Q: If a human dies by suicide, then where do they go? Do they live in the earth as a ghost? Or no…?

A: Thanks so much for writing to us here at TruthBook with your question. In case you were not aware, you have written to a website that is dedicated to the study and the dissemination of the teachings of The Urantia Book, a 21st century revelation of God to mankind.

The Urantia Book says relatively little regarding suicide, but here is one passage that might help us understand the meaning of suicide better:

160:1.5 Animals make no inquiry into the purposes of life; therefore they never worry, neither do they commit suicide. Suicide among men testifies that such beings have emerged from the purely animal stage of existence, and to the further fact that the exploratory efforts of such human beings have failed to attain the artistic levels of mortal experience.

What this is saying is that only a thinking being can reach the depths of despair and unhappiness required for such a desperate act. In many religions, a suicide is thought to be an unforgivable act—an act that eternally damns a soul. However, nowhere in The Urantia Book do we learn that a person who commits suicide is eternally condemned for such an act, nor that they fail to get a chance for eternal survival.

The Urantia Book says quite a lot about life after death. The outcome of death by suicide is no different than death by any other means…in other words, a person who dies by their own hand is treated the same as a person who dies by natural or other means.

Also, The Urantia Book does not teach a belief in ghosts—souls that have died, but who have not been able to leave the earth. This does not happen, in spite of a general belief in ghosts. Every person who dies is accorded the same treatment: their soul is carried to the Mansion Worlds, is reunited with their personality and their mind, and they are permitted then to decide once and for all whether they wish to continue on the eternal journey, free from the sorrowful burdens they carried while on the earth.

Another important teaching of The Urantia Book is the reality of the forgiving and loving nature of God. Surely God knows all about the mind of a suicide—what it was that drove them to such a desperate act—why they had so much sorrow, and why they “failed to attain the artistic levels of mortal experience.” I think you might agree that such a person deserves far more sympathy than condemnation. If we as humans can have compassion for such an act, surely God will have far more compassion than we can even imagine.

So, to answer your question simply: No, suicides do not roam the earth after their death. Instead, they go where all people go who die—the Father’s Mansions—where they will benefit from deficiency ministry which helps to correct those shortcomings that led to their despair. And then, they are given equal chance for continuing the ascending life along with their spiritual brothers and sisters who have gone before them. Suicides are not singled out for any special punishments from God.

Please feel free to write back again if you have further questions.