The Death of a Friend

I know that I’d promised DagoodS a lively discussion about God’s incongruities, but something else has come up that I feel I should address.

I received word that a young man with whom I have been having an ongoing conversation regarding Christianity has recently committed suicide.  This young man was a passionate and committed atheist, and he and I sparred over many Christian teachings, from the existence of God to the deity of Christ.  I’m still gathering information about the whole thing, but according to the reports that I’ve heard, this young man took his life on December 26th.

What I won’t do.   I refuse to resort to a tactic that so many of us would utilize in our evangelism; this man’s death does not defeat atheist claims or reinforce Christian claims. There was more going on in this man’s life than an abandonment of God, and although this factor may have made him unhappy, the reality is probably more complicated than his worldview.  Many atheists live long and seemingly happy lives, and I am not going to jump on the opportunity as a way to anecdotally prove that the atheist worldview is futile and its only logical outworking is suicide.  At an emotional time like this, those words would just plain oppose the Christian Gospel.

Christians commit suicide all the time as well, and for me to suggest that this means that the Christian worldview is false is equally illogical.

What I will do.  I will suggest to you that each of us can experience true and satisfying happiness in the person of Jesus Christ.  No one is obligated to die this way; there is no level of unhappiness that the light of Christ cannot dispel.  Perhaps you are entertaining thoughts of suicide.  Let’s lay aside all the intellectual arguments for a moment.  I’ve dealt with suicidal thoughts and mind-shattering bitterness, and I can tell you that the only lasting peace that I have found lies within a relationship with the God of the universe through His son Jesus Christ.  While this is not an argument for God’s existence, to me this is how I have experienced God in my own life, and I have witnessed no sufficient argument to lead me to conclude that I shouldn’t trust my experience.

God is waiting to be experienced, and I am confident that if you will honestly and earnestly cry out to Him, He will delvier you from whatever oppression you are being placed under.