Originally Posted by analog

So I was at work the other day and was thinking about the implications of murder and suicide on the soul of a person, and how that relates to where they "go" when they die. Note that this conversation assumes 1.) heaven and hell are real and 2.) I'm working off of the "rules" set forth in the Christian religions wherein murder sends you to hell when you die, as well as if you commit suicide.

Also, if anyone wants to throw in for other religions and their opinions on those, please feel free- I just am not knowledgable enough to discuss this in-depth outside of my own area.

So here's the thing...

You commit murder, you go to hell. Assume there is no chance for absolution- the murderer dies without devine forgiveness.

You commit suicide, you go to hell.

So what do you think would happen if you killed someone in self-defense? What about in defense of someone else? Like, a guy is bearing down on you with a knife, and you shoot him in the chest. You know for a fact that you would have died if you didn't kill him. Do you think that still "counts"? Are we supposed to die if someone is trying to kill us, since killing him would send you to burn? Do you think God weighs those sorts of things?

A better example would be in defense of another. You find a man poised to stab someone in the chest- if you shoot him he dies, but you save the life of his victim. Do you think that would count?

Ok, that was murder... which was actually a secondary thought of mine... the first thoughts I had came while I was thinking about the movie Apollo 13.

What if you had to kill yourself to save the life of another? The example was this (and if i'm a little off from the movie just ignore it, the movie was the basis, not the point):

Three men in a spaceship. They find out that there is only enough oxygen for 2 men to get back to earth. None of them are going to kill another. So unless one person dies NOW by some other means, all three will die when the oxygen runs out. So you want to save their lives, you excuse yourself to the bathroom, and stab yourself in the heart with a screwdriver or something. In this case of sacrifice, if you killed yourself, do you think you would still burn for it?

Does saving the life of another person trump your own suicide?

I use this example because it's absolute... it's not like you run to push someone out of the path of a car and accidentally get hit yourself... it's a willful act of suicide.

Do you think the "rules" are interpreted by their reasons for happening? Do you think God goes more by the intention than the acts themselves?