Quote:
Originally Posted by tame_deuces
Hehe, we can talk about causality but we shouldn't necessarily pretend studies like this support that.
My personal opinion is that religion can (emphasis on can) have a doctrinal effect ("suicide is sin"), an insulating social effect (making you less prone to solitude and isolation), some therapeutic effect (especially when it comes to handling people with rough pasts and substance abuse) and also dampen anxiety and depression (by giving you fixed social habits and attention respectively).
This of course can come with a price. People who "fall off" might be thrown into even deeper depression, and it might be a trigger for depression in itself.
Suicide is not a sin according to Bible. Yes, according to religion is but is not biblical. More than that, God helps Samson commit suicide in Old Testament.
Many people have blind faith in what their religion tells but this is wrong. For example, is hell real or is the punishment only anihilation ? There is no right or wrong answer. It depends how you interpret the Bible. And you can be wrong. Most passages I think say is anihilation but there are also passages that seem more like hell (but could also be interpreted to mean anihilation). There is no sense to have a specific believe if the Bible is not clear just because your religion says to.
Also homosexuality is a sin according to Old Testament and according to Paul, but Jesus never said it's a sin. We can say the new law replaced the old one (for example in the old law revenge is good) and homosexuality is not longer a sin according to the new law because Jesus never said it is.