Is Cremation for Christians?

OK, I just read at least fifty pages on the web regarding cremation and Christians. Under Google I just put "cremation Christian" (not in quotes).

And I am changing my mind, I think. See, it does happen!

But not because of the arguments here, folks. Rather, because of the fact that cremation, or burning, is used throughout the Bible as a way of showing God's displeasure in one way or another.

I had never looked at that or thought about it.

I know we are buried a physical body and raised a spiritual body, so the idea of getting this body back is not a part of it at all. Again, with the artificial parts I already have and the parts that are rapidly going, I don't want this body back!

Nevertheless, God created it and it still in control of it (thank you, Lord!), and it evidently is an honor to Him to bury it rather than burn it.

And He Himself evidently buried Moses.

I'll talk to my husband about it, but I think I've changed my mind! So thanks for the thread and the studying I ended up doing!

whew!

 

I pray you are right Brother Paul.

You see, my little brother killed himself. He had not made any provisions for his passing. This happened right after my Mother's and Father's death. My sisters and I were all ready stressed financially due to the care of our parents. We saw no other way to lay our brother to rest. In the state of FL you are allowed one crematorial burial at the foot of a grave. So we buried his ashes at the foot of our Mothers grave. We felt this would have been what she would have wanted.

I was unsaved at the time my little brother died. I never gave thought to it being sinful until reading this thread. My night will not end before asking the Lord to forgive us of any wrong doing. Thank you all.

~~GloryBound

 

Cremation is NOT for God's people! Just research the origin of cremation...yes, it has a heathen origin.
Uhhh, so does earthen burial.

I disagree. Jesus was properly buried when He was placed in that borrowed tomb.
No, he wasn't. A common custom of well-to-do burials at the time was to lay the body on a slab for preparation. After preparation, the body was placed in a permanent spot adjacent to the preparation slab. The slab abd adjacent catacombs would be in the same tomb. There are examples of 2000 year old burial sites in outskirts of Jesusalem today. Jesus' body was placed in the tomb, but burial preparation could not be completed. The women had to come back on Sunday morning to finish the preparation of Jesus' body. Jesus was to be buried in the grave of Joseph of Arimathia, who was well to do.

The Jews believed one should leave the earth as one came in. All are in the same condition upon birth. So, upon death, the body was cleansed, perfumed (to mask the stench), and wrapped in a simple white shroud so that rich and poor would be indistinguishable from eath other. The body was buried as soon as possible after death, most often within 24 hours or less. Note, however, that this is not a Jewish law, and not even in the Bible.

I suppose if it were an OT law, we'd consider it old covanent and not be bound to it (sarcasm intended). I'm amused at how many people don't think keeping the sabbath day is mandatory, but think that burial is.

Christians historically have waxed and waned between cremation being popular, and bural being popular; depending on population density, sanitation issues (at one time, churches were so stench-ridden it was impossible to use them for worship), and availability of land (civil cemeteries were not a mainstay until the civil war).

 

It dawned on me that many peole aren't aware of what cremation is. When remains are cremated, they're not burned.

Many people think of cremation as a burning of the body which results in ashes. In actuality, cremation is a process of extreme dehydration and evaporation created with intense heat which reduces the composition of the body to ash and bone fragments.

 

Does any specific verse or passage of Scripture explicitly forbid cremation? Or do you infer that the absense of the documented usage of cremation by the Israelites and NT believers implies that it is not how God would have us dispose of the dead?

Personally, without a clear passage of Scripture to back me up, I would be reluctant to say that cremation is innately wrong.

Eric

[ October 02, 2002, 11:09 PM: Message edited by: eric_b ]

 

If you can't bring the scriptures into the current century, then you might better leave the scriptures in the past.

Get real; get spiritual and think of what pleases God to-day...not 2000 or 4000 or 6000 or more years ago.

Some want to apply things to to-day what happened so many years before. Men should wear dresses and women wear trousers..row a boat and float an ark. Why do you drive that modern demon called a motorcar? Good Lord, get up to date.

Sincerely,

Jim

 

Context is everything! If you use a verse to make a point, better make sure the adjacent verses do not subvert your point!

 

Well, well. Another subject in which there is flagrant-- if not majority-- support for the idea that the more traditional the more godly. What happens to a lifeless body is decomposition. If there is anything wrong with cremation as opposed to burial, then burial must also be wrong as opposed to preservation in wax or hard plastic. Someone remarked this depends on "what God said" about it. What He said was, "You are dust, and to dust you shall return." No limits as to how and how fast.

 

...I am changing my mind ... because of the fact that cremation, or burning, is used throughout the Bible as a way of showing God's displeasure in one way or another.

It's also biblically associated with cleansing, especially in regards to the presence of the Holy Spirit:

Cleansing (John 16:13a)
The presence of God/Holy Spirit (Acts 2:3)
God is a consuming fire (Heb 12:29)
Let's not forget the burning bush.
Hopefully, we're all "on fire" for God, aren't we?

 

Hello Johnv,

I have not read through the entire thread, so someone else may have already pointed this out. However, are you saying that the Sabbath lasted three days?

I believe that Jesus was properly buried in a borrowed tomb. Meaning a tomb that He did not own. That does not mean that it was a "tempoary tomb" and that His body was to be removed following the Sabbath. However, it was a tempoary tomb in that He rose again on the third day. I don't believe that Jews like to handle a dead body any more than is necessary to get it buried quickly. Therefore, they would not have attempted a temporary burial and then re-burial three days later.

When Mary and the other women went to the tomb they were going to morn (first and foremost), and perhaps to annoint (by annoint I mean pour suff on) the body with spices and herbs to aid in reducing the smell of decay. They found that the Lord had risen. However, I do not believe that they were going to move the body to another burial place.

[ October 03, 2002, 04:18 AM: Message edited by: BibleboyII ]

 

Here is a good article on the subject.

http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/cremation.htm

 

This topic is not as difficult as some make it out to be. Cloud sums it up well with this statement (although he appears to disagree with it): "... the way the body is disposed of has no eternal consequences."

Cremation is not forbidden is Scripture. That the pattern of Scripture is burial is of no real consequence since the burials of those days were vastly different than they are today. Fire as a judgment is a valid principle but fire is also related to good things, such as purifying gold and lives, revealing the glory of God in the cloud of fire, demonstrating the power of God by falling from heaven on the altar, etc. In other words, for every negative reference to fire, there is also a positive one.

If we condemn cremation, then what are we to say to those believers who died in fires through history? The body burned is no problem for the Lord of the resurrection. He can take a burned body and put it back together as well as he can a degenerated body.

In reality, as crass as it may sound, what is the difference between a 1000 year old body in the ground and a 1 week old body in an urn? The body in the urn has been ground up; the body in the ground has not been. The body in the ground has no skin left or organs. They have all returned to dust and decay. The difference is a matter of time, at least to the funeral directors I have talked to.

I am a proponent of traditional burial but it someone wants to cremate their loved one, there is no biblical reason why they should not. So let us be firm where Scripture is firm and be careful about drawing unwarranted demands where Scripture makes none.

 

Thank you so much, Pastor Larry. I was really feeling confused between my knowledge of what happened biologically and the arguments of those who said Scripture says....

As I was thinking more about this last night, I was thinking that the remark that God buried Moses might be simply a way of clarifying that Moses was not taken up as Enoch and Elijah were.

I'll let my kids and loved ones do what they are comfortable doing with me. I won't be here anyway...

The one child who would be expected to die before I do is my retarded son, Chris. And the medical establishment already wants to see his brain and body since there are extraordinarily few cases on record, if any, of anyone going through what he has been through and not only surviving but having his body so healthy while his brain is in some ways so non-functional.

This will probably start a whole new argument about bodies donated to science. But if looking at Chris, when the time comes, helps any other child, then I have no objections at all. I'll see Chris in heaven, happy and whole.

 

If you believe that you are created in the image of God, then you must believe that you are spirit!

Fire cannot touch spirit, it only destroys things physical. Spirit is impervious to things physical, but physical can influence spirit, a sick body can have a devastating effect on the spirit therein. But the spirit has a greater influence on the body.

The Spirit is the life of the flesh, therefore when the spirit departs the flesh all that is left is dead flesh. What does the method of disposal matter to a dead body? Not one tittle!

The God who created this body of flesh, it seems, has no difficulty creating. So if our spirit needs a flesh body to resurrect (which it doesn't) the God who created the original is certainly able to create a new "glorified" body of flesh if that is the plan.

Why dwell on the mundane, when there are so many who are "ready unto harvest" to receive salvation from God, IF we but "bring them in". Your pastors are certainly prepared to present the plan of salvation to those whom you bring to the church to hear. But why wait, you too know the plan of salvation, tell them so that they can "come to belief" in the same Lord and Savior you put your trust in.

What you give them costs you nothing, it is a free gift from God. Pass it on!

 

Nice post. Welcome to the board!

 

Yelsew said "If you believe that you are created in the image of God, then you must believe that you are spirit!"

We are not spirit alone, but, made in the image of God are a trichotomy, being a compound unity of body, spirit & soul. (1 Thess 5:23). If we say what we do with the body is irrelevant then we undermine its value - remember the body, as well as the spirit has been bought with a price - "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Corinthians 6:20). "Even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." (Romans 8:23b).

What we do with the body after death is not a matter affecting the salvation of the diseased. Nor should we battle with the bereaved over the issue during the organisation of a funeral, however, it is a matter of testimony. By caring for the body with as much dignity in death as in life we say that it is important to God, that it is still a valid part of who we are, and that we expect it to be resurrected. Arguments about burning to death etc., are a red herring. The issue is what, given the privilege, will we do with this part of God's creation whilst we await its practical redemption. Deliberately destroying the body in death is as wrong as deliberately destroying it in life.

[ October 03, 2002, 01:38 PM: Message edited by: D Moore ]

 

I worked for a cemetery for a short while. If you wish cremation, you need to specify it (pre-planning with a cemetery can be a good thing)and make your wishes known to your children. In writing is good.
If you are just planning to leave it up to them, they WON'T agree. Oh, the stories a cemetery office can tell.
It is interesting to me that most people discussing here and whom I met in my job talk about this subject only in terms of themselves.
When it really comes down to it, most people do NOT choose cremation for another person, especially for a child.

Karen

 

Warm Christian greetings!

I personally prefer to be buried but the Bible gives no clear instruction, and neither should we.

In Scotland there is a denomination, called the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, which teaches that cremation is wrong. I knew a member of this group who was told by her Pastor that if her parents died and were cremated she should not go to the Funeral! Can you imagine the terrible and uneccesary hurt that would cause to this person's family - all in the name of obeying man-made rules.

I really believe that immense harm is done when we go beyond scripture and try to inflict our own "laws" on fellow believers. If people have a personal conscience about cremation that is fine, but that is all it amounts to; it is not correct to state it as a Biblical doctrine.

Kind regards

Robert J Hutton

 

But wasn't that because He was going to only stay in that tomb for 3 days? I mean, I guess, He could have resurected even if He was creamated...That would have been something wouldn't it?

 

My opinion is that after we die, our soul leaves the shell of our body. Cremation seems neater to me. (Don't laugh) The thought of my rotting corpse lying in a casket under ground gives me the willies...especially if I think of my children visitting my grave above. But, I haven't made a personal decision on this matter yet.

When my dad was cremated, the problem was that he was not ensconced (I think that's the right word) and therefor the family couldn't visit his body's grave site. I don't know if that's any kind of issue for or against...just my personal experience.