Once I read that, all this emotion came rushing back. The difference is now I know that statement is untrue. How do I know this? Because the ones that say that people who commit suicide don't go to Heaven have no biblical proof to back them up. Heaven is a biblical and spiritual place that a lot who are called followers of Christ believe they will end up. So why do they believe is someone takes their own life, that the person will not end up in Heaven? The answer I have received is that "Suicide is an unforgivable sin." To which I say, "I have to disagree, and here is why."

- How are we to know what happens once we die? Sure, the belief that we go before our creator who sits in a judgment seat is backed by scripture. But have any of us ever been there before? The account that John gives in the Book of Revelation is astounding (Here).

- Jesus himself spoke of only one eternal sin. Mark 3:28-29 says, "I tell you the truth, all sins that people do and all the things people say against God can be forgiven.  But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of a sin that continues forever.” No where in this passage does it include suicide.

- But suicide is the ultimate act of defiance against God! True. To waste the life that God gave you is a HUGE act of defiance and selfishness. But let me ask you this. Did you ever defy your parents? What would have been a HUGE example of defiance to our parents? Would they still love us even though they may have been very hurt or disappointed? Now multiply that level of love by infinity and you have the love of God and his forgiveness. 1John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

   So, can someone who commits suicide enter into Heaven? I would like to think so. I believe that once we see the greatness of God on that throne. We lose ourselves in his awesomeness and have no choice but feel the full weight of our mistakes. At that point we cannot deny that this is our last choice. I would like to think that Jesus loves us enough to give us that one last chance before we choose to go north or south. But I implore you not to wait until you are at deaths door. Make a choice now to take the road that leads to our eternal life with our divine creator.

   No matter what you have done in the past, you have a spotless future. Do all you can to keep your present and future as clean as possible. Believe it or not, in all of our mistakes God has been there watching us. Are you dead now? Nope, that's because God has plans for you. Don't waste this time that we have.

  Oh, and if you are worried that you have sinned the unforgivable sin. Let me tell you, that if you ARE worried about it, you haven't.
  “Fear that one has done so is probably a good sign that one hasn’t, for full-fledged apostasy is a defiant rejection of everything Christian and lacks the tender conscience that would be worried about such an action.” - Apologetics Study Bible

One final link "What is the Unforgivable Sin?"

Suicide: My View (Part 1)

   Yesterday a tragic story unfolded in what we now know as the courtyard of Lanier High School (not shown) during lunch. A student took his own life while many students looked on in horror. These students had no idea what they were in for when they left for school that morning. Nor will their lives ever be the same now that they have witnessed such a horrible event.
   Let me say this in before I go further. No matter what your age, situation, problem, gender, orientation, religion, color, ethnicity, or any other identifying factor. There are always people willing to help. Ending your life is not the answer. The lasting effects on people you leave behind are far greater than you can imagine. You may feel like you have no one, but believe me, everyone has someone. A family member, a friend, a co-worker, a neighbor. Even people you would never guess thought of you still think highly of you. So again, there is help. Please seek it out.
   First topic I want to tackle is on of the most common media covered ways that people commit suicide, by firearm. Now, anyone who knows me knows my thoughts on firearms. But I don't want to get into that discussion at this point. The avenue that I want to explore is the actual taking of ones own life by firearm. I have heard many people say, "it is the quickest way to go. BANG! done." Unfortunately, that is not the case. A while back I saw a Law Enforcement training video of a detective that did not properly pat down his suspect that he brought into the interrogation room. The man that was about to be interrogated pulled a handgun from his waistband when the detective left the room and shot himself in the head. Contrary to popular belief, it take a lot longer for the body to die even from a traumatic experience like that. As I watched, I saw his body convulse in what had to be excruciating pain before finally becoming completely still. Now I can't say I am any better off now that I have seen that. But it does give me a whole new perspective on the adage that suicide is "the easy way out". In this instance, and probably every instance, I do not see the decision being easy. There has to be some deep deep emotional hurt and pain to even consider this ultimate option. This pain leads me to my next point; mental health.
   Mental health in this time that we live in seems to either be a bigger issue than before, or we are just seeing the issue more because of the light that can be cast upon it through lightning fast media outlets like facebook and twitter. Whichever one it is, we have a problem. From what I see, the students of today have an insurmountable amount of pressure to both be unique yet fit into the status quo socially. With cyber-bullying becoming more rampant, the outcomes are becoming more and more disturbing as we learn more as to why these kids do what they do. Do we blame video games? The media? Parents? I don't see one direction that we can point our fingers. Maybe we need to begin with who Michael Jackson called "The man in the mirror".

    Please read part 2 of this blog post. It deals with a subject very close to my heart.

Continuous flow intersections at Oak Hill Y under construction

This was taken directly from the Austin Mobility E-mail I received this morning.

The new design of the intersection at the Y in Oak Hill is expected to improve traffic flow and travel times by 30 to 50 percent, according to the TxDOT. The agency broke ground on the redesign last month, and it is the second of two projects that are intended to improve area mobility and travel time through the intersection. The City of Austin seeded the funding for the redesign projects with 2010 bond monies.

The innovative design features continuous flow intersections between SH 71 and Joe Tanner Lane that will keep cars moving longer, and stopped at lights less. When complete, the intersection will be the first of its kind in Texas.  

In addition to the construction, work on new turn lanes on US 290 began earlier this year. These improvements will include pedestrian-accessible crossings and bicycle through-lanes at the intersections. Both projects are expected to be completed in 2015, said TxDOT.

TxDOT and the City continue to work together to identify potential long-term improvements for the intersection.

See the continuous flow intersection animation here.