Are suicide attacks an acceptable tactic for a Christian in war?

[Deimos Anomaly]

For the longest time I'd thought, obviously not, suicide is surely a sin (thou shalt do no murder presumably including murder of the self) but then I was thinking about Samson, and it occurred to me that he was pretty kamikaze about it.

So can he be considered a precedent, or is he a one-off IYO

[308shooter]

Well suicide is wrong, but the question is really would a suicide attack really be the same as suicide ( i.e. blowing ones brains out because you're unhappy with life )

The argument could be made that you not so much killing yourself, as you are giving you life for a cause greater than yourself.

Is it really that different than a mission where your odds of survival are next to nothing but you don't actually start the acts of your death in motion yourself?

I don't have the answer, I'm not God but its certainly a thought provoking question.

[bxn]

I don't mean to chime into something that you might intend as a specifically theological discussion since I'm not well-versed in those areas, but I feel compelled to say that a picture is forming for me that the whole shaheed (martyr) culture was instituted by Khomeini during the Iran-Iraq war. In part maybe as a "practical" answer to Iraqi technical superiority. But behind that I see the life-hating nature of Khomeini and the rest of his hard-line ilk behaving like old men throughout history and across the world do: feeling a personal hatred for the young whose natural inclination to live free has not yet been crippled by unresolved experiences of defective social structures, and taking the opportunity given by acquired power to express that hatred by sending the young off to die. Better to expend your energy by killing yourself in service of a restrictive delusion than by living freely as all have a right to. Since that freedom would directly contradict the corrupt social order the haters have risen to power in and now must defend for the sake of their own advantage.

If we believe that the western Christian tradition is intimately bound up with and underpins western notions of inherent human rights to freedom, then this view of the origins of the Jihadi/shaheed culture might give an illustrative example of why that culture is wrong and at odds with the western and Christian tradition.

[§trykerMP5]

We dont blow ourselves up to kill others because we can kill more people without dying. Durka Durka Jihad Osama Mohamed Ali people have to result to these tactics... they realized thier "god" is fake so they get pissed and blow themselves up.

Oh well... i will provide the explosives... just dont kill any Americans.

Making the world a better place... one rag head at a time.

Go Bush

[kARL]

To a Muslim dying in defence of or to spread Islam IS NOT suicide.

It is Jihad. It is the key to Paradise and the finest death a Muslim can hope for.

If a Muslim were to kill himself for personal reasons, that WOULD be suicide and he would go to Hell.

As for Christians, dying in battle in a just war, is honorable. Since there is always the chance, however slim, that one may survive a Suicide mission", it would not be a sin.

karl

[AZProtector]

It's not the killing of yourself in defense that would be considered a sin, it would be killing yourself due to despair

[ironjaw83]

i think that first you have to note the differences between willingness to die and desire to die. when i was in the infantry, it was a very real possiblility that i would die. after i got past that, i came to the conclusion that my death for this country, its citizens, and most importantly, the ones i love and those in my unit would be the ultimate offering. i would, in essence, be a martyr, in that, i died for an ideology that i believed so whole-heartedly that i was not only willing, but happy to lay down my life for. i was not willing to just blow myself up however, because this is not an honorable way to die. an honorable way to die would be to utilize the skills that god gave me to the extent of human possiblity and to wipe out as many of these parasites as possible at which time, if my creator deemed me worthy to join in the afterlife, i would go.

[dunkel]

I've thought about this before. On the one hand, we say that suicide is a sin. But then we praise martyrs and the early Christians for choosing to die. There seems to be a very fine line there, like there's a difference between using your own hand to kill yourself and making a decision or putting yourself into a situation that you know will lead to your death.

[ironjaw83]

i believe there is an honorability in dying for your comrades or your god. however, i think it would be considered suicide and unholy if you seek it out. if you mentally rule out all other potential forms of combat, i do not see any honor in it. one must complete an objective at all costs but in doing so must attempt to complete the secondary objective of returning home alive.

i had this conversation with my pastor a few months ago. god understands the love one has for his commrades. in laying down ones life to save ones commrades is the ultimate gift one can give. without being heretical, this could be compared to christ laying down his life for human kind. christ knew what would happen, he knew that he would no longer be able to enjoy the company of his disciples and friends. he knew that he would no longer be able to enjoy all of the earthly plaesures that he knew. but he also knew that it was his destiny to save us all from satan. this is why i feel offering your life in place of your compatriots is one of the most devinely unselfish and holy acts one can do.

[ironjaw83]

i thought this had to something to do with this conversation

SEAL falls on grenade to save comrades By THOMAS WATKINS, Associated Press Writer
44 minutes ago


CORONADO, Calif. - A Navy SEAL sacrificed his life to save his comrades by throwing himself on top of a grenade Iraqi insurgents tossed into their sniper hideout, fellow members of the elite force said.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor had been near the only door to the rooftop structure Sept. 29 when the grenade hit him in the chest and bounced to the floor, said four SEALs who spoke to The Associated Press this week on condition of anonymity because their work requires their identities to remain secret.

"He never took his eye off the grenade, his only movement was down toward it," said a 28-year-old lieutenant who sustained shrapnel wounds to both legs that day. "He undoubtedly saved mine and the other SEALs' lives, and we owe him."

Monsoor, a 25-year-old gunner, was killed in the explosion in Ramadi, west of Baghdad. He was only the second SEAL to die in Iraq since the war began.

Two SEALs next to Monsoor were injured; another who was 10 to 15 feet from the blast was unhurt. The four had been working with Iraqi soldiers providing sniper security while U.S. and Iraqi forces conducted missions in the area.

In an interview at the SEALs' West Coast headquarters in Coronado, four members of the special force remembered "Mikey" as a loyal friend and a quiet, dedicated professional.

"He was just a fun-loving guy," said a 26-year-old petty officer 2nd class who went through the grueling 29-week SEAL training with Monsoor. "Always got something funny to say, always got a little mischievous look on his face."

Other SEALS described the Garden Grove, Calif., native as a modest and humble man who drew strength from his family and his faith. His father and brother are former Marines, said a 31-year-old petty officer 2nd class.

Prior to his death, Monsoor had already demonstrated courage under fire. He has been posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his actions May 9 in Ramadi, when he and another SEAL pulled a team member shot in the leg to safety while bullets pinged off the ground around them.

Monsoor's funeral was held Thursday at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego. He has also been submitted for an award for his actions the day he died.

The first Navy SEAL to die in Iraq was Petty Officer 2nd Class Marc A. Lee, 28, who was killed Aug. 2 in a firefight while on patrol against insurgents in Ramadi. Navy spokesman Lt. Taylor Clark said the low number of deaths among SEALs in Iraq is a testament to their training.

Sixteen SEALs have been killed in Afghanistan. Eleven of them died in June 2005 when a helicopter was shot down near the Pakistan border while ferrying reinforcements for troops pursuing al-Qaida militants.

There are about 2,300 of the elite fighters, based in Coronado and Little Creek, Va.

The Navy is trying to boost that number by 500 — a challenge considering more than 75 percent of candidates drop out of training, notorious for "Hell Week," a five-day stint of continual drills by the ocean broken by only four hours sleep total. Monsoor made it through training on his second attempt.