Bible and Mission

  Introduction   When God revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush as ‘I AM WHO I AM’ (Exodus 3.4, ESV translation), He not only claimed eternal existence but also claimed that His existence defined His essence.  He did not claim the freedom to make Himself whatever He wished; He claimed that what He is is what He always has been and will be.  Thus, His Laws are eternal, for they express not simply His will but also His eternal identity.  The laws of nature are His laws of creation and are expressions of who He is.   The great Western experiment is an experiment of playing God, of claiming what God claims for oneself.  It is an experiment of Self-Being.  It is not a claim of eternal existence but simply existence that has the rights to choose and thereby define one’s very essence.  While it imitates God’s Self existence, it has to construct its own being out of choices: the claim is that existence precedes essence.  One is, on t...

  Introduction When suicide is discussed in terms of ‘assisted suicide’, the category of care for the suffering is brought into focus.   One is no longer speaking of suicide in Roman terms as an honourable death.   Nor is one siding with the Greeks in the virtue for medical practice of doing no harm. As we shall see, we are not thinking of suicide in the repulsive, Darwinian sense of eugenics.   We are now casting the matter of killing in terms of care. Assisted suicide separates ‘killing’ from ‘care’.   Euthanasia involves combining the two: someone else makes the decision—from a sense of caring—and performs the act. When someone insinuates him or herself into another’s suicide, one is not simply offering assistance.   One is actually abandoning medical and other forms of care and becoming complicit in the act.   Coercion from family, friends, medical providers, and/or insurance agencies is also possible, and I would say probable.   Once a pr...

Introduction   This report on suicide in our world today is offered for three reasons.   First, the statistics begin to provide a perspective on suicide in different demographics, regions, and over time.   Second, the statistics contribute to forming hypotheses about suicide that must be further researched.   Thus, third, the actual reporting of statistics raises questions about the proper use of statistics.   I have, therefore, both presented some recent statistics in this report and offered some caution about using them.   As my statistics professor said many years ago, ‘Remember, more people die in hospitals than anywhere else.   So, should we avoid hospitals?’   Statistics are often used for social planning—even social revolution.   The right use of statistics, even if accurately reported, is crucial.   What does a high number of suicides among teenage males mean for the teacher, the youth pastor, the use of social media, the cultura...