ASSIST’s editorial note: The news of Oscar winning actor, comedian, humanitarian, and activist, Robin William’s death by suicide sent shockwaves around the world.

With whole episodes of morning news broadcasts (such as Good Morning America) dedicated to his life and suicide, social media pandemonium, and personal reflections abounding around the globe, ASSIST News Service felt to address the very sensitive topic of suicide.

In 2013, writer, musician, minister and Special to ASSIST, Brian Nixon, wrote about the topic (hereunder), using two notable individuals: Ian Curtis of the rock band, Joy Division, and Christian Apologist, Ravi Zacharias as a contrast. The article is reprinted as follows to help those struggling with this.

Death – Ian Curtis
Back in the mid-1980s one musical group loomed large: Joy Division. Considered by many as the architects of Gothic music, this Manchester post-punk band helped pave the way for music that combined atmospheric sounds with punk-rock guitars. The group I was in was fascinated by this seemingly incompatible combination.

Early on, our band modelled our sound on Joy Division – using string tones on the keyboard mixed with loud guitars and driving tom-tom drums. What we didn’t seem to notice – or at least talk about – was the fact that the band was no longer together.

After only two official album releases it had ceased to exist after the suicide of its troubled singer, Ian Curtis (Pictured ).

Curtis, who suffered from depression and epilepsy, was born on 1956 in Stretford, Lancashire. Along with his friends, he was enamoured by the new sounds coming from America and London – what became known as punk rock. In 1976 Curtis and his future band mates, Bernard Summer and Peter Hook, witnessed the spectacle of a Sex Pistols concert, only to form their own band shortly after.

Initially called Warsaw, the band changed its name to Joy Division, a title taken from a 1955 novel, House of Dolls, which focused on a Nazi concentration camp.

Around the same time, two other life changes occurred in Curtis’ life: he married his girlfriend, Deborah Woodruff, having a child several years later in August 1979, and Ian began to have epileptic fits. The toxic combination of marital problems, epileptic drugs, a touring band, taking care of a family, and depression led to his untimely suicide in May 2012. All of this turmoil was on the heels of Joy Division’s first American tour.

Life – Ravi Zacharias
Ravi Zacharias was born in Chennai [then called Madras], India in 1946. Descended from a Nambudiris caste-a priestly Hindu order, Zacharias was brought up in a culturally Christian household, products of Swiss-German missionaries sharing the gospel with his family. But in his early teenage years, he considered himself an atheist, fighting against God and life.

I was able to listen to Ravi discuss his upbringing at an NRB broadcasters’ conference in Nashville, Tennessee a couple of years back. Ravi talked about the pain of his childhood mindset, which eventually led to his attempted suicide. The ache and grief he felt was overwhelming. The only hope he foresaw was death. As it happened, he swallowed poison.

But death didn’t come. Instead, during recuperation at a local hospital someone shared with him from the Gospel of John. From that moment on, Ravi dedicated himself to the cause of Christ. Since that day, Ravi has written dozens of books and spoken to people about Christ the world over.

In Christianity Today (April 2013), Ravi (Pictured left) describes his suicide attempt as follows: ‘I waited for my family members to leave for school or work, filled a glass from the kitchen tap, took it to the bathroom and then bolted the door behind me. I poured the toxic packets into the glass, pushing all the thoughts of my mother aside and started drinking as quickly as I could.’ He concludes, by saying, ‘I was haunted by failure to the edge of suicide – and then came life.’

The difference
The life Ravi spoke of was Christ.

So how did two people with similar bouts of depression have two different endings: one to life, the other to death? To tell you the truth, I’m not sure. It would be a dishonest statement for me to summarise it in simple terms, saying that one was lucky and the other one not so fortunate. Or even couch it in spiritual terms: God was with Ravi but not with Ian. From a biblical standpoint, God loved both Ravi and Ian. Maybe it came down to simple surrender: Ian surrendered to death; Ravi surrendered to Christ. And this surrender made all the difference. Or maybe it was because someone reached out to Ravi.

The point is we may never know this side of eternity. What we do know is that people around the world commit suicide every day. According to SAVE (Suicide Awareness Voice of Education), Suicide takes the lives of nearly 30,000 Americans every year’ with ‘half of all suicides occurring in adult men, ages 25-65.’ Even more shocking, SAVE states that ‘for young people 15-24 years old, suicide is the third leading cause of death.’

With such sad statistics, the question for the Christian is what are we to do to help those individuals in need?

What can we do?
An article released by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, entitled, Godly Wisdom for Suicide Prevention gives concrete spiritual advice on helping folks deal with suicide (www.billygraham.org/articlepage.asp?articleid=6264):

 

 

 

A cry for help

• Offer hope to the person: ‘There is hope – eternal hope – in a relationship with Jesus Christ.’
• Help them recognise their need for Christ: ‘Put your faith and hope in Christ and his love for you. You are never alone if you know him.’
• Give them an opportunity to turn to Christ: ‘Turn to him today, and by faith ask Christ to come into your life.’
  In long-term situations, the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, suggests the following:
• Define the problem
• Identify causes
• Develop and test interventions
• Implement interventions
• Evaluate effectiveness. (www.sprc.org/basics/about-suicide-prevention).

For emergency situations, the World Health Organization lists the following steps:

• Stay with the person. Never leave the person alone
• Gently talk to the person and remove (If possible and safe for you) pills, knives …
• Make a contact with mental health professional or doctor immediately (and I’d include police)
• Inform the family and enlist its support. (www.who.int/mental_health/media/en/59.pdf)
• The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention gives the charge to learn: ‘90% of people who die by suicide had a diagnosable and treatable psychiatric disorder at the time of their death.’
• The point: There is help, learn what it is.      

In the lyrics of one of Joy Division’s most popular songs, Love Will Tear Us Apart, Curtis sings,
‘You cry out in your sleep,
All my failings exposed.
And there’s a taste in my mouth,
As desperation takes hold.
Just that something so good
Just can’t function no more.
But love, love will tear us apart again.’

Haunting, almost prophetic, words
For Ian – who wrote these lyrics – love, possibly an unrequited love – through death – did tear him apart from family, friends and life. A tragic ending.

But for Ravi – a different type of love…the love of Christ. It tore him from himself to new life in God’s mercy and grace. For Ravi the love of Christ has made all the difference.

May it make the difference in the life of those facing life’s hardships, causing them to lose faith in life and contemplate suicide. May they find the love that never ends, the love of God in Christ.

 

 

Brian Nixon  links: www.briannixon.com. For full article and all ASSIST News articles – www.assistnews.net