Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!bcm!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: batzel@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (John B. Batzel) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: To Die is Gain... Message-ID: Date: 15 Feb 91 23:43:03 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: University of Pennsylvania Lines: 47 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu Question presented for theological debate: Is it wrong to pray for one's own death? Biblical support for study: Ecclesiastes 4:2 Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive. Romans 14:8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. 2 Corinthians 5:8 We are confident, [I say], and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Philippians 1:20 [20] According to my earnest expectation and [my] hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but [that] with all boldness, as always, [so] now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether [it be] by life, or by death. [21.] For to me to live [is] Christ, and to die [is] gain. [22] But if I live in the flesh, this [is] the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. [23] For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Revelation 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed [are] the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them. This seems to say that desiring your own death is perfectly okay. Now we know that seeking it on your own (i.e. suicide) is unacceptable, and falls under the commandment of Exodus 20:13, but where would praying for your own demise be considered? I find this to be an interesting concept. Perhaps others have already studied this, or would care to join me in studying it now? Eagerly awaiting Him, John B. Batzel