Should Christians Be Cremated?

[horsecamp]

cremation just speeds up the process of us returning to ashes ..

there is however the wonder if allowing ones ashes to be blown about in the wind rather than burried in one spot if thats putting God to some sort of test ?

they wonder if it might be like handling of poisioness snakes on purpose or akin to drinking poision .

my advice would be to never go against ones conscience on anything if not sure about something .


study the bible and if there still is doubt about something follow your own conscience . God gave the conscience for good reason .its never safe or right after much bible study and ones still not sure about a subject to go against ones own conscience...

 

[This Vale Of Tears]

Preservation of corruption is a sign that supports beatification, but certainly isn't a requirement and is exceptionally rare.

There is nothing in scripture that forbids cremation. The cost of burials are outrageous and honestly, a lot of people can not afford it. Both my dad and my stepmom died within the past year and by the time everything was paid for, it was close to $10,000 each. That is a lot of money and if you haven't prepared for it before hand, it can be a serious burden on the family.
And yes, both the buried and cremated will rise at the trumpet call of God. 1 Thessalonians 4:16 says "The dead in Christ will rise first"...not "only those who are buried".

Cost is a driving factor in this decision to be sure. Buying plots in a cemetery before death can significantly reduce the cost, say to about $6000. I actually know a little something about this.

The question is deeper than cost. The question is, how important is Christian tradition to us today and are we willing to pay a little more to be buried in the same manner Christians have been buried for 2000 years? Put another way, do we want our burial to reflect Eastern pagan traditions or Christian traditions. I say it's worth the extra cost and a good life insurance policy covers this cost.

 

[aspen]

The Christian tradition is to be placed on a shelf in a catacomb.

 

[This Vale Of Tears]

The Christian tradition is to be placed on a shelf in a catacomb.

Yes. And in fact an entire necropolis was discovered deep under Vatican City where even the bones of St. Peter were found. But Christians certainly weren't burned like Vikings in hopes they can be reunited with their ancestors or like Hindis hoping to be reincarnated on a higher plane of existence. I think the way we buried should be consistent with what we believed while alive.

 

[Suhar]

sermons that alleviate our grief with the sure hope that the dead in Christ will one day be called forth from their graves.

If dead are in Christ why would you have any grief? Celebrate! Brother Bob finally checked out and is in Heaven now!

 

[This Vale Of Tears]

If dead are in Christ why would you have any grief? Celebrate! Brother Bob finally checked out and is in Heaven now!

Hmmm....sounds like you never lost anyone dear to you. I'm very happy for you.

 

[Suhar]

Hmmm....sounds like you never lost anyone dear to you. I'm very happy for you.

Carried my grandfather’s coffin not long ago. Did not feel any grief whatsoever. He is in Heaven now.

 

[aspen]

We were not created for death - it is never a happy time for the people who are separated from loved ones

 

[Suhar]

We were not created for death - it is never a happy time for the people who are separated from loved ones

Exactly. We were created for life eternal. So, why be unhappy about somebody going where they achieve something they were created for?

 

[Arnie Manitoba]

Another thought just came to mind

People sometimes die in remote areas , or in the wilderness , nobody knows about it and nobody is there to bury them or cremate them or whatever.

Nature then comes into play , wild animals eat the flesh , crows and ravens and vultures pick it clean,

Thus the body gets scattered for several miles as bird poop and coyote poop

Plus a little bit of worm poop and maggot poop

Some of the maggots turn into house flies who land on the sandwiches at our church picnics

 

[aspen]

Don't spare us the details, Arnie - what are you trying to say???

Mercy! Lol

 

[Arnie Manitoba]

Don't spare us the details, Arnie - what are you trying to say???

Mercy! Lol

hehe .... it started out as a serious post about a truly organic death in the hands of nature .... but then it began to look like humor .... but it is so true at the same time ...

Got that ????? :)

 

[This Vale Of Tears]

Another thought just came to mind

People sometimes die in remote areas , or in the wilderness , nobody knows about it and nobody is there to bury them or cremate them or whatever.

Nature then comes into play , wild animals eat the flesh , crows and ravens and vultures pick it clean,

Thus the body gets scattered for several miles as bird poop and coyote poop

Plus a little bit of worm poop and maggot poop

Some of the maggots turn into house flies who land on the sandwiches at our church picnics

How about the 99.99% of the rest of us who die conspicuously and have a choice on how our remains are disposed? Should we be buried according to the tradition of the Christian faith we espoused our whole lives or burned in hopes of reincarnation or reunion with our ancestors?

 

[Arnie Manitoba]

How about the 99.99% of the rest of us who die conspicuously and have a choice on how our remains are disposed? Should we be buried according to the tradition of the Christian faith we espoused our whole lives or burned in hopes of reincarnation or reunion with our ancestors?

yes .... and personally I think typical burial is the way to go ... that is my absolute preference .... it's the cost that frightens me ... my parents were modest living farm folks who hardly ever spent $20 on themselves .... if they knew their funerals cost $20,000 they would roll over in their graves. ..... and we picked the lowest cost funeral options available .... by comparison cremation would have been only $1800 ....

some additional thoughts:

For practical purposes burial in the ground makes the most sense because otherwise we have a decaying body lying around which would be very unpleasant.

Yet the way I understand it the Jews often put their dead in tombs above the ground .... all I can think about is the smell around there.... yikes

Then we have the story of Joseph's bones being carted around for years to be buried in Israel ... at least that is how I think the story goes ....

I find it interesting how the bible indicates human remains are sometimes important , yet we are not given absolute instructions either .... unless it is buried deep in Leviticus law and I just never read it yet

Anyone know if there is Jewish "funeral law" in the bible ??? ... thanks