# Should Christians be cremated?



## shackleton (Aug 28, 2008)

I guess the notion stems from the resurrection, and the bodies laid to rest. I know burning bodies is a pagan notion. Obviously God does not need the body planted in the ground to make a spiritual body. What of people who have been eaten, and digested by cannibals ( I read this in books from the early 1800's talking of this dilemma, what a way to go), so is it just taboo or is there some merit to it? 

If you notice in older seminaries bodies are laid to rest facing the east I guess thinking when the resurrection (rapture) happened it would be like the rising of the sun, it would be from the east. This is of course assuming you live in the west.


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## LawrenceU (Aug 28, 2008)

shackleton said:


> If you notice in older seminaries bodies are laid to rest facing the east I guess thinking when the resurrection (rapture) happened it would be like the rising of the sun, it would be from the east. This is of course assuming you live in the west.



While some of my professors were old they hadn't been buried yet!


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## PastorSBC (Aug 28, 2008)

I have contemplated this issue in the past as well, and I finally determined that it did not matter. People can be buried, cremated or whatever they want because the God of all the universe that names the stars and holds our lives in His powerful hand can handle the resurrection regardless.


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## Southern Presbyterian (Aug 28, 2008)

Here's a link to a sermon that makes a strong case against cremation.

Is Cremation a Christian Option?


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Aug 28, 2008)

http://www.puritanboard.com/f15/theology-burial-5461/
http://www.puritanboard.com/f15/burial-cremation-9466/
http://www.puritanboard.com/f71/pls-share-correct-position-buriel-20895/


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## MrMerlin777 (Aug 28, 2008)

Ressurection wise I don't think it matters. Almighty God will take care of that.

However, most cultures that cremate are largely pagan cultures. And most Christians that live in those cultural backdrops that I've encountered would prefer to be burried. Though in some nations the laws make it difficult to do so. In places like mainland Japan for example it takes quite a bit of "jumping through hoops" legal wise to have one's remains burried instead of cremated. (Of course in Japan the laws prefering cremation are austensibly there due to crowding and lack of space to burry people.)


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## Wannabee (Aug 28, 2008)

1 Samuel 31:11-12
Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men arose and traveled all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth Shan; and they came to Jabesh and burned them there.


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## PastorSBC (Aug 28, 2008)

Wannabee said:


> 1 Samuel 31:11-12
> Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men arose and traveled all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth Shan; and they came to Jabesh and burned them there.



Can you explain how this impacts or answers the question at hand?


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## Broadus (Aug 28, 2008)

Cremation reflects a Gnostic-like disdain for the body, while burial testifies that the body was created by God and will be resurrected. I urge enquirers to practice burial instead of cremation. In our day, I'm sure, many who choose cremation do so because of financial reasons, not religious or philosophical.

Bill


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## Jimmy the Greek (Aug 28, 2008)

PastorSBC said:


> Wannabee said:
> 
> 
> > 1 Samuel 31:11-12
> ...



How about, it's a biblical example of non-pagan cremation?


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## PastorSBC (Aug 28, 2008)

Broadus said:


> Cremation reflects a Gnostic-like disdain for the body, while burial testifies that the body was created by God and will be resurrected. I urge enquirers to practice burial instead of cremation. In our day, I'm sure, many who choose cremation do so because of financial reasons, not religious or philosophical.



I think the financial side of it is a major reason for it today, and I think that explains it way more than a "Gnostic-like disdain for the body." I seriously doubt anyone chooses cremation with that in mind.


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## PastorSBC (Aug 28, 2008)

Gomarus said:


> PastorSBC said:
> 
> 
> > Wannabee said:
> ...



Thanks, I get it now.


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## Marrow Man (Aug 28, 2008)

PastorSBC said:


> I think the financial side of it is a major reason for it today, and I think that explains it way more than a "Gnostic-like disdain for the body." I seriously doubt anyone chooses cremation with that in mind.



I think you are correct with regard to the financial side being a major reason. There are other factors as well. Many think that being cremated (possibly with ashes being spread about) is somehow a noble way to die. One would search in vain, I think, to find Scriptural support for such a thing.

In the early years of this country, there were exactly two (that's right, two!) cremations performed. One was done in 1792, when a former member of the Continental Congress requested cremation in his will out of fear of being buried alive. The second took place in 1876, and was overtly non-Christian, complete with readings from Hindu texts and Charles Darwin!

Do not discount subtle Gnostic influences either, my friend. Too many folks in our churches have the view that all that remains ahead is for the soul to shuck off the body, as if that is the final state. Very little (if any) thought is given to the resurrection.

I suspect, though, that if pressed, most would espouse a greatly affection for the body. Another minister communicated to me that once when a Christian was singing all the praises of cremation, he asked why the family couldn't just chop up grandma into little pieces with an axe. After all, that would be far cheaper than cremation and the remains could probably be stuffed in an even smaller box. Most folks are, of course, horrified (as they should be). It seems that the body has more value than first thought.

Here's a link to an exegetical study on this topic: http://faculty.bbc.edu/rdecker/documents/Cremation.pdf

Also, I wrote an exegesis paper on Amos 2:1-3 a few months ago for a class, commenting on the subject of cremation within the context of the passage. I have posted it here: Gairney Bridge » Blog Archive » Bone Burning


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## Wannabee (Aug 28, 2008)

Thanks Jim. You understood my quote.

I really don't have a dog in this fight, but I do have some thoughts.

Is preservation of the body a sort of worship? Is it idolatry?
Realistically, our bodies turn to mush in very little time anyway. We're worm food. Of the billions who have lived and died, now many bodies are actually recognizable as bodies any longer? Who are we kidding? 

Is there any scriptural warrant for preserving the body? We embalm in hopes of putting off the corrosion. But it still takes place. Some are buried quickly as to avoid imbalming, which has its own ramifications. 

To state that there are necessarily religious connotations demands irrefutable proof that God commands one way or another. 

Is it sinful to offer our bodies for science? Organ donors? How about to the highest bidder? Honestly, if my family could stomach it I'd prefer they see if they could profit from my body. Let 'em have it. I'll go on to glory and be pleased to be done with it. Maybe it can serve someone else in some way. But most families can't stomach it, so I won't press that point, for the benefit of the living.

Just some meandering thoughts while passing through...


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## matt01 (Aug 28, 2008)

MrMerlin777 said:


> Ressurection wise I don't think it matters. Almighty God will take care of that.



I am all for cremation; I have told my wife not to spend any more than necessary to process my shell. What a waste so many funerals become, spending thousands of dollars on stuff that will just rot in the ground. Burn my body, and have a service where the gospel is preached. That is all I need/want.


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## shackleton (Aug 28, 2008)

LawrenceU said:


> shackleton said:
> 
> 
> > If you notice in older seminaries bodies are laid to rest facing the east I guess thinking when the resurrection (rapture) happened it would be like the rising of the sun, it would be from the east. This is of course assuming you live in the west.
> ...



I guess that must have been some sort of Freudian slip


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## shackleton (Aug 28, 2008)

I wonder if the belief in reincarnation or just turning to dust and that is it has something to do with belief in cremation. Since one either becomes something else or ceases to exist it does not matter if the body is burned to ash. 

I wonder how much belief in burial is sort of subconscious superstition thinking that being burned to ash is so very permanent but if buried God has something to work with at the resurrection, at least that is the impression I got from churches that it is sort of a seed for the resurrection. 


I would imagine in the old days burning bodies was more sanitary and helped keep disease at bay. Like the days of the plague, I should probably know but did they bury those bodies or burn them?


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## Marrow Man (Aug 28, 2008)

shackleton said:


> I wonder if the belief in reincarnation or just turning to dust and that is it has something to do with belief in cremation. Since one either becomes something else or ceases to exist it does not matter if the body is burned to ash.



I think this has a whole lot to do with belief in cremation (at least the original belief). Of course, I don't think that Christians today have such beliefs.

I would second my brother's comments above (sans nom -- he doesn't have a name!) about the robbery of many funeral homes. In my humble opinion, this is what has driven so many people to a lower cost alternative. I cannot believe the exorbitant fees that funeral homes charge and how some (many?) take advantage of people when they are most vulnerable. I still can't get over the fact that funeral homes charge the bereaved a fee to pay the pastor for the funeral. Outrageous!

Nevertheless, I still do not think this justifies the practice of cremation. Preach the gospel at a funeral? Absolutely! And what a better testimony to the reality of the future resurrection that laying a body (not ashes) to rest, the deceased's finally testimony of faith in the Lord.

One thing I will say in favor of cremations, though: at least you don't have to deal with the problem of open casket funerals!


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## shackleton (Aug 28, 2008)

Plus, if buried you don't have to worry about problems like what happened in the Big Lebowski when Donny died, was cremated and his ashes scattered over the ocean except they blew back on _the Dude_. I was going to post it from You Tube except there was a lot of swearing in it.


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## Marrow Man (Aug 28, 2008)




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## Broadus (Aug 29, 2008)

PastorSBC said:


> Broadus said:
> 
> 
> > Cremation reflects a Gnostic-like disdain for the body, while burial testifies that the body was created by God and will be resurrected. I urge enquirers to practice burial instead of cremation. In our day, I'm sure, many who choose cremation do so because of financial reasons, not religious or philosophical.
> ...



Perhaps I didn't word the first sentence as well as I could have.

Many cultures both now and throughout history have practiced cremation because the body is seen in a negative light, not a positive one. While doubtlessly financial reasons are a major, and perhaps the major, consideration now, many people still have a disdain for the body. I think that Christians who support the practice of cremation are unwittingly promoting the belief that the body is something inherently bad and not worthy of resurrection.

And, yes, I also consider that a lot of what goes on in the funeral "industry" is akin to charging ten times the normal price for a bag ice after a hurricane has hit and folks are without electricity.

Bill


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## FrielWatcher (Aug 30, 2008)

So looking at all this, and knowing some Romish theolgy - Roman Catholicism has decreed that cremation is okay as long as the ashes are not dispersed, as long as they are contained together, either in an urn or buried that way. Now, is this legalism? Are they resting on the will of God to save based soli fidelis? Someone put into a coffin or cremated still faces the judgment seat of Christ.


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## Grace Alone (Aug 30, 2008)

Broadus said:


> Cremation reflects a Gnostic-like disdain for the body, while burial testifies that the body was created by God and will be resurrected. I urge enquirers to practice burial instead of cremation. In our day, I'm sure, many who choose cremation do so because of financial reasons, not religious or philosophical.
> 
> Bill



Pastors need to be teaching this. The secular culture is so ingrained in the church, that we no longer even recognize when a practice is unbiblical. The thought of cremation was always offensive to me anyway, but until my last pastor explained the objections, I would have never realized it was a pagan practice.


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## Backwoods Presbyterian (Aug 30, 2008)

Grace Alone said:


> Broadus said:
> 
> 
> > Cremation reflects a Gnostic-like disdain for the body, while burial testifies that the body was created by God and will be resurrected. I urge enquirers to practice burial instead of cremation. In our day, I'm sure, many who choose cremation do so because of financial reasons, not religious or philosophical.
> ...


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## Gesetveemet (Aug 30, 2008)

Grace Alone said:


> Broadus said:
> 
> 
> > Cremation reflects a Gnostic-like disdain for the body, while burial testifies that the body was created by God and will be resurrected. I urge enquirers to practice burial instead of cremation. In our day, I'm sure, many who choose cremation do so because of financial reasons, not religious or philosophical.
> ...





Janis and Bill,

In natural circumstances I would say a Christian should not be creamated but I think we should keep in mind that *creamation may become necessary *if the Lord should send a catastrophic event, valcano, earthquake, flood, pestilence or famine *to prevent even more deaths.* 


Have a good Lord's day,
Bill


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## Mushroom (Aug 30, 2008)

A body buried in the earth will be consumed by worms and its matter spread through the soil through defacation, some to be taken up by plant roots to become part of vegetation that then may be eaten or carried away by wind or flood, and is generally dispersed to the dust of the earth. How is that less disdainful than cremation? And as populations increase, the space necessary for burials becomes more and more wasteful, which goes to stewardship of the land.

The Lord is able to resurrect the bodies of His people from whatever state of decay or dissolution they will be in on that day, whether ashes or worm poop. This seems to be a lingering uninformed superstition to me, but I'm open to correction. Is there a regulative scripture pertinent to this?


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## PastorSBC (Aug 30, 2008)

Brad said:


> The Lord is able to resurrect the bodies of His people from whatever state of decay or dissolution they will be in on that day, whether ashes or worm poop. This seems to be a lingering uninformed superstition to me, but I'm open to correction.



Excellent thoughts. I agree. I think we are guilty of times of being almost paranoid about the culture and seeing things there that really aren't.


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## DMcFadden (Aug 30, 2008)

Wannabee said:


> Is it sinful to offer our bodies for science? Organ donors? How about to the highest bidder? Honestly, if my family could stomach it I'd prefer they see if they could profit from my body. Let 'em have it. I'll go on to glory and be pleased to be done with it.



"And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire." Matthew 18:9

So if your family can make a buck off your cornea, skin, heart, kidneys, etc., 

"Is is better for you to enter life [looking like something out of "Bodies - The Exhibition"] than looking "together" and be thrown into the hell of fire." 

Actually, I think that how we conduct our funeral practices DOES have theological significance. However, you can conduct full burials in Christian or pagan ways. So too, you can handle cremation with respect for the body and proclaiming resurrection hope.


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## bookslover (Aug 30, 2008)

Maybe, when I die, I'll just have my body stuffed, then have it posed on my living room sofa as if I were watching TV or reading...


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## panta dokimazete (Aug 30, 2008)

I don't see enough regulatory language for any particular methodology to be problematic as long as it is done decently and in order. I prefer cremation. Very tidy. Sing a song, preach the Gospel, move along.

Soli Deo Gloria!


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## kalawine (Aug 31, 2008)

DMcFadden said:


> Actually, I think that how we conduct our funeral practices DOES have theological significance. However, you can conduct full burials in Christian or pagan ways. So too, you can handle cremation with respect for the body and proclaiming resurrection hope.



Pagan cremation... 

When I die let my ashes float down the Green River
Let my soul roll on up to the Rochester dam
I'll be halfway to Heaven with Paradise waitin'
Just five miles away from wherever I am.

From "Paradise" by John Prine

Pagan burial...

Gee but that graveyard is a lonesome place
Lord but that graveyard is a lonesome place
They put you on your back throw
that mud down in your face

From "TB Blues" by Jimmy Rodgers

Godly burial...

Joshua 24

32 And Joseph's bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the tract of land that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph's descendants.


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## kalawine (Aug 31, 2008)

panta dokimazete said:


> I don't see enough regulatory language for any particular methodology to be problematic as long as it is done decently and in order. I prefer cremation. Very tidy. Sing a song, preach the Gospel, move along.
> 
> Soli Deo Gloria!



I had an uncle die a couple of years ago. He was a man without God all his life. He was one of those "last minute converts." He repented and asked Jesus to save him less than a year before he died. This man had no time to do an indepth study of cremation or anything else much. When he died he was cremated. It was my first cremation funeral to attend. I have struggled for years over this issue and have always leaned toward the idea that burial is biblical (very obviously I believe) and (of course) cremation was a pratice of the heathens. Yet, I know that my uncle chose cremation because he wanted to be the least possible financial burden to his kids (he had no present wife) that he could. When I remember my uncle I know that in his ignorance of doctrine he was sincerely and humbly going the most honorable route he knew.


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## Davidius (Aug 31, 2008)

FrielWatcher said:


> So looking at all this, and knowing some Romish theolgy - Roman Catholicism has decreed that cremation is okay as long as the ashes are not dispersed, as long as they are contained together, either in an urn or buried that way. Now, is this legalism? Are they resting on the will of God to save based soli fidelis? Someone put into a coffin or cremated still faces the judgment seat of Christ.



What do you mean by _soli fidelis_?


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Sep 6, 2008)

Samuel Crook, _The Guide to True Blessedness_, pp. 114-115:



> 4. Q. _What is required in this [Sixth] Commandment_?
> ...
> Finally, decent[d] _burial_, with moderate[e] _mourning_.
> 
> ...


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## py3ak (Sep 6, 2008)

> Should Christians be cremated?



As a general rule, not until they're dead.


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## shackleton (Sep 7, 2008)

py3ak said:


> > Should Christians be cremated?
> 
> 
> 
> As a general rule, not until they're dead.



Someone should have told the early Catholic Church that.


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## Jerusalem Blade (Sep 7, 2008)

Expense may certainly be an issue, and one that hasn't been brought up here yet is grave desecration. We live in a perverse and intensely satanic age.

"...whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God" 1 Cor 10:31

"All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient..." 1 Cor 10:23

"Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand....For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's." Romans 14:4, 7, 8

Opinions abound, but this is a matter of liberty.


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## AVT (Sep 7, 2008)

For me it is burial. God himself buried Moses . He could have consumed Moses' body with fire by simply saying a word but He did not.

Deuteronomy 35;5 and Moses the servant of the Lord died in Moab, as the Lord had said, v "He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is."

A decent burial is one of the ways God shows His tender mercies to his own people.

Jeremiah 16; 4 "They will die of deadly diseases, They will not be mourned or buried but will be like refuse lying on the ground. They will perish by the sword and famine, and their dead bodies will become food for the birds of the air and beasts of the earth."

Amos 2;1 This is what the Lord says: "For three sins of Moab, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath, Because he burned, as if to lime the bones of Edom's king."

During cremation the dead body is fired up to 2,000 degrees heat and the bones turns to lime.

Comments welcome. Why God chose to bury Moses gives me conflicting thoughts. And yes I know He could reconstitute our earthly bodies because He is God and can do anything.


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## AVT (Sep 7, 2008)

Gesetveemet said:


> Grace Alone said:
> 
> 
> > Broadus said:
> ...



People who die due to catastrophic event didn't have a choice. Cremation bothers me because the early Christians and Jews in majority of circumstances practiced burial and not cremation. God Himself buried Moses.


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## AVT (Sep 7, 2008)

PastorSBC said:


> Wannabee said:
> 
> 
> > 1 Samuel 31:11-12
> ...



In the O.T. The Jews shows a lot of respect fort the body. In normal situations, the body is buried immediately and not left lying on the streets or hanging on the cross.

In the case of Saul, they wanted to retrieve his body but they were running
from the Philistines and they were afraid that the Philistines will kill them and
desecrate Saul's grave. So, they burned his remains.


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## jwithnell (Sep 7, 2008)

And Christ Himself was buried. Burial has been the Christian practice on this basis and as a result of believers in both testaments being buried. In general, I don't think all the embalming and so forth is reasonable either. Dust to dust, but the grave will not have the final victory!


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## Grymir (Sep 8, 2008)

It's better to bury the body. It helps in the healing of the family. It's also more respectful. I might be glib about my own death ("Just throw me into the lake and let the fish eat me and be done with it because I'll be in heaven (I really have a lake in by backyard and do say this)); but we have to remember those left behind. And the loss that they will feel.


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