Matthew 27 of the New Testament describes how Judas hung himself after betraying Jesus Christ.

Judges 16:29-30 Samson had been chained to the two middle pillars of a temple. He pushed them apart. thereby knowingly causing the collapse of the building, his own suicide and the death of a few thousand Philistines inside. The death toll exceeded the number of people that he had killed during the rest of his life -which was considerable. Samson had been blinded, and no longer wanted to live as a captive. By causing his own death, he had a chance to destroy many of the enemy.

1 Samuel 31:4-6 In a war against the Philistines, Saul's sons Johnathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua were killed, and Saul himself was seriously wounded. He asked his armor bearer to kill him, but his assistant refused. So he took a sword and fell on it. The armor bearer then also fell on his sword. Both ended up committing suicide. The same events are also described in a parallel passage: 1 Chronicles 10:3-7. Saul's justification for committing suicide was that because of his injuries, if the Philistines arrived, he would have been abused and killed by uncircumcised men.

bullet 2 Samuel 1:2-17 An unidentified Amalekike man described to David a very different account about Saul's death. The versions in 1 Samuel 31 and 1 Chronicles 10, describe how Saul committed suicide by himself, after his armor bearer refused to perform the task. In this version, Saul had the Amalekite, a stranger, kill him, in a form of assisted suicide. After hearing the story of how the Amalekike had carried out the wishes of Saul, David had him executed on the spot, because he had "slain the LORD's anointed." The implication is that one can assist in the suicide of a commoner, but not in the case of a king. There is no criticism of Saul asking for help in committing suicide.

bullet 2 Samuel 17:1-29 Ahithophel recommended that he be allowed to choose 12,000 men, to pursue King David immediately, and kill him. When his advice was not accepted, he became so depressed that he returned to his city, "put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died..."

bullet 1 King 16:15-20 Zimri, king of Tirzah, saw his city besieged and taken. He was distressed at the sins that he had committed. He "went into the citadel of the king's house and burned the king's house down upon himself with fire, and died..."

Religion & suicide do no go hand in hand . Any religion is mean for controlling our life action to make our life worthy & with the help of our religion with the regular practice of prayer one can certainly keep his mind calm & quite in the midst of Worries,Tension, & Frustration covering the disturbing negative problems with come up in our mind but with our earlier action this may help us to keep our mind in controlled to commit suicide.

With this sometime backs i have my publication if not out of way , which i submit herewith under captioned '' Religion'' for your perusal & our valued readers .

Buddhism has a clear perspective on suicide. Please search for "Buddhist perspective of suicide" there are materials translated to English. sorry I can't recall any of them off hand. I also will search for it mean time. Following link for an article which discuss this.

http://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar_url?url=http://www.academia.edu/download/4178925/KEOWN.doc&hl=en&sa=X&scisig=AAGBfm0YUStMfvLdOZn8ZZ6rPpw5_JuHyw&nossl=1&oi=scholarr&ved=0ahUKEwiw586078DPAhXhLcAKHSEiAcsQgAMIGygAMAA

Judaism believes we are all made in God's image. the basis for at times ostracizing victims of suicide (e.g., not allowing them to be buried in Jewish graveyards)

Article Jewish Law Perspectives on Suicide and Physician-Assisted Dying

Article Suicide in Judaism with a Special Emphasis on Modern Israel

Look at http://bahai-library.com/suicide_bahai_faith > with its references 1 and 2 at the end. Abdul Baha's writings in particular are regarded as authoritive.

http://bahai-library.com/suicide_bahai_faith

Everyone,

I really appreciate all the very helpful answers!  You have all given me quite a bit to think about.  I will have to systematically go through them and see what fits my specific needs.  However, this is a good resource for others that may be looking into similar work. 

Thanks again!

Best wishes,

Jennifer M. Giddens

The Qura'n mentions on several occasions the immorality and sinfulness of taking one's life and those of others.   The two are interlinked.  With regard to the latter, there are ethical and moral qualifications all of which are subject to theological/ hermeneutical interpretations.  And there are many competing sources.  Here are couple of examples for the Quran:

"O you who have believed, do not consume one another's wealth unjustly but only [in lawful] business by mutual consent. And do not kill yourselves (or one another). Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful (Al-Baqara, 2: 29).   

"And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden, except by right. And whoever is killed unjustly - We have given his heir authority, but let him not exceed limits in (the matter of) taking life. Indeed, he has been supported (Al-Issra, 17: 33).

And again,

Say, "Come, I will recite what your Lord has prohibited to you. [He commands] that you not associate anything with Him, and to parents, good treatment, and do not kill your children out of poverty; We will provide for you and them. And do not approach immoralities - what is apparent of them and what is concealed. And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden [to be killed] except by [legal] right. This has He instructed you that you may use reason" (Al-Ana'am, 6: 151).

From my field experiences as ethnographer and human rights activist, I witnessed many occasions where interpretations of these verses are purely subject to local cultures, customary laws, class, gender, and caste related moralities and perceptions of ethical responsibilities.  For example in Yemen one may kill an outcaste person with impunity.  Again in Jordan and Yemen a man may kill his sister with impunity if he is saving his owner and that of his family.

Best

Huda G-Seif, PhD,

Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Lincoln Center

Suicide is condemned as taking human life and it is equal to murder. The Bible from OT and NT condemns murder.  In the OT a person who committed murder was not given a dignified burial.

I appreciate all of the replies, they were very helpful.

I found some other texts, not mentioned above that include the concept of both death by suicide and suicidality.  Before listing them, let me add a disclaimer that I am respectful of all faiths, regardless of any controversy surrounding them.

Some of the texts I found that were not mentioned above are Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologiae (article on "Whether One is Allowed to Kill Oneself"), the Catechism of the Catholic Church (points 2280 – 2283 and 2325), and the following chapters & verses from the New American Bible - Revised Edition:

• Sirach 23:14
• Revelation 9:6
• Numbers 11:15
• Judges 9:52-54
• Tobit 3:6
• Tobit 3:10
• Job 7:15
• Jonah 4:3, 8-9
• Acts 16:27
• 2 Maccabees 14:40-46

In addition, I found that many Satanic texts specifically mention suicidality.  The Church of Satan's The Satanic Bible prohibits death by suicide except when it is an indulgence from extreme circumstances (Chapter X in the Book of Lucifer).  The Order of Nine Angels' The Code of Kindred Honour indicates death by suicide is acceptable if it is to avoid being "dishonourably humiliated by others".  The Order of Nine Angels' The Greyling Owl contains a story suggesting that death by suicide is never an appropriate option to the hardships encountered in life.  The Satanic Temple's The Revolt of the Angels contains a very symbolic story suggesting that when death by suicide occurs, the focus should turn to those that are living instead of becoming too focused on the death.  (This particular story can be interpreted in a multitude of ways.)