Suicide Condolence Cards
You’re listening to a special edition of Search the Scriptures Daily, a radio ministry of The Berean Call. Still to come in this revisit to our 2000 series, Religion in the News, plus answers to your questions in Contending for the Faith, and in Understanding the Scriptures, Dave and Tom will continue their discussion of God’s salvation.
The Berean Call invites you to make your plans now for our 3rd Annual TBC Conference coming up this November 14th through the 16th here in Bend, Oregon. This year’s event will be held at the beautiful new Riverhouse Convention Center. The theme for 2008 is Cosmos, Creator and Human Destiny, the title of Dave Hunt’s soon to be released new book. A feature speaker will be Roger Oakland, author of the controversial exposé on the Emerging Church, Faith Undone from Lighthouse Trails Publishing. TBC also welcomes Dr. Donald Chittick, an authority on the topic of origins and earth history, with a special interest in the first 11 chapters of Genesis. Of course, TBC’s Tom McMahon and Dave Hunt will both be there addressing the hotly debated creation/evolution issues. Tickets are just $75 for adults and children under 18 are free with accompanying adult. For more information go to our website at www.thebereancall.org, or call 1-800-937-6638. We hope to see you this November here in Bend at the 3rd Annual TBC Conference, Cosmos, Creator and Human Destiny. And now, to tell you more about our ministry, here’s TBC Executive Director Tom McMahon: The name, The Berean Call, is taken from the Book of Acts, Chapter 17, verses 10 and 11, where we find the apostle Paul entering the synagogue in the Greek city of Berea after he had just come from Thessalonica. To these Bereans he preached that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah sent from God. They were commended for being noble, or fair minded, not only for their willingness to hear what Paul had to say about the matter, but more specifically because they searched the scriptures daily to find out whether or not what the apostle was saying was found in God’s Word. That’s what we hope to encourage through this ministry, our mission is to alert believers in Christ to unbiblical teachings and practices impacting the church. We want to exhort believers to give greater heed to biblical discernment and truth regarding what they are accepting as spiritual. We hope to supply those who profess to be biblical Christians with information and materials that will encourage the love of God’s truth. Hopefully, we can help mobilize believers in Christ to action in obedience to the scriptural command to earnestly contend for the faith found in Jude 3. And finally, our prayer is that we can be used of God to stimulate Christians to look to the Bible alone as their rule of faith, authority and practice in living lives pleasing to our Lord and Savior.
Gary:
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RELIGION IN THE NEWS
Now: Religion in the News, a report and comment on religious trends and events being covered by the media. This week’s item is from World Magazine. Whether because of an upsurge of despair, or because they see physician assisted suicide as a growing trend, Hallmark cards has decided there is a market for suicide cards. Hallmark will feature a sympathy card designed to console a person whose loved one has killed himself. The card is the first in a possible line which will be identified in the rack along with the birthday, anniversary and get well category with a tab labeled, “suicide.” Hallmark test marketed in 6 cities where it met with overwhelming success. Families of those who had taken their own lives reportedly appreciated them, while it helped solve the problem of friends not knowing what to say. The line is part of the greeting card giant, Lifesong Collection, which is designed, according to company spokesman Rachael Bolton, to celebrate all experiences beautiful and painful. There was a resounding response for this kind of card, she said, cards that deal with death and dying and spirituality. When someone we love flees from life it is so hard to understand, reads the text, but our compassionate Creator sees clearly into what is beyond our understanding, and already had welcomed your loved one home.
Tom:
What do you think?
Dave:
You know, that’s a news item that I missed and I read World Magazine, but I didn’t see that one. That’s very disturbing. Hallmark is in the business to make money, so they must think there is a big market for this card, which indicates there must be an awful lot of people committing suicide. Which seems to indicate they think this is a growth industry there’s going to be more people committing—I had no idea that there were enough people committing suicide that you could sell very many cards. They apparently have researched this and they think there are a lot of people out there—
Tom:
It’s a marketing—they tested marketed it and it’s a success.
Dave:
Amazing! Then of course, what they are going to say to people who committed suicide, or the relatives of those who have committed suicide, or friends that your loved one has already been welcomed by the Creator. On what basis do they say that? The Bible says, it is appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgment. Jesus said, the rich man in hell lifted up his eyes being in torment. Now, on what basis are they assuring this person that their Creator has welcomed them?
Tom:
Yeah, what’s the basis of them telling them what they want to hear?
Dave:
That’s right. I find that a very disturbing news item.
Tom:
Right, and it also lines up with this whole movement towards euthanasia, Dave. Now we have an element out there that further makes euthanasia, that is, dying, mercy killing, whatever you want to call it, taking someone’s life because they are in pain, it’s making it more acceptable. Now we have a card to even make us, who feel uncomfortable to feel a little bit more comfortable. It’s a tragedy!
Dave:
I used to, my wife and I used to own and I administered a convalescent hospital, and I dealt with many elderly patients, terminally ill, saw them die. You know, what they need at that time is not some false comfort, to tell them that, you know, death is really nothing and that you will live on in our memories, and all of the trite phrases that would be on these cards. What they need to know is the truth that Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, the life, no man comes to the Father but by me. And Jesus himself said, these are not my words, Jesus himself said, He that believeth on the Son has everlasting life, he that believeth not the Son of God shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. Now that solemnizes me, I believe that’s true, therefore I don’t want to give somebody some trite phrase that will give them a false sense of comfort. But I want to warn them and I want to let them know the facts before they take this leap. And then, I don't want to give those who are left behind a false sense of comfort that they could do the same also. What we need is truth, and that’s what we are trying to contend for.
Tom:
Right.