Image: ressurrection.wordpress.com
Robin Williams has been dead for days now, and most of you might have read dozens of news-related stories already, but I chose to write this one today because truth be told, I didn't know what to think... about suicide, in particular and in general.
It wasn't until last night that I was finally enlightened.
I was raised as a Catholic who believed in mortal sin or sin that cannot be forgiven. It includes murder, and since suicide is virtually a kind of murder, it is automatically unforgivable. At least that's what the "doctrines" say. I believed that one automatically went to hell when he commits suicide.
Well, that really bothered me because in high school, a friend of mine, a pretty girl who is a "rich kid" who got everything she wanted, took her life by hanging herself with a scarf inside her closet. She was only 16.
But the idea that suicide was unforgivable remained. I'm ashamed to say it now, but I looked with disdain at those who commit it. You can throw stones at me because I'll be honest: I condemned them. In my eyes, they just did not fight hard enough.
Fast forward to several years when I became a Born Again Christian. I got to have a clearer understanding of Jesus and the Good News. Despite my many sins, I am saved. Halleluiah! But I still wasn't so sure about those who commit suicide. Truth be told, I never really bothered.
News about Robin Williams came, and though I adored him, I still was pretty much convinced that suicide was unforgivable.
Until last night.
