Christianity For the SBNR
I’m writing this with Christians of a liberal bent in mind, though evangelicals are welcome to take a peak :-). Like most of us I want to defy labels, but for the purposes of this post let’s say that I’m not just liberal, I’m ridiculously liberal. I mention it because the author of the book, Karen Mason, is decidedly not. Read the book anyway. It’s true that when you pick it up and browse through it you’ll catch discussions about whether suicide is a sin, and if so, then is it a forgivable sin or will the suicide victim be damned to eternal suffering forever and ever amen? (That’s not the author’s viewpoint; she’s far more reasonable than all that.) You’ll see the expected catalogue of Bible passages that address the issue of suicide directly, which was fine but I’m not sure it contributed much to the discussion. (It’s presence seemed obligatory to me.) Of course we liberals don’t spend enough time reading the Bible so it’s presence isn’t a bad thing either. Dr. Mason wants us to “teach a theology of life and death, including moral objections to suicide” (p. 18). It seems to me that telling someone who is contemplating suicide that God thinks suicide is a very bad thing, could have the unintended consequence of shaming and it really could be counter-productive, but then I preach to liberals. So skip the parts you disagree with if you must, but read the book.
Why? Because it tells pastors what we need to know on the subject. It has lists of warning signs, and assessment scales to help us evaluate the potential risk of suicide in a given situation. There are suggested courses of action to cover the variety of situations we pastors are likely to confront – from a casual remark like, “Sometimes I just want to end it all,” to someone who has a plan, available means, and an immediate intent to follow through. Dr. Mason deconstructs a bevy of myths and misunderstandings on the subject, and gives us a sense of how prevalent the problem is, (if we don’t already know from experience). She raises the issues we might face when talking with someone who has just survived a suicide attempt, or when we sit with a family caring for a chronically depressed son. She talks about the things we need to consider if the worst happens.
Suicide is a real issue in the lives of the people we serve and if we know something about it and are comfortable enough with the subject, we can do something about it. Before I went to Seminary I volunteered at Helpline in NYC. I received 40 hours of training and volunteered for two or three years. I still remember a good portion of that so Dr. Mason’s book proved to be a good refresher course for me. She reminded me of things I hadn’t thought about for some time. My first memorial service as a pastor was for a 25 year old man who committed suicide with a shotgun. So many more people than he had life ripped out of them that day, and the real tragedy is I’m all but certain it was preventable. I was new so I hadn’t had the chance to get to know him; I think I met him once. I was supposed to visit him the following week. His mother had asked me but didn’t say why. It haunts me still to think that I had enough knowledge and enough comfort with the subject, I could have at least gotten him to treatment. Read the book; you’ll know enough and if you talk about it, maybe with your congregation, you’ll get comfortable enough with the subject to face it head on when you have to. Then let’s all pay close attention; someone’s life may depend on it. You may bristle a little at the fairly conservative language and style of Dr. Mason’s book, but that’s not enough reason to pass it by. Please, read the book anyway.
Grace and peace,
Sam Alexander
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