There is one death by suicide every 11 minutes in the United States. And the suicide rate among males is approximately four times higher than the rate among females. Various factors contribute to suicidal ideation, and every individual with suicidal thoughts faces their own unique set of internal pressures.
Dr. Stephen Meyer is a philosopher of science who wrote “Signature in the Cell,” “Darwin’s Doubt,” and “Return of the God Hypothesis.” Dr. Meyer has pointed to the connection between materialism and suicidal ideation. Ontological materialism is the belief that only material matter and energy exist.
Dr. Meyer lists the following tenets of materialism:
- God does not exist.
- Man arose gradually from lower animals … by mindless, undirected processes.
- Human beings have no intrinsic value.
- Free will is an illusion.
- Objective morality is an illusion.
- Life has no ultimate purpose.
- When we die, we rot.
Many people become overwhelmed with despair after sitting under atheistic indoctrination. And sadly, oppressive feelings of helplessness and hopelessness lead certain people to contemplate suicide. Dr. Meyer gives the example of Jesse Kilgore, who was challenged by his college professor to read The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. Jesse was raised by Christian parents, but became so disillusioned after reading the book that he took his own life. You see, the toxic ideology of materialism poisons the mind.
The “New Atheists” were all the rage in the mid-2000s, as Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and Sam Harris published several popular books that criticized religion. But there was not an ounce of hope in their dogma — only doom, gloom and despair. Man cannot live on a diet of doom and gloom. Thankfully, New Atheism sputtered out as quickly as it burst onto the scene. Meanwhile, ontological materialism always leaves a wake of depressed people in its path. After all, when life is perceived to be meaningless, peace is absent from the human heart.
Dr. Peter Kreeft is an American professor of philosophy at Boston College. Kreeft stated, “Atheism cheapens everything it touches — look at the results of communism, the most powerful form of atheism on earth.” Ontological materialism is often at the root of mass killings. History proves it! And suicide is simply a personal extension of this dark mindset.
Staks Rosch wrote, “Depression is a serious problem within the greater atheist community, and far too often, that depression has led to suicide. This is something many of my fellow atheists often don’t like to admit, but it is true.” This should come as no surprise to anyone because if you remove God from the equation, you remove hope. Evangelist Billy Graham (1918-2018) wrote, “Perhaps the greatest psychological, spiritual, and medical need that all people have is the need for hope.” Materialism is a recipe for hopelessness and depression.
The English author and philosopher, G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936), wrote, “The secularists have not wrecked divine things; but the secularists have wrecked secular things, if that is any comfort to them. The Titans did not scale Heaven, but they laid waste to the world.” And the number of lives they have devastated with their demonic credo is incalculable.
Compare the mental and spiritual disillusionment of those mentored by the prophets of atheism to the ideals, vision and optimism expressed by John Adams (1735-1826), who served as the second president of the United States. Adams wrote, “The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God. The Christian religion is, above all the religions that ever prevailed or existed in ancient or modern times, the religion of wisdom, virtue, equity and humanity.”
Former atheist Lee Strobel wrote, “If your friend is sick and dying, the most important thing he wants is not an explanation; he wants you to sit with him. He’s terrified of being alone more than anything else. So, God has not left us alone.” Strobel also wrote, “I don’t know what the future holds, but I do know who holds my future.” Since becoming a Christian, Lee has experienced “the peace of God which transcends all understanding” (Philippians 4:7).
Suicidal ideation is replaced with hope and purpose when you build your life upon the God of the universe. You begin to live for others, rather than merely for yourself. And most of all, you begin to live for your Creator and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
Irish theologian Alister McGrath is a former atheist who wrote, “Atheism, I began to realize, rested on a less-than-satisfactory evidential basis. The arguments that had once seemed bold, decisive, and conclusive increasingly turned out to be circular, tentative, and uncertain.” McGrath added, “Christianity offers a worldview that leads to the generation of moral values and ideals that are able to give moral meaning and dignity to our existence.”
While ontological materialism tends to produce depression and discouragement, faith in Jesus Christ brings God’s rivers of living water into your soul (see John 7:37-39). Believers are refreshed with the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. One of the final verses in the Bible presents God’s amazing offer: “Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life” (Revelation 22:17). Will you take God up on His offer?
Former atheist Richard Morgan found salvation in Jesus Christ. He said, “Science and philosophy do not have the answer to everything. If you are willing to listen with an open mind and an open heart and just say ‘perhaps I do not possess all the truth,’ that is an act of humility, and I know that God never rejects or ignores acts of humility.”
Dan Delzell is the pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Papillion, Nebraska.
