Creamation Versus Burial, Is Creamation Christian ?

[Lewis]

For many years I have always wanted to study this subject, and I am just getting around to it today, but it is a subject that for many years has always bugged me. My family on my dads side my grand dad and grand mom, and a aunt are cremated we own a niche where all the our urns can go in the family, out there in a beautiful setting in the crematorium, my father and I are friends with the cremator, and we use to go out there and watch it being done. But anyway is it Christian or do you think that the body should be put directly into the ground. But I found this on the web, it is much more on this subject, but I will just post this for now. Oh I almost forgot, at one time I wanted to be cremated, but now I want to get buried.

CREMATION HAS A HEATHEN ORIGIN AND PURPOSE

Cremation, as just described and as practiced today in the more technically advanced nations, no longer has the physical ghastliness associated with cremations performed in the less developed parts of the world. The modern method, as we have seen, incorporates the use of an exceedingly hot incinerator which reduces the body to ashes quickly, and the entire process is done out of the view of loved ones and the public.

Not so in places like South Asia, where we lived and served Christ for ten years. It would seem that any Christian who could stand beside the "holy" River Bagmati in Kathmandu, Nepal, and observe the burning of the body of a Hindu and the heathen death rituals, would cast aside in repulsion every thought of cremation being an acceptable Christian practice.

A few years ago I stood three or so feet from a burning corpse with a missionary pastor from Singapore and his wife who were visiting us. The head was already burnt beyond recognition and the skull was split open due to internal expansion from the heat of the fire. The lower legs and feet were unscorched, as they were protruding from the pile of burning wood and stubble upon which the man's body lay. The professional Hindu burners were poking the body from time to time to keep the members in the fire and adding stubble and wood as needed. The bones were contracting and popping; the bodily organs were frying and the juices sizzling in the intense heat.

My wife, a nurse with experience working with lepers in a hospital in a very remote part of Asia and in an intensive care ward in the United States, stood with another friend observing the ghastly sight from a distance, unwilling to come closer. The air for a hundred yards or more was filled with the unmistakable, stomach-turning stench of burning human flesh. When the fire had burnt most of the body, the ashes and remaining members were shoved into the river.

This is cremation as has been practiced by heathen religions for centuries, but without the sanitization adopted in more technically advanced areas.

Would you treat your loved ones so? Is this an acceptable Christian practice? No sir, cremation is a heathen practice. It is of heathen origin and serves heathen purposes. Why do the Hindus and those of other heathen religions cremate? It has a connection with their belief in reincarnation.

There is nothing Christian about cremation. We were standing that day, as I have many other times, observing cremation in the surroundings from which the practice arose--idolatrous, Christless heathenism.

GOD'S PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS PRACTICED BURIAL

At the outset let me answer an objection sometimes made at this point. The objection is, "Yes, God's people in the Bible practiced burial. The example is clearly there. But are we bound to follow these examples; they are not direct commands?" The answer is given in Romans 15:4. "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning ..." And again in 1 Corinthians 10:11 we read, "Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." In these passages God is telling us that we are to follow the Bible's examples as well as its direct instructions.

Following are just a few examples.

Abraham was buried (Genesis 25:8-10)
Sarah was buried (Genesis 23:1-4)
Rachel was buried (Genesis 35:19-20)
Isaac was buried (Genesis 35:29)
Jacob was buried (Genesis 49:33; 50:1-13)
Joseph was buried (Genesis 50:26)
Joshua was buried (Joshua 24:29-30)
Eleazar was buried (Joshua 24:33)
Samuel was buried (1 Samuel 25:1)
David was buried (1 Kings 2:10)
John the Baptist was buried (Matthew 14:10-12)
Ananias and Sapphira were buried (Acts 5:5-10)
Stephen was buried (Acts 8:2)

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

 

[Nocturnal_Principal_X]

It is interesting to see the list of people in the Bible who were buried but I don't see how that necessarily says that that has to be done today. Personally I don't see how mentioning that some people were buried in the Bible means one must follow the same custom. Oh and the fact that cremation used[/u] to be a pagan form of burial does not matter to me. After all customs change and if they do not take away from glorying God then there really is no problem.

I personally want to be cremated because it is cheaper on my loved ones and I just think bury someone is wasting ground that could be used for homes or something else that living people could use.

 

[Lewis]

This one is great.

Cremation Confusion
Is it unscriptural for a Christian to be cremated?
By Timothy George | posted 05/21/2002


Is it unscriptural for a Christian to be cremated?
â€â€Carol Stanley, Manchester, New Hampshire
The ancient world knew four methods of disposing of the bodies of the dead. Cremation was the normal practice of Greeks and Romans. Many of them believed in the immortality of the soul and saw no reason to give special attention to the body. Hindus, with their doctrine of reincarnation, still practice cremation. At the other extreme were the Egyptians, who mummified their dead, preserving the corpse indefinitely.

As the catacombs in Rome attest, the early Christians insisted on burying their dead. Christian gravesites were called coemeteria (cemeteries), which literally means "sleeping places," reflecting belief in a future resurrection. Early liturgies for the dead included the reading of Scriptures, prayers, hymns, and almsgiving for the poor.

Why were Christians so concerned about proper disposal of the body? Here are four reasons: (1) The body of every human was created by God, bore his image, and deserved to be treated with respect because of this. (2) The centrality of the Incarnation. When the Word became flesh, God uniquely hallowed human life and bodily existence forever. (3) The Holy Spirit indwelt the bodies of believers, making them vessels of honor. (4) As Jesus himself was buried and raised bodily from the dead, so Christians believed that their burial was a witness to the resurrection yet to come.

Of course, many martyrs were burned to death, but Christians believed God would bring them forth unimpaired at the resurrection. "We do not fear any loss from any mode of sepulture," declared Minucius Felix, "but we adhere to the old and better custom of burial." In the context of the early church, when cremation was associated with pagan rituals and unbiblical beliefs, burial seemed to be a more loving and reverent way to bear witness to God's ultimate victory over death.

But what about today? The first cremation in America took place in 1876, accompanied by readings from Charles Darwin and the Hindu scriptures. For many years, relatively few persons (mostly liberals and freethinkers) chose cremation. But that has changed dramatically. Only 5 percent of Americans were cremated in 1962; by 2000 it was 25.5 percent. In Japan, where burial is sometimes illegal, the cremation rate is 98 percent. The rise in cremations reflects many factors: concern for land use; the expense of traditional funerals; the loss of community and a sense of "place" in modern transient society; and New Age-type spiritualities.

While the weight of Christian tradition clearly favors burial, the Bible nowhere explicitly condemns cremation. Since 1963 the Roman Catholic Church has permitted cremation while "earnestly recommending" burial as the preferred mode of disposal. Billy Graham has noted (what Christians have always believed) that cremation cannot prevent a sovereign God from calling forth the dead at the end of time.

The Bible should not be used as a proof text either for the necessity of burial or for "cremation on demand." True, there are several examples of cremation in the Old Testament (Achan, Josh. 7:25; Saul, 1 Sam. 31:12; the King of Edom, Amos 2:1), but they involved God's judgment and curse. When Paul offered his body to be burned (1 Cor. 13:3), he was speaking of martyrdom, not cremation.

When Jesus said, "Let the dead bury the dead," he was describing the cost of discipleship, not the cost or method of funerals.

The real question for Christians is not whether one is buried or cremated but the meaning given to these acts. Our modern funeral customs tend to anesthetize us from the ugly reality of death with soft music, plush carpets, and expensive caskets.

The Presbyterian preacher George Buttrick once said, "There is nothing more incongruous than dressing up a corpse in a tuxedo!" Cremation, too, can be done in ways that desecrate rather than respect the dead. For example, one can now order designer urns in which elements of a loved one's "cremains" are mixed with clay and glazed to create a piece of lovely pottery!

Whether final disposition is by burial or cremation, the Christian church should offer a funeral liturgy in which the reality of death is not camouflaged, and the resurrection of the body is affirmed. We solemnize the departure of our loved ones by reminding ourselves that we brought nothing into this world, and that we can carry nothing out. "Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in sure and certain hope of the resurrection unto eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Timothy George is a CT executive editor and dean of Beeson Divinity School at Samford University.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/006/27.66.html

 

[guibox]

"Dust thou are, and to dust shalt thou return"

Does it really matter if this happens by decay or by burning to ashes? God will resurrect us in new bodies anyway.

The fact that the pagans burned doesn't mean that it is wrong. We seem to take this legalistic stance. I guess if pagans invented the wheel we should still be walking? :roll: It merely means that they discovered another method of body disposal. We don't believe like they do, hence our motivations for cremating would be different then theirs. If Satan appeared and said, "You must cremate your bodies to serve me," and God said "Burning bodies insults my Divinity and only serves Satan" Well, then, I guess pagans cremating their remains would be wrong.

But until someone finds that command in the scriptures...fire up the furnace, man!!

Cremation is cheaper and more efficient anyway.

Some people say that our bodies should be left to nature as God intended it. If cremation is wrong, then harvesting organs should be too. You tamper with the body one way, you do it the other as well. I guess saving a life with my heart or lungs is a bad thing too?

We are dead. Our lives don't mean doodly anymore. Our eternity outside the earthly body is determined.

"So man's breath goeth forth, he returns to the earth. In that very day his thoughts perish"

 

[Rick W]

The problem I have with the "cremation is not christian" thing is many christians were burned to death while in churches all across Asia, present and past. (or the rest of the world for that matter) So, they don't get to go to heaven? And if there are extenuating circumstances then the issue becomes clouded with man's propensity toward legalism.

"Would you treat your loved ones so? Is this an acceptable Christian practice? No sir, cremation is a heathen practice. "

Treat your loved ones good while they are still here.
Give them the flowers now, the praise and the tears. Don't wait until it's too late.

 

[Lewis]

Yes Nero would even burn Christians for light, when he would show dignitaries around his gardens and other things, they would set Chriatians on fire to light the walk way. Now you know these Christians should be with the Lord.

 

[Khristeeanos]

The way I see it, the original Hebrew family and all other people like them have probably had their bones decay and turn to dust.

Yet God is able to resurrect them. I see no problem with cremation.

 

[Soma-Sight]

Here is the true insanity of this whole ordeal....

Pagans supposedly value the FLESH and EARTH... Thus the logical conclusion would be for them to "bury" the dead in the earth so the worms can make it One with the Goddess again.....

Christians supposedly value the SPIRIT and GOD OF THE HEAVENS..... Thus the logical conclusion would be for them to "burn" the flesh in order to FREE the SPIRIT so it can return to Godhead.....

For some reason they do the opposite

 

[Lewis]

Christians supposedly value the SPIRIT and GOD OF THE HEAVENS..... Thus the logical conclusion would be for them to "burn" the flesh in order to FREE the SPIRIT so it can return to Godhead.....

Soma, the spirit leaves the body at death.

 

[Soma-Sight]

Soma, the spirit leaves the body at death

I guess my point would be that a complete burning of the flesh and the subsequent release of ash into the air would symbolize the "Spirit" leaving to the Heavens if nothing else....

As far as the method of burial/creamtion having an effect on the "limbo" state between now and the resurrection.... I am not sure?

 

[Featherbop]

Christian martyrs have in the past been burned at stake. Some christians are being cremated after death now. In both instances, the christian is burned to ashes. Maybe it is more difficult for God to remake a burned person than a decayed one? :-D

 

[Soma-Sight]

Christian martyrs have in the past been burned at stake. Some christians are being cremated after death now. In both instances, the christian is burned to ashes. Maybe it is more difficult for God to remake a burned person than a decayed one?

I want to be cremated on a giant pire outdoors in the High Mountain country.....

 

[Lewis]

Soma to do that you have to go to India, or some parts of Africa, it is illegal here, which you already know.

 

[Rick W]

The wife and I agreed cremation is our choice. Visiting a dead body, a plot of ground, holds nothing but sorrow and gives nothing. Besides, this place is only temporary. And quite frankly I don't care how old it is for it can't hold a candle to the "age" of eternity. The world as we know it will end too, sooner or later. And where does one bury old earth with all it's little graves inside?

 

[Lewis]

I am beginning to see nothing wrong with cremation again. Note I said again, because for years that is what I wanted, and then I heard that it would not be Biblical, to do that. Now I am starting see that, that is not the case. I mean what happens when people get burned up in a house fire, or die in a fiery plane crash, and are saved, should God not give them new incorruptible bodies ?
Should that be only limited to the buried ? I should say not. I think burning is just a faster way of returning you back to dust much faster. A good embalming you can last for years down there, because it is cool underground, also in a lot of cases water gets to the bodies down there. If you want more on what happens to your body after death go here. I wanted to be a mortician at one time, but I never got around to it.
http://www.galenpress.com/004b.html

And lastly Embalming
http://www.funerals.org/faq/embalm.htm

 

[Rick W]

God wants our spirits, not our bodies. Jesus doesn't focus on preservation of the physical but the spititual.
If however one believes cremation is against God I have no problem with that. It's a moot point anyway.

 

[Soma-Sight]

Soma to do that you have to go to India, or some parts of Africa, it is illegal here, which you already know.

Why is this illegal?

Oh well they will have to lock me up for that one! :o

 

[Soma-Sight]

The case FOR Biblical Cremation

The average burial funeral these days costs around $7,000.

The average cremation these days costs around $1,000

What did Jesus have to say about this?

Matthew 8:22

But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

Luke 9:60

Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."


Obviously Jesus placed little importance on the rituals of dead bodies....

Futhermore,

The $6,000 SAVED from doing a creamtion vs. a burial could be used to FEED THE POOR and for mission work.....

11 Whoever heard me spoke well of me,
and those who saw me commended me,

12 because I rescued the poor who cried for help,
and the fatherless who had none to assist him.

 

[Lewis]

Here in PA where the first creamtion took place in America, many people do it. Whene my grand father, the first to do it in the family in 1976 it was 75 bucks
now it is about 1000 bucks. That still saves you about 6000, and you would get a wooden casket, because even though they put metal caskets in the retort, they are hard to burn up, plus they have to take off the lid so the casket does not explode, I have seen partial metal casket burn up, they don't burn up all the way.. So it is a waste of money to get those. And you know when they put you in the retort the heat is so intense that your arms and legs raise in the air, and the flesh on your face is the slowest to burn up. And if the retort is hot, it only takes about 2 hours. That is why they warm them up before you go in there. I use to watch this get done.

 

[Soma-Sight]

And you know when they put you in the retort the heat is so intense that your arms and legs raise in the air, and the flesh on your face is the slowest to burn up. And if the retort is hot, it only takes about 2 hours. That is why they warm them up before you go in there. I use to watch this get done.

Aye Curumba!

Thats ugly! :x

Beats getting eatne by worms for 100 years though!