The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-07-03

1HC NHTiSIlau cnurch was, from
the first, opposed TO suicide. 1t was
not, however, for several centuries af.
ter the death Of Christ that !. did
more than enter rcmonstrance against
1t, and then only when it occurred un-
der certain circumstances. Suicide
seems TO have been comparatively rare
among Christians until persecution
drove them to it. In Gibbons "De-
cline and Fall of the Roman Empire"
VIC read that when Christianity came
to be tolerated by the pagans, and
martyrdom became comparatively rare,
the more infatuated of the Christians
dcliberatly melted the pAgans to acts
OF violence against themselves, and,
when brought before the magistrate
begged that sentence of death might
be passed and carried out. This
conduct OF the early Christians was at
times so glaring that the pagan ruler.
often refused to pass any sentence
upon them, and told them TO go and
Kill themselves if they were 50 anx.
ious TO die. Stories are related of
martyrs who pressed the cxecutioncr
TO make haste. and who checrfully
leapcd into the fires which had been
made 70 consume them, having appar-
emily discovered sensation of pleas
urc in the midst Of exquisite torture.
Several examples have been preserved
OF zeal impatient of. those restraints
which the "mpcrors had provided for
the security Of the church. The
Christians, indeed, went SO rar as to
supply by their voluntary declarations
the want of an accuser by disturbing
the public service Of paganism; and
they afterwards implored the magis-
tratc to pronounce and carry out the
penalty prescribed by law. Upon one
occasion Antonius Plus, the pro -coun-
sui, refused their clamor for sentence
of death, saying, unhappy men, if
you are thus weary of your lives, is it
so difficult for you to find ropes and
precipiccs?'
The fanaticism Of some sects, such
as the Donatists, was very marked,
since they tried By every method to
get their opponents to kill them, and
even promised reward to pagan
who would take their lives. When
this method failed, they threw them
selves from some high place, and
many prccipices acquired fame by the
number of religious suicides.
Voluntary self destruction among
Christians did not decrease to any
appreciable extent until about 452 A.
d., when the Council of Aries con-
demned it under all circumstances. |
But even this condemnation did not
have any immediate result, and sever
al centuries later fanaticism, in the
form of thirst for death, again be.
came quite common. CAT the battle |
OF Hittin, during the crusades, those
knights Templar who refused to adopt |
The Moslem faith wero ruthlessly |
slain by command of Saladin; and |
many Christian soldiers who were |
for the glory of martyrdom,
but were not Templars, put on the
nantles of the slain, and went gladly
to their deaths"
While suicide is not specifically con-
demned in the New Testament, it
has, nevertheless, been strenuously
opposed by every Christian sect for
the past thirteen hundred years; and
it self-destruction in the supposed
'ause of religion occurred to-day in
Christian land, the suicide would nat
lrally be regarded as lunatic.
Buffalo, New York, June is, 1901. i
Wise Conclusion