According to Lactantius, an early Christian writer, it was the Pythagoreans and Stoics (two of many philosophic parties) who were enamored with suicide, following men like Socrates and Cicero. Christians did not believe in killing themselves, which Lactantius said was akin to homicide.
In recent decades, however, commentators have played with the notion that suicide was just what Paul had in mind when he wrote these words:
I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain. (Phil 1.20-25)
This is tough passage, to be sure. My first inclination is to go with Lactantius and other early writers (like Chrysostom, for instance), and say that Paul was not here contemplating doing away with himself. On the other hand, …
When powerful forces come up against us, like automobiles or gunshots, we do not always have the choice of whether we live or not. But in most cases (thinking here of the scenario given in Million Dollar Baby, where the heroine was physically incapable of ending her life as she wanted to), we do have the choice of whether we might die.
Back in Canada right now, there is the macabre situation where the federally mandated MAID (Medically Assisted Death) program is enabling more and more categories of people to get help to end their life. It began small, being limited to those who were in great pain, whose death was imminent, but who were still conscious and able to make a decision. Minors were not allowed to access the program, nor were the clinically depressed.
Now, however, fierce advocates of the program within the health care system are offering the services of death to people who are simply calling them for help. They are also arguing that it should be available to babies who have what they consider to be incurable diseases – or, better, they are offering the “service” to the babies’ parents. This Is not quite pro-choice yet. But it is infanticide.
Paul was in a Roman prison, not knowing what the future held. He only knew that death was, for him, a gate-way to being with Christ. Even so, he made the conscious choice to continue to struggle for life in order to help the people who were counting on him, like his readers in Philippi.
This debate is bigger than a little blog, and I have neither the time or the competence to do the subject justice. But I do know that Paul chose struggle and life, and that we probably ought to as well, God helping us.
J & S on Mission 