Cremation & Cadavers

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VerticalLiftEnjoyer

VerticalLiftEnjoyer

Puritan Board Freshman
Hello, recently I’ve been watching some anatomy videos on YouTube (the Institute of Human Anatomy ones), and I’ve been wondering on how the human body is supposed to be treated after death.

I tried looking up some threads on this, but they’re all old and never had a satisfactory answer. Some said that burial was required due to resurrection, but to my knowledge the body still breaks down in the grave; embalming only delays it, and the decomposition process is just as grotesque when buried as when you rot alone in a house. Not a very satisfactory answer, but I’m not sure, since a sign of God’s judgment was that He wouldn’t allow you to be buried at all. (granted this might be culturally relative, idk)

Cadavers are a bit more burdensome to my conscience, however, as you’re being preserved for the express purpose of being hacked to pieces. Granted, without them we wouldn’t be able to effectively train our doctors (for now, perhaps future technologies can fix this, like VR?).

I know the Bible doesn’t say (to my knowledge), “thou shalt not burneth thyself; thou shalt not let scalpels prodeth thee”, etc etc, but God clearly took post-mortem ceremony seriously.

Sorry if this intro is a bit all over the place, just trying to lay out what my chief concerns are. Not a lot of scruples over organ donation and blood donors, thankfully.
 
VerticalLiftEnjoyer said:
Hello, recently I’ve been watching some anatomy videos on YouTube (the Institute of Human Anatomy ones), and I’ve been wondering on how the human body is supposed to be treated after death.

I tried looking up some threads on this, but they’re all old and never had a satisfactory answer. Some said that burial was required due to resurrection, but to my knowledge the body still breaks down in the grave; embalming only delays it, and the decomposition process is just as grotesque when buried as when you rot alone in a house. Not a very satisfactory answer, but I’m not sure, since a sign of God’s judgment was that He wouldn’t allow you to be buried at all. (granted this might be culturally relative, idk)

Cadavers are a bit more burdensome to my conscience, however, as you’re being preserved for the express purpose of being hacked to pieces. Granted, without them we wouldn’t be able to effectively train our doctors (for now, perhaps future technologies can fix this, like VR?).

I know the Bible doesn’t say (to my knowledge), “thou shalt not burneth thyself; thou shalt not let scalpels prodeth thee”, etc etc, but God clearly took post-mortem ceremony seriously.

Sorry if this intro is a bit all over the place, just trying to lay out what my chief concerns are. Not a lot of scruples over organ donation and blood donors, thankfully.
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I think that cremation has been historically avoided because of fire’s association with judgment. In certain cultures and times people were buried facing East or in a particular orientation in anticipation of the resurrection. There were Jewish folks who thought that the body would be resurrected via the coccyx. That’s the extent of what I’ve heard about or read on the topic.
 
The scriptures describe the believer’s body as not dead, but asleep. It should be treated that way in faith.
 
A friend's non-Christian sibling suggested cremation for their late mother and she said, "We only burn rubbish, and our mother was not rubbish." So that's one way of looking at it, and it proved effective.

However here are some brief articles:

Cremation (up to date Heathenism) by Rev James S. Sinclair

Burial of the Dead by Rev. James Macleod
 
My preference is for my body to be buried, like the body of my Savior, in the sure hope that it will also be raised with him. Paul goes so far as to call it a planting rather than a burial (1 Corinthians 15:42). Like a seed, I believe that one day new life will spring from my body.

Jacob asked for his body to be buried in the land of promise like his fathers (Genesis 49:29-31). Their hope was in the heavenly land (Hebrews 11:16), and their final wishes for burial were an expression of that hope (Hebrews 11:21-22). Burial is a last testimony of faith in Christ, a witness to his present and future victory over death, in which I share. Burial plots are not just a way to get rid of bodies; they exist to proclaim that the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and come out of their tombs (John 5:28-29).

However, if burial is unfeasible or my preference is not honored, Christ is still Lord over death. He will still raise my body. The extent of decay or molecular destruction does not matter. Human life has been lovingly crafted from dust before (Genesis 2:7), and it will be again when he through whom all things were made returns to the earth. Job reflected on bodily decay and saw that it is no obstacle for the living Redeemer (Job 19:25-26).
 
Jack K said:
My preference is for my body to be buried, like the body of my Savior, in the sure hope that it will also be raised with him. Paul goes so far as to call it a planting rather than a burial (1 Corinthians 15:42). Like a seed, I believe that one day new life will spring from my body.
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I agree with this. On the other hand, I am tempted to be like Elijah, dousing the sacrifice and the altar three times in faith that nothing could stop God from accomplishing His will.
 
Burial has been a topic of interest to me for some time now. I don't wish to be cremated, but I also can't stand the exuberant pricing by some funeral homes and the like. It's expensive to die! I don't blame anybody who wishes to be cremated as to not burden their families with the cost. I agree with @Jack K about Christ's being Lord over all no matter the state of the body of a deceased believer.

I personally don't wish to have any postmortem treatment by chemicals or preservatives. I don't want a coffin either. I've arranged it to have my body buried in a family plot in Alabama straight in the ground with just a burial shroud.
 
J.L. Allen said:
I also can't stand the exuberant pricing by some funeral homes and the like. It's expensive to die!
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J.L. Allen said:
...I personally don't wish to have any postmortem treatment by chemicals or preservatives. I don't want a coffin either. I've arranged it to have my body buried in a family plot in Alabama straight in the ground with just a burial shroud.
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I totally agree. Different states may have different laws pertaining to burial procedures, though, so folks may need to first check into that.

Many funeral services offer "direct burial" options that minimize or even eliminate some of the most expensive traditional components, like a casket, embalming, etc. Compared to traditional burials, direct burial options typically reduce costs by 50% to 80%.
 
I'm reading an interesting book about death and dying. One of the interesting tidbits of information taken from this book is about how different cultures thought about death. I thought the first quote would be of particular interest given the OP. Check this out:

"In past ages the noblemen of China were wont to have their coffins ready-made in their chambers so that at every moment they might look death in the face."

"The Egyptians were accustomed, in their most sumptuous feasts, to place a dead man's skull in an eminent corner of the room that by such a spectacle the guests might not only moderate their pleasures and restrain their unruly lusts, but also accustom themselves to behold death amongst all their delights."

Page 32, Last Words of Saints and Sinners by Herbert Lockyer
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Where many men today shudder to think of death, the men of past ages seemed to almost stare at it.
 
In addition to the comments above, I would commend the booklet Burial or Cremation by Donald Howard published by Banner of Truth. It walks through the Christian tradition and biblical theology of burial (beginning in the Old Testament), and concludes with practical remarks about planning for burial costs. It's one I have repeatedly handed copies out to folks.
 
J.L. Allen said:
Burial has been a topic of interest to me for some time now. I don't wish to be cremated, but I also can't stand the exuberant pricing by some funeral homes and the like. It's expensive to die! I don't blame anybody who wishes to be cremated as to not burden their families with the cost. I agree with @Jack K about Christ's being Lord over all no matter the state of the body of a deceased believer.

I personally don't wish to have any postmortem treatment by chemicals or preservatives. I don't want a coffin either. I've arranged it to have my body buried in a family plot in Alabama straight in the ground with just a burial shroud.
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I don’t know how it is in every state, but in KY, if you’re buried within 24 hours of dying, you don’t have to be embalmed. A guy I know had passed and another lady told me his funeral cost was $700 (at that time, probably went up since then). It was $500 for the funeral home to dig the grave and $200 for the body bag.
 
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