Featured Is Cremation Scriptural

From a Scriptural perspective, I don't think there is anything that speaks for or against cremation.

Scripture does however tell us that we will return to dirt from which we came. The proverbial ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
Over hundreds and thousands of years , bodies decay back to the dirt from which they came. So either natural decay or cremation, the body is left in the same state.

 

It is neither scriptural nor unscriptural. Scripture does not address it.

 

The late Rod Decker wrote a piece on this a while back.

Death, Dying, Funerals, and Cremation: A Christian View [LINK]

Personally I remain unconvinced that scripture holds a definitive position.

When my wife asked me what I'd desire I told her to surprise me.

Rob

 

I don't think we can find a place in scripture that tells us how to do burials, but in non-emergency situations, I think we see a biblical practice of burial in anticipation of resurrection. Cremation is human-caused destruction of the body that paints a picture of destruction, not resurrection.

In Isaiah 66:24, God, through Isaiah paints a picture of the enemies of God coming to an end:

"They will go out and observe the corpses of those who rebelled against me; for the maggots that eat then will not die, and the fire that consumes them will not die out. All the people will find the sight abhorrent."

The picture is of bodies that have not been given a proper burial, being consumed by maggots and/or being burned by fire until they are consumed. It is a picture of those who have no hope.

Unless there is a pressing need for the cremation of my body (disaster/emergency), then I would prefer a burial as testimony to the coming resurrection of my body - certainly transformed/healed/improved - but still of a recognizable nature to those who have known me in this time of this weak and corrupted body.

 

Don't think that the practices we follow today are similar to those of the past.

They generally followed the practice of secondary burial, that is the reburial of bones after maggots had been allowed to desiccate the flesh.
Usually the eldest son after a time, would then collect the bones and place them in an ossuary (bone box) along with their ancestors bones, "to be gathered to your ancestors and buried in peace" (2 Kings 22:20).

And Jacob and Joseph were embalmed in Egyptian fashion (Genesis 50:2-3, 26).

Rob

 

When my wife passed away suddenly last year, neither of us had any life insurance. Yeah, I know, dumb on our part. Not having much money, I didn't know what I was going to do. Thankfully a relative (on her side) was a funeral home director, and he gave me a decent discount, which really helped. That still left me with what to do about a grave site. Didn't have money for a full plot, so the decision was made, after talking with members of her family, to have her cremated and her ashes buried in her sister's (who had passed away several years earlier) plot.

Well, since the cremation was done after the wake, our pastor said a few words at the end of the wake.

 

Hi Brother,

Paul, writing by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote, “Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing” (I Cor. 13:3). Now if cremation is such an abomination, why would Paul say that if he gave his body to be burned, having charity, it would be profitable to him? For every child of grace, we know, that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens (II Cor. 5:1). Personally I am not opposed to the cremation process for nothing can separate a child, born from above and redeemed by His precious blood, from the love of Christ (Roms. 8:35) or diminish the mansions (dwelling places) in His Father’s house (Jn. 14:2) which He has prepared for those who the Father gave Him and who He raised up in the last days. Of course scripture also tells us, "whatsoever is not of faith is sin", so if someone who has a weaker has a problem with it in their conscience, for such a person to do it, it would be sin.

 

I asked my Dad one time... Dad will smoking send you to hell?... No he said but you will smell like you've been there!... All kidding aside the cost of a funeral is out the roof... All you have to purchase to have decent funeral... Casket, Flowers, or if you're in a Mausoleum purchasing the space to put you in... Space is limited and if you don't do that, the guilt trip is laid on you, that you didn't care enough about your loved one to give them the very best... Funerals are BIG BUSINESS!... How long does it take for a metal casket to decompose not to mention the body that is in it?... Wrap me in a sheet and put me 10ft in the ground... Or put me in a wooden box and do the same thing... I wish I could say that but I will be cremated but not by my choice... Funerals are just to expensive... To me funerals are for the living not the dead... Brother Glen

 

Is Cremation Scriptural


I would instead ask if, and where in Scripture, it is prohibited.

My own opinion.

 

The One who spoke the world into existence is not limited by what happens to my temporary dwelling place.

He makes "all" things new.

 

Yes, I agree. But the issue is not whether God can resurrect us if our bodies are destroyed by fire (or anything else), but whether or not cremation - under normal, non-emergency situations - is an appropriate way for Christians to handle the remains of those "who have fallen asleep" in anticipation of the resurrection.

I don't think it sends the best message/testimony to others, although I would not dare to tell others how to live their lives or respectfully handle the remains of their loved ones.

I think something that has been missing from this conversation is the nature of cremation practices. It is not just burning the body until the flesh is consumed by fire, but it is also the grinding up of the skeletal remains into a coarse powder. If it were just fire, that's not that much different than letting the body decompose. But the grinding down of the hard parts of the body (bones, cartilage, etc.) into powder is the destruction part of the process.

Does that tell the story of resurrection and future life in the body, or does that paint the picture of final and ultimate destruction?

 

How long has cremation been around in the Christian community?... It is convenience now because of the cost and that is all... If I had my choice I would rather be buried, but if you read my previous post that is not possible but could there be another underlying reason none of us has discussed, a superstition maybe?... Brother Glen

Leviticus 18:21 And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.

 

I heard one about a woman who was married to a worthless man who wouldn't support her and was a bum. When he died she had his cremated remains put in an hour glass... She would turn the hour glass over every hour and say "NOW WORK YOU BUM"!... Could happen?... Brother Glen

 

Al Mohler had a podcast several months ago and he noted that cremation only started becoming trendy in America since the 1960s with the rise of humanism and eastern religions.

Yes, Moloch, Sodom and Gomorrah, Saul, Nebuchadnezzar's fiery furnace . . .I'm not sure why some here are denying it's in the Bible.

 

I did not know that!... Well now we know where it came from!... Thanks... Brother Glen

 

Soo. Is God for it or against it?

For sure it wasn't a positive form of execution. But I don't think those verses about the fiery furnace speak to using said furnace as a form of burial.

It's all going back to the ground anyhow so I don't think God speaks to it because it's just not an issue.

If HE can speak the universe into existence, He can speak a cremated body back. We're gonna get glorified bodies anyhow. And the folks who aren't saved, the last thing they are gonna be thinking about is why someone cremated them vs burying them.