Once again, I was at work...

[Aki Yasu]

almost all religions believe that suicide is a sin, But what about smoking or drug use or anything else that will eventually kill you? you know its going to kill you, so does that count as suicide?

Please don't kill me if you smoke or otherwise use drugs, thank you.

 

[PhilosophyMind]

All and all, you eventually die, so smoking or some kind of substance use speeds up the process, no? You could also argue that eating certain types of food will eventually kill you, because some will. Does that mean that people shouldn't be allowed to eat those foods? Is it a sin then?

It's funny, if you look back at religions you can tell why a certain food was forbidden or a way of life was shunned upon: because of survival. Pigs were dirty, homosexual relationships didn't produce children, etc. And suicide clearly wasn't a survival tactic.

To end before I ramble, no, I don't believe it should be considered suicide.  

[SneakyPope]

I agree with you. especially what you said about food. If things that could kill you are suicide, then everyone who eats McDonalds better watch thier backs. Now I wont comment on whether i believe drugs are a sin or not, but I will say I dont believe them to be suicide.

_Pearl.  

[MegaTherion777]

i don't believe in "sin" as religions define it.

and no, i dont think drugs or food or what-all can be considered suicide.  

[Skanky Randy]

"Jesus turned water into wine"
If all alcohol is sinful then so is wine which Jesus supposedly produced out of the purity of water. Yet wine is able to produce some sort of healthful benefits for the human heart. Since this the case, either wine is some sort of exception to alcohol consumption or it is a trick to catch the willing alcoholics.
If it is an exception, then where does it stop before it becomes a sin to harm the body for a form of medication.  

[27x]

Aki Yasu

almost all religions believe that suicide is a sin, But what about smoking or drug use or anything else that will eventually kill you? you know its going to kill you, so does that count as suicide?

Please don't kill me if you smoke or otherwise use drugs, thank you.

Smoking isn't killing yourself, it's damaging your body. You might as well say cliff diving is a sin, because the odds are, you'll eventually die. Now most religeons also say that harming your body is wrong (My body is my temple) but thats another story...  

[x3 SuGarr CoOkiie]

Yes, it is considered suicide. That is why some religions rule out things like drinking alcohol, in the Islamic faith sheeks have even dubbed smoking as a sin in the same area as suicide. Harming your body is also another thing that is considered unacceptable in some religions and they go hand-in-hand.  

[Niniva]

x3 SuGarr CoOkiie

Yes, it is considered suicide. That is why some religions rule out things like drinking alcohol, in the Islamic faith sheeks have even dubbed smoking as a sin in the same area as suicide. Harming your body is also another thing that is considered unacceptable in some religions and they go hand-in-hand.

If this is true then those same religions should rule out eating fast food. It is not considered suicide, and that is NOT the reason religions rule it out. They rule it out because it alters your ability to think and interact, in other words making it much easier to loose your ability to act in a moral fashion making you more susceptible to submit to those things each religion individually tells you not to submit to.



On a personal note, I smoke. I do not consider it suicide, and here's why:

Because it isn't killing me any faster than simply living in a city breathing in dirty air would, or eating fast food every day. People around me may hate it and i do my best to accommodate them in most situations but it is not even close to "killing yourself". If it is then so is any activity which you enjoy which may be harmful to your person.

The chances of your average smoker actually dying from anything related to smoking are about 1 in 500. That is, 1 in 500 smokers get lung cancer of suffer a premature heart attack due to the smoking and not other things, now it's true, that is a higher risk, but no higher than any other person who simply fails to take care of themselves. So why is it not suicide? Because sky diving isn't suicide...nor is bombing rapids, or rock climbing or any other activity that could get you killed in a heartbeat.

To call it suicide is to say that essentially I expect the smoking itself to kill me, but that is quite simply not the case. I don't smoke INTENDING for it to kill me, in point of fact I'm kind of counting on being one of those 499 out of 500 that don't die from smoking related causes. Thus it's not suicide by definition.  

[x3 SuGarr CoOkiie]

Niniva

x3 SuGarr CoOkiie

Yes, it is considered suicide. That is why some religions rule out things like drinking alcohol, in the Islamic faith sheeks have even dubbed smoking as a sin in the same area as suicide. Harming your body is also another thing that is considered unacceptable in some religions and they go hand-in-hand.

If this is true then those same religions should rule out eating fast food. It is not considered suicide, and that is NOT the reason religions rule it out. They rule it out because it alters your ability to think and interact, in other words making it much easier to loose your ability to act in a moral fashion making you more susceptible to submit to those things each religion individually tells you not to submit to.



On a personal note, I smoke. I do not consider it suicide, and here's why:

Because it isn't killing me any faster than simply living in a city breathing in dirty air would, or eating fast food every day. People around me may hate it and i do my best to accommodate them in most situations but it is not even close to "killing yourself". If it is then so is any activity which you enjoy which may be harmful to your person.

The chances of your average smoker actually dying from anything related to smoking are about 1 in 500. That is, 1 in 500 smokers get lung cancer of suffer a premature heart attack due to the smoking and not other things, now it's true, that is a higher risk, but no higher than any other person who simply fails to take care of themselves. So why is it not suicide? Because sky diving isn't suicide...nor is bombing rapids, or rock climbing or any other activity that could get you killed in a heartbeat.

To call it suicide is to say that essentially I expect the smoking itself to kill me, but that is quite simply not the case. I don't smoke INTENDING for it to kill me, in point of fact I'm kind of counting on being one of those 499 out of 500 that don't die from smoking related causes. Thus it's not suicide by definition.

This is true. You can look it up if you like. If you ask a Shieks/Immams weather or not smoking is sin they will tell you it is with harming your body/suicide.

Another thing, when you smoke you're taking a gamble. (Oh, another "sin".) Not everyone gets lung cancer, but some do. It doesn't mean it has to be the person that smokes two packs a-day, it could be the one that smokes one a month. It is all chance.  

[Niniva]

x3 SuGarr CoOkiie

Niniva

x3 SuGarr CoOkiie

Yes, it is considered suicide. That is why some religions rule out things like drinking alcohol, in the Islamic faith sheeks have even dubbed smoking as a sin in the same area as suicide. Harming your body is also another thing that is considered unacceptable in some religions and they go hand-in-hand.

If this is true then those same religions should rule out eating fast food. It is not considered suicide, and that is NOT the reason religions rule it out. They rule it out because it alters your ability to think and interact, in other words making it much easier to loose your ability to act in a moral fashion making you more susceptible to submit to those things each religion individually tells you not to submit to.



On a personal note, I smoke. I do not consider it suicide, and here's why:

Because it isn't killing me any faster than simply living in a city breathing in dirty air would, or eating fast food every day. People around me may hate it and i do my best to accommodate them in most situations but it is not even close to "killing yourself". If it is then so is any activity which you enjoy which may be harmful to your person.

The chances of your average smoker actually dying from anything related to smoking are about 1 in 500. That is, 1 in 500 smokers get lung cancer of suffer a premature heart attack due to the smoking and not other things, now it's true, that is a higher risk, but no higher than any other person who simply fails to take care of themselves. So why is it not suicide? Because sky diving isn't suicide...nor is bombing rapids, or rock climbing or any other activity that could get you killed in a heartbeat.

To call it suicide is to say that essentially I expect the smoking itself to kill me, but that is quite simply not the case. I don't smoke INTENDING for it to kill me, in point of fact I'm kind of counting on being one of those 499 out of 500 that don't die from smoking related causes. Thus it's not suicide by definition.

This is true. You can look it up if you like. If you ask a Shieks/Immams weather or not smoking is sin they will tell you it is with harming your body/suicide.

Another thing, when you smoke you're taking a gamble. (Oh, another "sin".) Not everyone gets lung cancer, but some do. It doesn't mean it has to be the person that smokes two packs a-day, it could be the one that smokes one a month. It is all chance.

So is walking down the street, or driving a car. And and "sheik/shamman" who says that smoking is a sin thats "right up there with suicide" is not impressive to me. If it is, then why isn't eating fastfood or drinking alcohol considered a sin? They both are much more harmful to your body then smoking.

Not to mention "harming your body" can be interpreted several hundred different ways with varying degrees so who can know who is correct? Are these Shieks and Shamman correct? Or am I? Or are Europeans of which more than 60% smoke? Are they all living in sin? If smoking is a sin then there are an aweful lot of wonderful people throughout history who have lived in sin unwittingly their entire lives. I fail to see how this is the case. Until about 50 years ago we weren't even aware that smoking cause death so....was it not a sin before that then? How does one decide if it's a sin or not a sin?

Not to mention, how is this pertinent to suicide?  

[Raticiel]

Some philosophers say that in the moment of our birth also the process of our death starts.
I think suicide is a sudden and decisive act of taking life away from yourself. You can't call smoking a suicide, because of various reasons listed above by everyone. You'd have to call your parents your own killers.
And suicide never resolve any problem. It will make that problem vanish along with you, but will not resolve anything. (yes I've been into Wittgenstein lately A LOT smile suicide as a fundamental sin ninja  

[Pinny Nickels]

At first I wasn't going to respond because I do not follow any religion and I do not believe that suicide is an act that another life will punish you for.

But I think I actually have some decent input on this:
Religion in general has always been very black and white (like the concept of good and evil... which is part of the reason why I really don't agree with any of it). Either you've committed an act or you haven't; either you're rewarded or you're punished.
So unless you deliberately and intentionally decide to end you're own life, then it's not suicide.  

[Niniva]

Quote:

Religion in general has always been very black and white (like the concept of good and evil... which is part of the reason why I really don't agree with any of it).

I'm sorry, this is western christianity's influence on you. This is a generalization you make based on western christian influence and is quite simply not true.

Do not make the mistake of assuming that because western "church" has claimed things are black and white, that that is ACTUALLY what the religion or teachings are saying.

For example, moral relativity is something that is preached by christianity in the book of Romans. Hinduism merely states you should do "good" by other people in order to promote the Karmic cycle....Buhdism is the same...but neither of them define quite what that "good" is leaving it to you to discover what is "good" for yourself.

So in actuality the idea of a moral relative is actually embeded within much of religion....it is just people that like to think that THEY have the TRUE moral correctness. But that's just silly to think.