Did Jesus commit an unforgivable sin?

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Did anyone else realize Jesus had an assisted suicide? He did everything he could to get crucified... is Jesus going to hell?

I originally posted this in the say something random topic in the random discussion area... but now I find it to be a valid question. I'm not Christian but I'm very spiritual and this question left me puzzled. I'm always thinking of questions like this because I love irony. The thing is is I've never believed in suicide being an unforgivable sin even though it supposedly is... and Jesus did it so that's kinda ironic and hypocritical if he isn't going to be sentenced to hell for it.

PS... I'm not trying to piss religious people off... I just think it's a valid question and wonder if somebody here can answer it for me.

He took our punishments for our sin, which is death, if thats what you mean. Im pretty new to religion...and I dont understand it all.

What I mean is he did nothing to avoid crucifixion... it's like he even pushed for it. He let them do it to him and therefor would be somewhat the same extent of me jumping into a lions cage at the zoo and letting a lion eat me. I didn't directly kill myself but that would still be considered suicide. The irony of the whole thing is that Christianity says that you can't kill yourself or it's a one way ticket to hell... and it could be argued that Jesus pulled off a suicidal act. I'm curious for an explanation is all I guess.

I'm a "religious" person... that is to say, I'm devoted to Jesus, and am a Christian, and I'm not offended by your question.

Yes, you're right... Jesus could be described as having chosen an "assisted suicide." But there are a couple of things to bear in mind.

First off, the Bible never says that suicide is unilaterally a sin. For example, Samson committed suicide when he "brought the house down" on the Philistines, but from his point of view he was helping to destroy the enemy of his people. You could say he was a suicide bomber of the Old Testament. It's a terrible thing to have done, but I don't know of any Christians who would suggest that Samson was in hell for his last act.

Secondly, even if suicide was, in some instances a sin, is it always a sin? What about a soldier who goes to war, knowing that he might die, but prepared to die to save his beloved family, friends, country? If a soldier dies in the defense of his country, is he considered a suicide? He knew death in service was a possibility. Is this a form of suicide? Yet nobody would suggest a soldier dying for his country was going to hell. Instead he is a hero.

Jesus, according to the New Testament narrative (which I happen to believe) died for the love of humanity. "Greater love hath no man than this, that he lays down his life for his friends." According to Christianity, Jesus died for us. He knowingly laid down His life. Yes, some might say a suicide. He died for you... you are His friend. He died for me, I am His friend. He died for the sins of the world. Everyone is His friend... all they need to do is accept His friendship.

If it's really true that His death was salvific for all of humanity, then how could His suicide be considered a sin? The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one, to quote a well known sci fi source. Even if Jesus weren't the Messiah (He is by the way) then His death couldn't be a sin. If He was simply wrong about Who He was, then even so, His willingness to die in order to save you, to save me, to save everyone was surely heroic. If a soldier dying in Afghanistan for the cause of freedom is a hero (and yes, that soldier is indeed a hero) then surely someone prepared to die in order that the whole world could be saved is a hero.

If you look at Christianity squarely, you can see that things are not always black and white. Suicide is not always a sin.

But Jesus is definitely a Hero.

You are probably working on the basis of American Evangelical Christianity, or Roman Catholic Orthodoxy. There are many different takes on Christianity throughout the world. I live in England, and instead of being told what to think I read the Bible for myself. The word "suicide" never turns up in the Bible. There's a big difference between what the Bible actually says and the traditions of man. Suicide being an "unforgivable sin" is very much a tradition of the Roman Catholic Church... it's simply not in the Bible as such.

Religious people tend to scare me too. Fortunately when I say I'm "religious" I say so in quotation marks!

From my experience the truly "religious" don't have faith, they have "beliefs". Their beliefs are very cut and dried, and based on black and white assumptions. So, although the Bible has hardly anything to say on suicide, the "religious" will say, "oh... if you commit suicide you're definitely going to hell. Doesn't matter what good you did in life, doesn't matter if you were mentally ill, doesn't matter if you had good reasons... suicide is a sin."

This belief is not based on the Bible.

Other beliefs that the "religious" have... at least in "Christianese" circles. There is no such thing as mental illness, it's all demonic possession. If you are truly Christian then you can ditch your medication, you'll be fine.

The really extreme types seem to think that all ailments, including terminal cancer, are the result of sin, and if you truly repent you'll get cured. If you don't jump out of your wheelchair and dance, you're not truly a Christian.

Jesus had a few words to say about these folks. When speaking of a blind man, He said that he was born to "make manifest the glory of God," and that neither he or his parents sinned... in other words, Jesus debunked most of Evangelical American Christianity.

But they don't notice it, because they're not actually interested in anything other than what they believe.

Like I say, the truly religious have beliefs, not faith. When life hits them upside the head, their beliefs are exposed as totally empty, and they have nothing left. Faith can survive such upsets... faith can face cancer. "Belief" can't face cancer, when it considers cancer a sin.

You see what I mean? My faith in Christ isn't based on a set of beliefs... "the truly saved fit these criteria..." Jesus loved me and died for me, and rose for me. The rest is just window dressing. One day I may get cancer, or liver failure, or diabetes, or lose my legs in a car crash.

Jesus still died for me, still loves me. No matter what... even if I commit suicide, even if I fail in life. He's not a set of beliefs, He's a person.

And I love Him, because He loves me.

Jesus = God. Therefore he didn't feel pain or suffer unless he chose to. He knew he was immortal and was going to heaven. He WAS God and the whole thing was just a piece of theater.

"He died for our sins"
Really? How do you figure that?

God made Adam and Eve and then condemned them and all their descendants to hell because they ate an apple.
But after he allowed "Himself" to die then he could allow "Himself" to forgive us.

Can anyone say "Totally deranged psychopath"?

Hi Angelrho... Thank you for reminding me of Rhoda in the book of Acts. You make a very good point that the disciples knew the difference between crazy and demon possessed. I wouldn't have spotted that if you hadn't pointed it out... thanks for the clarification.

mgran: No problem! Glad I could help!

Oh, and the Bible does tell what an unforgivable sin is. There's only one. And it AIN'T suicide, assisted or otherwise.