WhateverThings

We started something new at our church a few weeks back, offering small cards for people to ask questions about by placing them in the offering plate. This will be one of the places I attempt to answer these questions. So, here is the first question:
What does the Bible say about cremation?

This is a question I have been asked several times as a pastor – sometimes before, sometimes after, someone has been cremated. The question comes from family members, those considering cremation and those who just are not sure about it. And the question is likely to keep coming as the number of people being cremated is on the rise – nearly 25% was a figure I read. The causes for the increased rate include:

• economic: a cremation costs less than a traditional burial (The vast amount of money we spend on funerals is perhaps a topic for another time)
• a concern for land use or a lack of land,
• a more disconnected society – family burial plots are much more a thing of the past and people are much less likely to have a place called home

I will answer this best I can, by answering a series of related questions and then attempt to tie it all together.

Can my body still be resurrected if I am cremated? Yes. I see nothing in Scripture that says that the state of the body affecting bodily resurrection. Logic also points us in this direction: would we say that a person who is killed in a fire cannot be resurrected, or that a body in the ground for hundreds of years and has completely decomposed not be resurrected? I don’t think so.

What Bible texts speak about cremation?
There are several examples in the Old Testament, including Achan’s family (Joshua 7:25), and Saul (1 Samuel 31:12). Neither of these are prescriptive passages and in both cases God’s judgment and curse was involved.
Paul speaks of offering our body to the flames in 1 Corinthians 13:3, but the context indicates that he is most likely speaking of martyrdom. And when Jesus says, “…let the dead bury their own dead” in Matthew 8:22 the context is about the cost of discipleship not how to dispose of a body; the first part of Jesus’ quote is, “Follow me…”.
The general practice in Scripture is burial, usually in family tombs. This is where we get phrases such as “gathered to his people” in Genesis 35:29 a description of being buried in the family crypt. In the New Testament, we have the two obvious examples of Lazarus (John 11) and Jesus. However, there are no specific texts in the New Testament about handling the dead.

What has been the practice of the church?
While Scripture is always our final authority, it is often helpful to see how Christians through the ages have understood and practiced. History shows that the early Christians practiced burial (the catacombs). An article here in Christian History, has some good background history. Burial seems to have been the predominant mode and cremation was not even much of an issue until the late 1800s. Much of the Church’s opposition came from the fact that cremation was practiced by non-Christians and those opposed to the faith. That is, the concern was more something along the lines of, “This is what non-Christians do with their bodies, we dont’ want to be associated with them, and so we won’t do it.” The Roman Catholic church no longer bans cremations, but the Orthodox Church still forbids it.

Why the concern about disposal of the body?
If the Bible says so little, and it does not affect the resurrection of the body, why does it matter? Or, in other words, why have Christians been so concerned?

1. since we are created in the image of God, the body should be respect
2. our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit – holy vessels (although I would ask – are they still after our death?)
3. Jesus was buried and raised bodily, so burial is a testimony or witness to the resurrection to come

So, should I be cremated?
The Bible does not, in my opinion, directly affirm one method over another. Christian tradition has been predominantly burial. But, for those who say that this is how the church has practiced through the ages, we might want to compare our method with those of the Bible where there was no embalming, no attempt to make the person look “so peaceful” or “like they are sleeping”, no overstuffed jewelry box caskets or for that matter, being buried in dirt. Rather, the bodies were perfumed to keep the smell down, wrapped and then placed in a cave and when they had decomposed, the bones were placed in a small box. I think the real question comes down to the meaning we give to the burial or cremation. Do we affirm the ugly reality of death (sin) while also celebrating the sure hope of the resurrection – a resurrection which will be physical and bodily? Read 1 Corinthians 15 and see what Paul has to say – specifically the certainty of the resurrection and the incongruity between our current mortal bodies and our resurrected ones.
Final answer: Scripture does not give us a definitive answer as it is mostly silent, and is descriptive, not prescriptive. All arguments are from inference. Tradition suggests burial (although this may be more cultural than biblical). Reason says that it will not affect our bodily resurrection. I see it as a matter of believer’s freedom, with the responsibility given to the individual to be clear about why they are choosing one method over another, and also the way in which the funeral service will serve as a witness to the resurrection.