Suicide – Is Suicide Wrong?

Since the beginning of time, people have been committing suicide. Self
inflicted death, or suicide, can be defined as “choosing the mode, time,
situation, or occasion for ending one’s life.” In general, the word suicide
has a negative connotation and is looked upon unfavorably. Yet in some
circumstances, killing oneself can be considered acceptable or even the
right thing to do. Since it’s difficult to differentiate between the
correct thing to do and the wrong thing to do, this essay will look at both
points of view.

In the story of the Masada, Eleazar and his followers were faced with an
important decision: whether they should fight the Roman army or find
another means of winning. Winning a physical battle against the Roman
legions would have been impossible for the Jews, thus they opted to try and
win the mental battle by taking their own lives. The five to one ratio of
Romans to Jews made it impossible for the Jews to try and win in combat.

Eleazar figured that it would be best for his people to take the victory
away from the Romans by robbing them of their glory. Eleazar’s plan was a
success and history may well justify the act of suicide. I talked to both
my parents and asked them what they would do in this situation. My mom felt
that it was wrong to commit suicide in this case because the Jews didn’t
even try to put up a fight. As she put it, “Even if the Jews did lose,
their lives may have been spared.” My dad felt that suicide was the best
thing to do given the circumstances
In the Bible, Mark 14:32-42 deals with Jesus willfully being arrested
and killed. Jesus knew that he would be killed, but he still accepted his
fate. My dad feels that his actions were acceptable because he was trying
to prove a point. My dad also added, “He was merely trying to stand up for
his rights.”
1 Maccabees 2:32-38 tells of the slaughter of a thousand Jews because
they refused to fight on the day of the Sabbath. Since they would not obey
the king’s command, the army was forced to attack the Jews. For the Jews,
death was inevitable since they chose to conform to their beliefs. In this
instance, my whole family agreed that the Jewish people were only following
the guidelines of their religion, and if they were very religious at heart,
then, they had no other choice but to avoid fighting.

1 Maccabees 6:39-46 of the Bible deals with Eleazar sacrificing his life
during a war so that he could gain fame as well as kill the leader of
attack. Once again, my family agreed that what Eleazar did was acceptable
and actually quite noble since he was trying to protect his own people from
death. Eleazar’s actions displayed courage and bravery.

To some people, suicide is never acceptable, but most people feel that
taking your own life is acceptable under certain conditions. Sacrificing
one’s life to uphold one’s principles or laws of righteousness is
considered to be noble and chivalrous. However, ending one’s life or
committing suicide as a way to escape the normal problems of life is
thought to be an act of cowardice and is not justifiable.