Q: Our son died from an overdose of antidepressants. He had struggled with depression for years, and maybe it finally got to him (although maybe it was accidental – we’ll never know). He was a sincere Christian, but if he did take his life, does it mean he committed the unforgivable sin and lost his salvation? Obviously, this burdens us very much. — E.N.
A: I am very sorry for your loss. As a father, I can’t imagine the pain you are experiencing. You should be comforted by knowing that there is no rational reason to believe hell exists.
Religion (especially established churches like Catholic and mainline Protestant) has been using fear to control their faithful for millennia. Using the fear of eternal damnation in hell, they have been able to wield immense political and social power. A growing number of people are now realizing that belief in a god is irrational and have been able to break free of the tyranny of Christianity and organized religion. Belief in hell is not rational. If you come to recognize this, you may be heartened by the realization that your son has not been condemned to hell, regardless of the circumstances of his death.
Feel free to leave your answer to this question in the comments.
My answer might be: Once the brain is dead, that’s it!, there in no more thoughts of a god or a heaven or hell, the only reason people think there is a heaven and hell is because we were taught through indoctrination from other people that we trusted were in turn somehow privy to some special knowledge, but they too were lied to by the same people who also lived before them, their parents, pastors, etc.
It’s all a lie, there is no evidence for a heaven or hell, so quit worrying over something that does not exist.