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Is Cremation Biblical ?

Lewis

Lewis

Member
I always wanted to look into this, because I have many in the family who has been cremated, we even have a family nich for erns at the crematorium. But I was looking into it and found this. But what do you all think ?

What does the Bible say about cremation? Should Christians be cremated?

Question: "What does the Bible say about cremation? Should Christians be cremated?"

Answer: The Bible actually does not give any specific teaching about cremation. Cremation was practiced in Biblical times, but it was not commonly practiced by the Hebrews or by New Testament believers. Some believers object to the practice of cremation on the basis that it does not recognize that one day God will resurrect our bodies and re-unite them with our soul and spirit (1 Corinthians 15:35-58; 1 Thessalonians 4:16). However, the fact that a body has been cremated does not make it any more difficult for God to resurrect a body. The bodies of Christians who died a thousand years ago have completely turned into dust by now – and God will be able to raise their bodies. Cremation does nothing but “expedite†the process of turning a body into dust. God is equally able to raise a person’s remains that have been cremated as He is the remains of a person who was not cremated.

Recommended Resource: In His Image by Brand & Yancey.
http://www.gotquestions.org/cremation-Bible.html

And more on this subject
http://www.religioustolerance.org/crematio.htm

What Does God Think
http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/cremation.htm

Cremation Is Not Christian
http://www.reformation.org/cremation_is ... stian.html

Why Cremation Is Unscriptural
http://www.bibletopics.com/BibleStudy/120.htm

Cremation Confusion
Is it unscriptural for a Christian to be cremated?
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/006/27.66.html
 
Nothing unbiblical about creamation. I am going to be creamated. Let me ask a question, one I have asked before with no response.

What about the many Christians that have been burned to death (for whatever reason... fire, martyrdom, etc.?

Then there's the obvious verse:

Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
 
Yeah Vic or the people who have been blown to bits, or crushed flat. Nothing is to hard for God.
 
Lewis W said:
Yeah Vic or the people who have been blown to bits, or crushed flat. Nothing is to hard for God.
Click to expand...
Very true brother. Man was created from the dust of the earth and there is NO reason to believe God cannot do it again. I guess it's man's way of dealing with death; to somehow "preserve" the body for the afterlife. I do not condrmn those who do though. I guess I'm "wired" to think differently than most. Part of the blessed hope for me is that God IS able to reunite my spirit and soul with an incorruptable body, a spiritual body, as Paul tells us. :angel:
 
So my thinking is why wait around for all this to happen when you can be done away with in 2 to 3 hours in a cremation retard. The only reason that I am posting this is because it is reality, and this stuff will happen to us all.
But if this stuff is to hard for some, I will have it removed.

Human decomposition after death

Assuming a person has died of natural causes, what biological processes occur within the body soon after burial? How long does it take before it's in a complete state of decomposition? I've heard that soon after death the body swells with carbon dioxide and methane gas. Is this true?

Candice

Dr Trisha Macnair responds

Dr Trisha MacnairWhen someone's heart stops pumping blood around their body, the tissues and cells are deprived of oxygen and rapidly begin to die.

But different cells die at different rates. So, for example, brain cells die within three to seven minutes while skin cells can be taken from a dead body for up to 24 hours after death and still grow normally in a laboratory culture. But contrary to folklore, this doesn't mean that hair and nails continue to grow after death, although shrinkage of the skin can make it seem this way.

Rate of decomposition

From this point on, nature is very efficient at breaking down human corpses. Decomposition is well under way by the time burial or cremation occurs. However, the exact rate of decomposition depends to some extent on environmental conditions.

Decomposition in the air is twice as fast as when the body is under water and four times as fast as underground. Corpses are preserved longer when buried deeper, as long as the ground isn't waterlogged.

The intestines are packed with millions of micro-organisms which don't die with the person. These organisms start to break down the dead cells of the intestines, while some, especially bacteria called clostridia and coliforms, start to invade other parts of the body.

At the same time the body undergoes its own intrinsic breakdown under the action of enzymes and other chemicals which have been released by the dead cells. The pancreas, for example, is usually packed with digestive enzymes, and so rapidly digests itself.

Gases include methane and hydrogen sulphide

The decomposing tissues release green substances and gas which make the skin green/blue and blistered, starting on the abdomen. The front of the body swells, the tongue may protrude and fluid from the lungs oozes out of the mouth and nostrils.

This unpleasant sight is added to by a terrible smell as gases such as hydrogen sulphide (the rotten-egg-smell gas), methane and traces of mercaptans are released. This stage is reached in temperate countries after about four to six days, much faster in the tropics and slower in cold or dry conditions.

A corpse left above ground is then rapidly broken down by insects and animals, including bluebottles and carrion fly maggots, followed by beetles, ants and wasps. In the tropics, a corpse can become a moving mass of maggots within 24 hours.

If there are no animals to destroy the body, hair, nails and teeth become detached within a few weeks, and after a month or so the tissues become liquefied and the main body cavities burst open.

Burial in a coffin slows the process

The whole process is generally slower in a coffin, and the body may remain identifiable for many months. Some tissues, such as tendons and ligaments, are more resistant to decomposition while the uterus and prostate glands may last several months.

But within a year all that is usually left is the skeleton and teeth, with traces of the tissues on them - it takes 40 to 50 years for the bones to become dry and brittle in a coffin. In soil of neutral acidity, bones may last for hundreds of years, while acid peaty soil gradually dissolves the bones.

This article was last medically reviewed by Dr Trisha Macnair in December 2005.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/ask_the_doc ... eath.shtml
 
A Body after Death

On Sunday night at 8:30 the ABC screened a one hour documentary entitled Bodyworks; consisting chiefly of interviews with Morticians, funeral directors, hearse drivers, grave diggers etc.

As an addendum to the interviews an announcer provided information regarding the physical processes of decay that a body undergoes after death. Such information was provided at intervals throughout the show and dealt with a time period from immediately following death through to 10 years after. It struck me that while quite morbid, the data would be useful for many role-playing situations [e.g., investigators find a 3 day old body, how do you describe it to them?]. So, listed below, in chronological order from time of death, are the major points made, [the square brackets are my personal comments] as I remember them. Be warned, however, that some people may find some of the descriptions `distasteful'.

The Body and the Physical Processes of Decay

* 1 hour after death the muscles relax totally.
* 3 hours after death rigor mortis sets in. [Interesting if they died in an unusual position]
* After 1 day the body has fully returned to room temperature. [I presume the skin cools much more rapidly but internal...]
* After 1 day the skin shrinks/contracts. This makes it appear that the hair and nails have, or are still, growing.
* Within 1 to 2 days, if flies are around, they will begin laying maggots in available areas of the body such as between the lips and eyelids.
* After 2 days rigor mortis relaxes.
* After 2 days the internal tissue begins the process of decay; starting to turn into gasses and liquids.
* Within 1 week the flesh has become `liquid like' under the skin; and the skin can fall off if touched.
* In 2 weeks the stomach distends due to accumulation of gasses and this can lead to the discharge of a dark, bloody liquid from the nose and mouth of the corpse.
* After 3 to 4 weeks the body is extremely decayed:- hair and nails can be easily pulled out; the trunk has swollen to twice its size; while the face has gone a purple green and the tongue protrudes.
* [One bloke mentioned that after 5-6 weeks the body has become what they in the trade call a `soup'...]
* Finally; if a body is buried in the ground then after a time of 10 years all tissue has turned to liquid and gas and been absorbed by the surrounding ground leaving only the bones.

Anyway; I hope the information was useful and not too disturbing. Any errors are undoubtedly my own as I only started taking notes half way through the show.
http://www.tesarta.com/www/resources/li ... ition.html
 
I told my wife that when I die, to burn me to ashes. There is no way to justify the expense of a gasket and plot of land. I told my wife that what ever money she would have spent to give it to somebody who could use it to live, like world vision. Nope burn me. I will not need this body once I am dead.
 
It appears to me that the Bible remains silent of the issue of proper burial, and that includes cremation. At any rate I’m getting crematedâ€â€unless someone ever gives me a good Biblical argument against cremation.
 
The average American funeral is about 5000 to 7000 bucks, and you can get away with a poor mans bargain funeral for about 3 grand. Cremation use to be really cheap, I think in 1976 when we cremated my grandad, him being the first in the family to do it. The price was around 75 or 80 bucks, that is just for the burning, he had a wood casket with which they have to remove the lid so heat build up does not make it explode, and they throw the lid away. But with my grand mom they rented the casket and they removed her from it at the crematorium and put her in a cardboard box and slid her into the retard.
The cremation guy is a friend of my dad and me, and we have watched it being done before. Nothing to it. If the retard is real hot you will be gone in about 3 hours.
 
I find this discussion interesting. Some of the fallacies of anti-catholicism that some on this very thread have used are exposed in the answers it would seem. (i.e. pagan origins and not in the bible) But that's a different topic.

There are many verses that speak burial. That is what the Jews did exclusively in the Bible. Does this mean one cannot be cremated? Not in my mind. But one must be careful. For example if one wants his ashes scattered to the four winds or on a mountain or the ocean rather than simply disposing of them or requires his wife to keep them in the urn on the mantle, these things have possible religous implications and should be avoided. Simply burying the ashes is probably best.
 
thessalonian said:
I find this discussion interesting. Some of the fallacies of anti-catholicism that some on this very thread have used are exposed in the answers it would seem. (i.e. pagan origins and not in the bible) But that's a different topic.

There are many verses that speak burial. That is what the Jews did exclusively in the Bible. Does this mean one cannot be cremated? Not in my mind. But one must be careful. For example if one wants his ashes scattered to the four winds or on a mountain or the ocean rather than simply disposing of them or requires his wife to keep them in the urn on the mantle, these things have possible religous implications and should be avoided. Simply burying the ashes is probably best.
Click to expand...
Well Thessalonian I don't see where dumping them in the ocean or in your backyard or throwing them into the four winds, as any religious significance.
I mean because ether way, you return to the earth from whence we came.

And for those who want to learn about cremation go here
http://www.cremation.org/

Cremation Info
http://www.cremationinfo.com/cremationinfo/index.htm

Cremation cost and planing
http://www.cremation.com/index.asp

The best informastion is in this link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cremation
 
Lewis W said:
Well Thessalonian I don't see where dumping them in the ocean or in your backyard or throwing them into the four winds, as any religious significance.
I mean because ether way, you return to the earth from whence we came.
Click to expand...


Well the pagans did see significance in such treatment of the ashes. But in this discussion since cremation isn't "Catholic" I suppose it wouldn't bother you. :-? Wouldn't scattering to the four winds be ritualistic. I thought guys like you were against ritual.
 
I don't see it as a ritual, you are just getting rid of them, and it is ok for the deceased before he or she dies to say where they want them. I mean you told your wife or who ever that you wanted to be cremated.
 
Lewis W said:
I don't see it as a ritual, you are just getting rid of them, and it is ok for the deceased before he or she dies to say where they want them. I mean you told your wife or who ever that you wanted to be cremated.
Click to expand...

Whether you know it or not, creamation and the phrase "scattered to the four winds" has pagan conotations and we should be aware of those so that we do not scandalize others if we choose to be creamated. This I think is quite closely related to Paul's advising of not eating meat sacrificed to idols. Of course he does not say eat no meat. Yet if that meat was used in a pagan ritual it is not fit for us to eat as it will cause scandal. Likewise being "scatterded to the four winds" does have pagan conotations and should be avoided is all I am saying. The scandal our actions might cause others, though it is not what we intended should be considered in this decision. Do a web search for "scattered to the four winds" and "paganism" if you don't believe me. Forget that I am Catholic for a minute Lewis. It quite clearly clouds your thinking.
 
I don't think you do hate me. That's not the point. My basis for not being cremated would be because of possible pagan connotations which are on the rise over the last 30-40 years. In no way would I have my ashes "scattered to the four winds" in order to avoid scandal. In general I do not think it is wrong. Just advizing caution.
 
Some of the various Protestant churches came to accept cremation, with the rationale being, "God can resurrect a bowl of ashes just as conveniently as he can resurrect a bowl of dust". The 1908 Catholic Encyclopedia is critical about these efforts, referring to them as "these sinister movements" and associating them with Freemasonry. In 1963, Pope Paul VI lifted the ban on cremation, and in 1966 allowed Catholic priests to officiate at cremation ceremonies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cremation
 
My hubby wants to be cremated. When I first found this out (just last year), I freaked out. I told him no way was I going to let him be cremated. Then I told myself that I needed to respect his wishes.

We've now decided that if he was to die before me, he would be cremated. Then when I die, his urn will be placed on my chest with my arms around it.

Isn't that sweet??? Let me hear all the "Awwwwwwwww"'s. :lol:
 
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