What happens to the one who commits suicide?

[wolly]

Hi about 2 years ago I wanted to end my life but my mom stopped that and called the police.What I had were horrible experiences with life drugs,smoking and I felt no divine presence in my life.The question is why did this happen to me? What have I done to divinity?What's the point of divinity if it doesn't involve in your life?
If you insult the holy spirit like I did will you end up in hell? I mean if you cut your eyes with a knife in the sea will someone search for your body?

 

[atpollard]

What happens to the one who commits suicide?​

They die.​

That may seem obvious ... a DUH answer ... but it is not a trivial thing. Life is change. Good and bad, but the only constant is change. Last year was not like today and next year will not be like now (or like last year). So DEATH is a permanent solution to a temporary situation. [sorry for the cliche, but it is still true.]

Moving on ... after death: you find out the truth. Let's face it, even those that died and returned are not particularly reliable or consistent witnesses for what happens NEXT (after death). Once upon a time, I did things one ought not do and faced death as a real possibility. So, I have given this topic more than a passing thought. So let's look hard at the possibilities.

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OPTION ONE: ​

Nothing. You live, you die and after death you don't even leave a hole to prove that you were here. There is NOTHING after death. If we are honest, there are a LOT of people that do not merely BELIEVE this, they are betting heavily on this ... because if they are wrong, then the consequences for the life they lived are TERRIFYING!

Let's stay here for a moment and really look at this, since most people want to quickly run to other options or grasp this as the only option. It is a very attractive option when you are hurting or depressed. When you hurt, the idea that you could stop hurting and feel NOTHING is appealing. When you are depressed, the thought that tomorrow will be worse than today and the day after will be even worse than that makes one want to get to THE END as soon as possible. However, remember the first rule of life is CHANGE. Depression is an illusion, tomorrow will be different, but that different is unwritten. We have no way of knowing what is waiting just around the corner. Here is a secular quote:

"Many of life's most tragic failures are people that never realized how close they were to success, when they quit"

Let's face it, this particular "PERMANENT SOLUTION" is always available, so why not save it as a LAST solution and try everything else first.
I am going to talk about something that most people don't talk about, and maybe people shouldn't talk about ... the POWER of a failed suicide attempt. See, I have "been there, done that". I came away with a blessing. An epiphany (I learned something that few people realize). You can now DO ANYTHING ELSE! Think about it. What do you possibly have to fear? What failure could be so terrible that DEATH would not still be a last resort. So you can do ANYTHING else with your life. We could get in a car and drive across the country to California, abandon the car on the beach and live in a shack and learn to surf. What is the worst thing that could happen? [I was already prepared to DIE.] I could learn to fly an airplane and become a bush pilot in Alaska. What is the worst thing that could happen? [I was already prepared to DIE.]There is NOTHING that I was/am not free to try. What is the worst thing that could happen? [I was already prepared to DIE.]

You might want to think about WHAT DO YOU WANT now that you have the freedom to TRY anything without fear of failure.

OPTION TWO:​

Judgement. THEY were right and there is a God, so now you stand before God. So "what is God like" becomes the most important question in the universe to you. You are on a Christian Forum, so let's not waste time speculating and start with the assumption that OPTION TWO places you before the Judaeo-Christian God ... the GOD of the Bible. At least we now have a clear set of rules and expectations. We have TWO paths ... starting with just the 10 commandments and assuming that God has a heart and gives us a pass on the suicide (He understands) - did you or I perfectly obey even the first 10 RULES? I didn't. Heck, I don't think I did mediocre on the first THREE! So let's get real, do we belong in Heaven with a God we rejected based on our NOT obeying His 10 simple rules? When I looked at me, I concluded that I was better off with Option 1, but if Option 2 was true then - let's be honest with ourselves - I don't belong in heaven. Hypocrisy was probably the only sin I avoided.

Of course, there is also a NT, so we have a second path. Here is the money verse:

Romans 10:8-11 [NLT]
In fact, it says, "The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart." And that message is the very message about faith that we preach:
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced."

So do we (you and I) "confess with our mouth" [say it] that "Jesus is Lord" (that means GOD) and "believe" [that's inside] that God raised Jesus from the dead?
It says that if we BELIEVE, we are made right with GOD (we already knew we were not right with God).
It says that by saying it ... we are SAVED.

So the other path of OPTION TWO is to be able to stand before God and honestly say "Jesus is God and I believe". Then we have a different promise:

John 3:16-18 [NLT]
"For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God's one and only Son."

If you insult the holy spirit like I did will you end up in hell?

Nope. Well, you will not end up in hell BECAUSE you insulted the Holy Spirit. God has thicker skin than that. You end up in HELL because you failed to meet the requirements for entrance to Heaven ... which are not GOODNESS, but an invitation. Do you know the HOST? Is he YOUR GOD? Of course He is THE GOD ... that is unshakable. "even the demons know that and tremble in fear" (James said that). God TOLD you what is needed to make Him YOUR God. We either arrive KNOWN BY and KNOWING the host, or we are not invited in.

 

[atpollard]

The question is why did this happen to me? What have I done to divinity?

Bad things happen so that we can go through them ... because somebody will need to hear YOUR story some day so they can get through whatever they are going through:

John 9:1-38 [NLT]

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. "Rabbi," his disciples asked him, "why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents' sins?" ​

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"It was not because of his sins or his parents' sins," Jesus answered. "This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world." ​

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Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man's eyes. He told him, "Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam" (Siloam means "sent"). So the man went and washed and came back seeing! ​

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His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, "Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?" Some said he was, and others said, "No, he just looks like him!" But the beggar kept saying, "Yes, I am the same one!" ​

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They asked, "Who healed you? What happened?" ​

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He told them, "The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.' So I went and washed, and now I can see!" ​

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"Where is he now?" they asked. "I don't know," he replied. ​

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Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, "He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!" ​

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Some of the Pharisees said, "This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath." Others said, "But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?" So there was a deep division of opinion among them. ​

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Then the Pharisees again questioned the man who had been blind and demanded, "What's your opinion about this man who healed you?" The man replied, "I think he must be a prophet." ​

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The Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see, so they called in his parents. They asked them, "Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see?" ​

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His parents replied, "We know this is our son and that he was born blind, but we don't know how he can see or who healed him. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself." His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. That's why they said, "He is old enough. Ask him." ​

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So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, "God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner." ​

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"I don't know whether he is a sinner," the man replied. "But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!" ​

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"But what did he do?" they asked. "How did he heal you?" ​

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"Look!" the man exclaimed. "I told you once. Didn't you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?" ​

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Then they cursed him and said, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! We know God spoke to Moses, but we don't even know where this man comes from." ​

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"Why, that's very strange!" the man replied. "He healed my eyes, and yet you don't know where he comes from? We know that God doesn't listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. If this man were not from God, he couldn't have done it." ​

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"You were born a total sinner!" they answered. "Are you trying to teach us?" And they threw him out of the synagogue. ​

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When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" ​

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The man answered, "Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him." ​

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"You have seen him," Jesus said, "and he is speaking to you!" ​

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"Yes, Lord, I believe!" the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.​

 

[Brihaha]

I always assumed suicides were condemned to Hades. But in learning the bible, I suppose one could ask forgiveness and repent before the actual act. I don't think any mortal can be sure about what happens to a person who commits suicide. I'm more concerned about those left behind to mourn the poor soul. Tragedy seems to have two distinct and different effects on folks. Sometimes tragedies bring one closer to God and His love. But other times tragedy can rend the relationship between a believer and God's love.

 

[ViaCrucis]

I always assumed suicides were condemned to Hades. But in learning the bible, I suppose one could ask forgiveness and repent before the actual act. I don't think any mortal can be sure about what happens to a person who commits suicide. I'm more concerned about those left behind to mourn the poor soul. Tragedy seems to have two distinct and different effects on folks. Sometimes tragedies bring one closer to God and His love. But other times tragedy can rend the relationship between a believer and God's love.

In the 2003 movie Luther there is a fictional minor plot point involving a young adolescent boy. When Luther first comes to Wittenberg, the young boy is being verbally accosted by his father. Later on the boy is found having hanged himself, and the parents are weeping. It's not outright said, but the subtext is that the boy was experiencing an incredible amount of inner turmoil, and he ends up taking his own life. Luther goes to bury the boy on church grounds, he is rebuffed for doing so, "Martin, he is a suicide!" because according to official teaching and practice at the time a suicide was a mortal sin, self-murder, and thus the boy could not be buried on consecrated ground; and the assumption was that the boy would go to hell for having committed a mortal sin. Luther defiantly has the boy buried on consecrated ground, and declares that the boy was harassed by the devil, a victim of the devil's lies--the boy was a victim, not a perpetrator.

The whole subplot is fictional, there is no evidence for this story. Rather in the context of the film, it is a mirror into Luther's own inner turmoil and struggles. Earlier in the film we see Luther, while still at the cloister in his cell arguing with the devil, crying out to God. This was historical, Luther was very open about his spiritual, emotional, and (what we would call today) his psychological struggles. It results in him having a conversation with the Augustinian superior and Luther's confessor, Johann Staupitz, giving Luther a crucifix and telling Luther to cry out to Jesus. When Luther leaves the cloister to go teach at Wittenberg, Luther is still in a state of deep inner turmoil. Thus when Luther sees the boy who committed suicide, the intent is to show how Luther sees himself in the boy, and that this anguish, this suffering is not God's will, and the boy taking his own life is not a result of mortal sin--but as a victim of anguish, a victim of the deep emotional, spiritual, and psychological pain. Pain Luther knows himself, and which Luther slowly recognizes as being contrary to the Gospel--and that God is the God of Good News, of love, of grace, of mercy. Thus, when Luther defies ecclesiastical and social norms by having the boy buried on consecrated ground, the movie is communicating the Gospel to the audience. God is the God of mercy, not a God of mean-spiritedness, who would condemn the suffering and the hurting and the victims of sin and the devil; but who graciously comes down in Jesus for the purpose of rescuing the victims of sin and the devil.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[d taylor]

Hi about 2 years ago I wanted to end my life but my mom stopped that and called the police.What I had were horrible experiences with life drugs,smoking and I felt no divine presence in my life.The question is why did this happen to me? What have I done to divinity?What's the point of divinity if it doesn't involve in your life?
If you insult the holy spirit like I did will you end up in hell? I mean if you cut your eyes with a knife in the sea will someone search for your body?

-

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If the person who commits suicide has at some point in their life believed in Jesus for God's free gift of Eternal Life and has become a permanent born again child of God. Then at the moment of their death they go to be with Jesus in heaven.

But it depends on how they lived their life as a child of God, as to how well they will have a judgement for rewards at The judgment seat of The Messiah. I am sure committing suicide would not be a positive action. When their life is judged at The Bema seat judgment.

 

[Robban]

Hi about 2 years ago I wanted to end my life but my mom stopped that and called the police.What I had were horrible experiences with life drugs,smoking and I felt no divine presence in my life.The question is why did this happen to me? What have I done to divinity?What's the point of divinity if it doesn't involve in your life?
If you insult the holy spirit like I did will you end up in hell? I mean if you cut your eyes with a knife in the sea will someone search for your body?

I see it as tragic, I have known a few, all upright, kind and generous folks.

I see absolutely no reason why they should be treated less fairly than anyone else.

 

[Zaha Torte]

Hi about 2 years ago I wanted to end my life but my mom stopped that and called the police.What I had were horrible experiences with life drugs,smoking and I felt no divine presence in my life.The question is why did this happen to me? What have I done to divinity?What's the point of divinity if it doesn't involve in your life?
If you insult the holy spirit like I did will you end up in hell? I mean if you cut your eyes with a knife in the sea will someone search for your body?

It is my understanding that suicide is akin to murder - which would require a time spent in Hell to be forgiven of.

I believe that the things we decide to do while in the body will have an effect on our minds and spirits.

 

[Robban]

It is my understanding that suicide is akin to murder - which would require a time spent in Hell to be forgiven of.

I believe that the things we decide to do while in the body will have an effect on our minds and spirits.

Aye, it i s reckoned as murder. In fact Swedish for suicide is" självmord"=selfmurder.

No less tragic though.

 

[Zaha Torte]

Aye, it i s reckoned as murder. In fact Swedish for suicide is" självmord"=selfmurder.

No less tragic though.

I read that of all those who survived suicide attempts by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge - every single one regretted their decision after jumping.

My sister-in-law's brother committed suicide this past week - he jumped off the Coronado bridge in San Diego.

You don't just kill yourself when you do that - but every memory of you as well - they are all tainted and overshadowed by it.

 

[partinobodycular]

You don't just kill yourself when you do that - but every memory of you as well - they are all tainted and overshadowed by it.

No... they're not. My sister committed suicide, but rather than taint her memory it gave me a greater appreciation for what she went through. If anything it makes me think more of her... not less. Life is a struggle. Sometimes we forget that. Suicide is an all too regrettable reminder... and one that we seem far too quick to forget.

Don't chastise the departed... ask for their forgiveness, for they surely carried a load that you didn't have to.

 

[Zaha Torte]

No... they're not. My sister committed suicide, but rather than taint her memory it gave me a greater appreciation for what she went through. If anything it makes me think more of her... not less. Life is a struggle. Sometimes we forget that. Suicide is an all too regrettable reminder... and one that we seem far too quick to forget.

Don't chastise the departed... ask for their forgiveness, for they surely carried a load that you didn't have to.

I am sorry about your sister - but I remain firm in what I said.

You cannot think of her without also remembering what she did - and I understand that we all cope with tragedy in different ways - but this act is not something I can ever condone or appreciate.

 

[atpollard]

but this act is not something I can ever condone or appreciate.

I accept this as your position, but I feel a need to push back a little ...

In Hospice, one encounters people dying of bone cancer. The nature of the progression of that particular illness is that the pain drugs reduce the pain from "screaming in agony" to "softly crying" ... the only way to deliver enough pain killers to stop the pain is to place the person in a coma and hasten death (illegal in many places and immoral in the medical profession). So how long should someone be required to suffer before they are granted YOUR permission to end their suffering?

Is the torment from abusive circumstances any less real to the person suffering than the pain of terminal illness?

Is the torment of mental illness any less real to the person suffering than the pain of terminal illness?

[Who are we to stand in judgement? Who are we to FORGIVE or to WITHHOLD FORGIVENESS? Where was all this concern when they were suffering?]

[in my humble opinion] GOD alone has all of the facts, so I leave the judgements to Him. I just know what it is to HURT that much, so I can empathize with a decision that I generally disagree with. ... The terminal cancer guy I cannot fault for shortening his suffering, there is no honor in a protracted dying in pain.

 

[Zaha Torte]

I accept this as your position, but I feel a need to push back a little ...

In Hospice, one encounters people dying of bone cancer. The nature of the progression of that particular illness is that the pain drugs reduce the pain from "screaming in agony" to "softly crying" ... the only way to deliver enough pain killers to stop the pain is to place the person in a coma and hasten death (illegal in many places and immoral in the medical profession). So how long should someone be required to suffer before they are granted YOUR permission to end their suffering?

Is the torment from abusive circumstances any less real to the person suffering than the pain of terminal illness?

Is the torment of mental illness any less real to the person suffering than the pain of terminal illness?

[Who are we to stand in judgement? Who are we to FORGIVE or to WITHHOLD FORGIVENESS? Where was all this concern when they were suffering?]

[in my humble opinion] GOD alone has all of the facts, so I leave the judgements to Him. I just know what it is to HURT that much, so I can empathize with a decision that I generally disagree with. ... The terminal cancer guy I cannot fault for shortening his suffering, there is no honor in a protracted dying in pain.

I am not judging anyone. I am not condemning anyone. I am just being consistent with God's Word.

God commands us not to sin. God commands us to repent when we commit sin. Suicide is a sin that we cannot repent of in this life.

People are free to choose how they want to live or end their lives - but I cannot condone or appreciate any sin. Sin will always hurt us.

No amount of empathy will change any of this.

 

[Laodicean60]

Hi about 2 years ago I wanted to end my life but my mom stopped that and called the police.What I had were horrible experiences with life drugs,smoking and I felt no divine presence in my life.The question is why did this happen to me? What have I done to divinity?What's the point of divinity if it doesn't involve in your life?
If you insult the holy spirit like I did will you end up in hell? I mean if you cut your eyes with a knife in the sea will someone search for your body?

I had a similar experience and looking back 30 years ago I realize that it was due to stinken thinken to the point of hopelessness. Too much negative thinking rewired my brain thru neuroplasticity and maybe it was the drugs that contributed to the rewire. Fortunately, as I was about to squeeze the trigger God sent a third-person vision of me with my brains scattered on the headboard and the look on my two baby girl's faces snapped me out of my psychosis. It was then I realized I had a problem and went to Doc. I understand how easy it can be for all the ones who have killed themselves.

What do mean by divine presence as I write this I don't "feel" it either.

 

[atpollard]

Suicide is a sin that we cannot repent of in this life.

Do you have an EXPLICIT verse?
Not all killing is murder (the sin), so I just wondered if you have something that actually SAYS this or are just making an assumption.
If your last thought, as you die in an accident, is "Was I wrong about God?" ... is that a sin that you cannot repent of that damns you, too?

MY Bible says:

Romans 10:9-13 [NKJV]
if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved."

Your position seems to make these promises ... untrue. [More MIGHT that WILL.]

 

[partinobodycular]

Suicide is a sin that we cannot repent of in this life.

I think that you're wrong on both counts, suicide follows only after many heartfelt and desperate pleas for mercy. Pleas which God has no doubt heard, and answered... not with an earthly intercession... such things are up to us, or fate. Rather God answers in a way that we should emulate... not by placing blame, but by forgiving. What good am I or God if we cannot understand and forgive the pleas of the suffering?

I wonder, how many sins have you committed for which you've never grieved as much as the suicide victim does over theirs?

 

[Tinker Grey]

I think that you're wrong on both counts, suicide follows only after many heartfelt and desperate pleas for mercy. Pleas which God has no doubt heard, and answered... not with an earthly intercession... such things are up to us, or fate. Rather God answers in a way that we should emulate... not by placing blame, but by forgiving. What good am I or God if we cannot understand and forgive the pleas of the suffering?

I wonder, how many sins have you committed for which you've never grieved as much as the suicide victim does over theirs?

I'm sorry for your loss and am happy you founds ways to grieve and remember your sister fondly.

 

[Godcrazy]

Hi about 2 years ago I wanted to end my life but my mom stopped that and called the police.What I had were horrible experiences with life drugs,smoking and I felt no divine presence in my life.The question is why did this happen to me? What have I done to divinity?What's the point of divinity if it doesn't involve in your life?
If you insult the holy spirit like I did will you end up in hell? I mean if you cut your eyes with a knife in the sea will someone search for your body?

I recommend watch the exorcists like Fr Rehill, Fr Carlos Martins, Fr Vincent Lambert etc on YouTube they have mentioned this but as I remember them saying if you die premature you can get stuck in the astral world and need help to pass on or you'll definitely go to purgatory (sorry, this is just what they said) God has a plan for your life. It took a lot, to make just you come to be. He knew you before you were born. Despite hardships, he promised to be there. He didn't promise it will be easy for all. We have the evil walking around remember that. And he influence mind. The advice was, the more you delve into the word the less hold over your mind. And living a holy life. Trying. And repentance. Cover all holes and weaknesses he use to get in. I'm sorry you had to go through this. I have learnt myself it's important to spot where he got in. I have noticed in this time he prefers to use the mind against us.

 

[Zaha Torte]

Do you have an EXPLICIT verse?
Not all killing is murder (the sin), so I just wondered if you have something that actually SAYS this or are just making an assumption.
If your last thought, as you die in an accident, is "Was I wrong about God?" ... is that a sin that you cannot repent of that damns you, too?

MY Bible says:

Romans 10:9-13 [NKJV]
if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved."

Your position seems to make these promises ... untrue. [More MIGHT that WILL.]

I never claimed that anyone was damned.