White Stone Journal

A reader asked on January 2, 2010:

discuss sloth as it relates to suicide. watching history channel-ie, dantes devine comedy

Suicide can come from Sloth, especially from despair, but this is often driven by other sins.

By forbidding suicide, the Catholic Church (and some cultures), drive the individual toward a better resolution of their problems via self improvement. Just as Christ triumphed over death at a moment when he was close to despair (Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani), we are called to conquer sin, the cause of the despair. This focus on the root causes of human suffering results in glory and enlightenment. There are similarities in Zen as well, with the rejection of desire as a necessity to achieve enlightenment.