The subject of suicide comes up every now and then on this forum, and someone brought up the subject of going to hell if you commit suicide, so for anyone interested we can share viewpoints on it here. My understanding of hell is from the Christian viewpoint, but within Christianity, there are a number of different viewpoints on what hell is.
Just a few quick points from my perspective on it:
1. In the Bible hell is described as a place where people who reject God burn. Some Christians believe you burn forever in hell or you suffer eternal conscious torment in hell. I don't believe the Bible teaches that.
2. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23
3. Jesus said in John 3:16 that "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life."
So, you will either die or be saved and have everlasting life.
3. I don't believe in a God who will torture people forever and ever in hell because the Bible doesn't teach that. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that people will stay alive and burn forever and ever in hell.
Violet
What is hell?
What is hell?
PNE since 2002. Started from weightlifting. PNE surgery from Dr. Bautrant, Oct 2004. Pain now is usually a 0 and I can sit for hours on certain chairs. No longer take medication for PNE. Can work full time and do "The Firm" exercise program. 99% cured from PGAD. PNE surgery was right for me but it might not be for you. Do your research.
Re: What is hell?
I am not particularly religious and probably have a different perspective on suicide and faith. I cannot pretend that I will ever understand chronic suffering, as to me it does not have a purpose. I also believe euthanasia should be a human right, so I cannot understand the notion of going to hell for exercising something that should be a right.
What I find very troubling is that modern medicine always falsely associates suicide with mental illness - rather than trying to approach it compassionately and logically. Modern medicine seeks to extend life expectancy ithout taking into account quality of life.
What I find very troubling is that modern medicine always falsely associates suicide with mental illness - rather than trying to approach it compassionately and logically. Modern medicine seeks to extend life expectancy ithout taking into account quality of life.
Re: What is hell?
Hi Eraser,
After going through PNE, I could never judge someone else if they couldn't take it anymore and had to end their life because the pain was so bad. I can't say for sure that someone who does is going to go to hell. I think it makes sense not to commit suicide if you haven't tried all of your options first. And I probably couldn't go that route myself because as long as I have breath, I want to do what I can to help other people. From all of your posts, I can tell that you are a compassionate and logical person, trying to help other people.
Chronic suffering is probably the most difficult topic there is to understand. My Christian faith gives me some answers that I find satisfying and gives me hope.
Violet
After going through PNE, I could never judge someone else if they couldn't take it anymore and had to end their life because the pain was so bad. I can't say for sure that someone who does is going to go to hell. I think it makes sense not to commit suicide if you haven't tried all of your options first. And I probably couldn't go that route myself because as long as I have breath, I want to do what I can to help other people. From all of your posts, I can tell that you are a compassionate and logical person, trying to help other people.
Chronic suffering is probably the most difficult topic there is to understand. My Christian faith gives me some answers that I find satisfying and gives me hope.
Violet
PNE since 2002. Started from weightlifting. PNE surgery from Dr. Bautrant, Oct 2004. Pain now is usually a 0 and I can sit for hours on certain chairs. No longer take medication for PNE. Can work full time and do "The Firm" exercise program. 99% cured from PGAD. PNE surgery was right for me but it might not be for you. Do your research.
Re: What is hell?
Your commitment to helping others is incredible.Violet M wrote: ↑Fri Sep 25, 2026 8:30 am Hi Eraser,
After going through PNE, I could never judge someone else if they couldn't take it anymore and had to end their life because the pain was so bad. I can't say for sure that someone who does is going to go to hell. I think it makes sense not to commit suicide if you haven't tried all of your options first. And I probably couldn't go that route myself because as long as I have breath, I want to do what I can to help other people. From all of your posts, I can tell that you are a compassionate and logical person, trying to help other people.
Chronic suffering is probably the most difficult topic there is to understand. My Christian faith gives me some answers that I find satisfying and gives me hope.
Violet
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aussie_surfer
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Re: What is hell?
A Catholic priest, Father William Byron S.J., offers us these insights below. I urge anyone reading this thread, to please carefully read his message of love, here below. A gentle, ultimate reminder also to everybody to never forget, that God is love. His son, Jesus Christ, was a revolutionary of his time.. He befriended those living on the margins of society, tax collectors and prostitutes. He spread the healing message of God’s love to all, especially to those in need.
“What is the Catholic Church’s teaching on suicide? Do people who take their own lives go to hell? My son committed suicide. In the note he left, he said he was going to hell for this, but didn’t know what else to do. He made many mistakes, and I made lots of mistakes raising him. I’m truly sorry.
– D.B., Minnesota”
No one can appreciate the unimaginable pain that is the ultimate explanation for such a tragic action. No one, therefore, can judge a person whose choice we cannot fathom, whose life we can remember, but cannot restore, and whose pain we cannot understand. This is how the Church tends to look upon suicide today.
The Church teaches that suicide is wrong; it is contrary to the Fifth Commandment. It is an action that runs counter to the proper love of self, as well as love for God, the giver of life. We are stewards of our lives, not owners. The person who takes his or her own life also wrongs others — those who remain experience loss, bewilderment, and grief. You won’t find anything in that teaching about going to hell.
Pity, not condemnation, is the response of the Church. Prayers are offered for the deceased. Mass is celebrated. Burial with dignity, in consecrated ground, is provided for one who dies this way. Not that long ago, Christian burial was denied to those who took their own lives. There may have been another denial at work in those days, too — denial of our inability to understand the pain. We assumed that those who chose to take their own lives were acting freely and under no psychological distress or illness. Or worse, there may have been a denial of responsibility to try to understand the pain. As your son said in the note he left behind, he just didn’t know what else to do.
So for those of us who remain, the Church encourages paying attention to the pain that produced the action. Then, look forward, not back, to pain within ourselves and pain in others, especially when we see no signs and hear no calls for help.
Why do we avoid speaking to one another about inner pain? Why are we not more sensitive to the pain in others’ hearts, or able to read the pain in others’ eyes? Why do we spend millions for “pain relief ” over the counter or by prescription, but not spend the time it takes to encourage those who may be hurting to open up? This kind of thinking is all now part of the Church’s pastoral response to the tragedy of suicide.
It seems to me that there has to be some mysterious insulation enveloping those who commit suicide. Tragically, their minds cannot be read by those around them, nor can they reach out and ask for help. Again, the unimaginable pain.
The Church teaches through liturgy, and the liturgy on occasions like these stresses divine mercy. Take a look at Psalm 103, and recall the dimensions of God’s mercy — as far as the east is from the west, as high as the skies are above the earth.
The Church still teaches that there is a hell, but leaves it to God to decide who should go there. And divine decisions, in this regard, are filtered through divine mercy. Tragedy at the end of this life is no sure sign of an eternal tragedy in the next.
https://www.catholicdigest.com/faith/20 ... o-to-hell/
“What is the Catholic Church’s teaching on suicide? Do people who take their own lives go to hell? My son committed suicide. In the note he left, he said he was going to hell for this, but didn’t know what else to do. He made many mistakes, and I made lots of mistakes raising him. I’m truly sorry.
– D.B., Minnesota”
No one can appreciate the unimaginable pain that is the ultimate explanation for such a tragic action. No one, therefore, can judge a person whose choice we cannot fathom, whose life we can remember, but cannot restore, and whose pain we cannot understand. This is how the Church tends to look upon suicide today.
The Church teaches that suicide is wrong; it is contrary to the Fifth Commandment. It is an action that runs counter to the proper love of self, as well as love for God, the giver of life. We are stewards of our lives, not owners. The person who takes his or her own life also wrongs others — those who remain experience loss, bewilderment, and grief. You won’t find anything in that teaching about going to hell.
Pity, not condemnation, is the response of the Church. Prayers are offered for the deceased. Mass is celebrated. Burial with dignity, in consecrated ground, is provided for one who dies this way. Not that long ago, Christian burial was denied to those who took their own lives. There may have been another denial at work in those days, too — denial of our inability to understand the pain. We assumed that those who chose to take their own lives were acting freely and under no psychological distress or illness. Or worse, there may have been a denial of responsibility to try to understand the pain. As your son said in the note he left behind, he just didn’t know what else to do.
So for those of us who remain, the Church encourages paying attention to the pain that produced the action. Then, look forward, not back, to pain within ourselves and pain in others, especially when we see no signs and hear no calls for help.
Why do we avoid speaking to one another about inner pain? Why are we not more sensitive to the pain in others’ hearts, or able to read the pain in others’ eyes? Why do we spend millions for “pain relief ” over the counter or by prescription, but not spend the time it takes to encourage those who may be hurting to open up? This kind of thinking is all now part of the Church’s pastoral response to the tragedy of suicide.
It seems to me that there has to be some mysterious insulation enveloping those who commit suicide. Tragically, their minds cannot be read by those around them, nor can they reach out and ask for help. Again, the unimaginable pain.
The Church teaches through liturgy, and the liturgy on occasions like these stresses divine mercy. Take a look at Psalm 103, and recall the dimensions of God’s mercy — as far as the east is from the west, as high as the skies are above the earth.
The Church still teaches that there is a hell, but leaves it to God to decide who should go there. And divine decisions, in this regard, are filtered through divine mercy. Tragedy at the end of this life is no sure sign of an eternal tragedy in the next.
https://www.catholicdigest.com/faith/20 ... o-to-hell/
Re: What is hell?
Aussie, that is so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes. Thank you so much for posting it.
Violet
Violet
PNE since 2002. Started from weightlifting. PNE surgery from Dr. Bautrant, Oct 2004. Pain now is usually a 0 and I can sit for hours on certain chairs. No longer take medication for PNE. Can work full time and do "The Firm" exercise program. 99% cured from PGAD. PNE surgery was right for me but it might not be for you. Do your research.
Re: What is hell?
Afraid I will have to disagree on some but not all of your points. There is increasing evidence that suicide is not necessarily associated with mental illness and it's really important to acknowledge that whilst listening to those suffering is important, it is sadly, not a solution. I also disagree that such an act should be viewed as an act contrary to the notion of self love because you could argue that is precisely what it is.
I struggle with the notion that it wrongs those who remain because whilst very unpleasant, I would not expect someone to suffer simply to spare someone else feelings or to not have a quality of life. This is their choice and their choice alone.
Every suicide is a tragedy but we have to ask ourselves how that individual got to that point. I do think we should condemn instances of health professionals that have probably failed the person along the way, which is sadly a common occurrence in PN. Ultimately, we need earlier diagnosis, better access to existing treatments and more effective treatments in the future.
I struggle with the notion that it wrongs those who remain because whilst very unpleasant, I would not expect someone to suffer simply to spare someone else feelings or to not have a quality of life. This is their choice and their choice alone.
Every suicide is a tragedy but we have to ask ourselves how that individual got to that point. I do think we should condemn instances of health professionals that have probably failed the person along the way, which is sadly a common occurrence in PN. Ultimately, we need earlier diagnosis, better access to existing treatments and more effective treatments in the future.
aussie_surfer wrote: ↑Wed Oct 07, 2026 11:31 am A Catholic priest, Father William Byron S.J., offers us these insights below. I urge anyone reading this thread, to please carefully read his message of love, here below. A gentle, ultimate reminder also to everybody to never forget, that God is love. His son, Jesus Christ, was a revolutionary of his time.. He befriended those living on the margins of society, tax collectors and prostitutes. He spread the healing message of God’s love to all, especially to those in need.
“What is the Catholic Church’s teaching on suicide? Do people who take their own lives go to hell? My son committed suicide. In the note he left, he said he was going to hell for this, but didn’t know what else to do. He made many mistakes, and I made lots of mistakes raising him. I’m truly sorry.
– D.B., Minnesota”
No one can appreciate the unimaginable pain that is the ultimate explanation for such a tragic action. No one, therefore, can judge a person whose choice we cannot fathom, whose life we can remember, but cannot restore, and whose pain we cannot understand. This is how the Church tends to look upon suicide today.
The Church teaches that suicide is wrong; it is contrary to the Fifth Commandment. It is an action that runs counter to the proper love of self, as well as love for God, the giver of life. We are stewards of our lives, not owners. The person who takes his or her own life also wrongs others — those who remain experience loss, bewilderment, and grief. You won’t find anything in that teaching about going to hell.
Pity, not condemnation, is the response of the Church. Prayers are offered for the deceased. Mass is celebrated. Burial with dignity, in consecrated ground, is provided for one who dies this way. Not that long ago, Christian burial was denied to those who took their own lives. There may have been another denial at work in those days, too — denial of our inability to understand the pain. We assumed that those who chose to take their own lives were acting freely and under no psychological distress or illness. Or worse, there may have been a denial of responsibility to try to understand the pain. As your son said in the note he left behind, he just didn’t know what else to do.
So for those of us who remain, the Church encourages paying attention to the pain that produced the action. Then, look forward, not back, to pain within ourselves and pain in others, especially when we see no signs and hear no calls for help.
Why do we avoid speaking to one another about inner pain? Why are we not more sensitive to the pain in others’ hearts, or able to read the pain in others’ eyes? Why do we spend millions for “pain relief ” over the counter or by prescription, but not spend the time it takes to encourage those who may be hurting to open up? This kind of thinking is all now part of the Church’s pastoral response to the tragedy of suicide.
It seems to me that there has to be some mysterious insulation enveloping those who commit suicide. Tragically, their minds cannot be read by those around them, nor can they reach out and ask for help. Again, the unimaginable pain.
The Church teaches through liturgy, and the liturgy on occasions like these stresses divine mercy. Take a look at Psalm 103, and recall the dimensions of God’s mercy — as far as the east is from the west, as high as the skies are above the earth.
The Church still teaches that there is a hell, but leaves it to God to decide who should go there. And divine decisions, in this regard, are filtered through divine mercy. Tragedy at the end of this life is no sure sign of an eternal tragedy in the next.
https://www.catholicdigest.com/faith/20 ... o-to-hell/
Re: What is hell?
True....I remember that the only thing that helped relieve the depression I was in when going through the worst of PNE was medication that provided pain relief and symptom relief. Though while not a solution, it does help to have someone who is supportive.
And we need better access to pain relieving medications. I took oxycodone and clonazepam at night to help me sleep, and just being able to get a few hours of sleep can make the difference between being able to cope and not being able to cope. I think it's gotten much harder to get meds like oxycodone, which I don't really blame on the doctors because the laws have changed (at least in the US), and the doctors live in fear of being in trouble for prescribing too many narcotics.
PNE since 2002. Started from weightlifting. PNE surgery from Dr. Bautrant, Oct 2004. Pain now is usually a 0 and I can sit for hours on certain chairs. No longer take medication for PNE. Can work full time and do "The Firm" exercise program. 99% cured from PGAD. PNE surgery was right for me but it might not be for you. Do your research.
Re: What is hell?
I agree.
The UK doesn’t want to prescribe narcotics for chronic pain, so sadly it just ignores it and tells people to live with it or think differently. American is often the justification of their approach. It’s why I am very against psychological approaches to chronic pain and those who don’t believe in surgery.
The UK doesn’t want to prescribe narcotics for chronic pain, so sadly it just ignores it and tells people to live with it or think differently. American is often the justification of their approach. It’s why I am very against psychological approaches to chronic pain and those who don’t believe in surgery.
Violet M wrote: ↑Mon Oct 12, 2026 3:59 amTrue....I remember that the only thing that helped relieve the depression I was in when going through the worst of PNE was medication that provided pain relief and symptom relief. Though while not a solution, it does help to have someone who is supportive.
And we need better access to pain relieving medications. I took oxycodone and clonazepam at night to help me sleep, and just being able to get a few hours of sleep can make the difference between being able to cope and not being able to cope. I think it's gotten much harder to get meds like oxycodone, which I don't really blame on the doctors because the laws have changed (at least in the US), and the doctors live in fear of being in trouble for prescribing too many narcotics.