Here's an email question I received:

Because of today's costs of burial, I thought I would add to my will to opt for cremation. I don't see 'cremation' in the Bible and I always figured it was our soul that goes to heaven. I just want Jesus to find me! Can you guide me one way or the other.

Here's how I answered, but I would like to see what others would say:

There is no right or wrong way to care for a body after one has died. If a person is a believer, their soul or spirit is with the Lord the instant that the physical life has ended. The Bible talks about a resurrection when Jesus returns. At the resurrection, all who have died will be raised up out of the ground. God will not require physical bones to initiate the resurrection, but will raise us up out of the dust regardless of the physical condition or location of our remaining bones.

I promise you that when the time comes, Jesus will find you!!!

HULLO SIR,


I WILL LIKE TO INITIATE A RESPONSE BY ASKING THIS QUESTION.

WHAT DO WE MAKE OF THESE SCRIPTURES IF INCINERATION OF BODIES IS AN OPTION.

"Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. 9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee."
Jude 1:8-9 (KJV)


Ge 50:25
"And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence."

Ex 13:19
" And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you. "


Ps 34:20
" He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken."

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I aggree with steve, with God all things are possible. There is a passage in Ezekiel 37 about how God will make dry bones live - in Genesis it says that God formed man from the dust of the earth; so it is possible if your bones are incenerated He can re-create them. Besides in 1 Cor 15 it says that there is a natural body & there is a spiritual body & in the new heaven & the new earth we will be in our spiriual ones. The scripture says in 1 Jn 3:2 that we will be like Jesus is - not suceptible to death, disease, pain & able to move at the speed of thought. I believe that when we get our spiritual bodies that it will be a fulfillment of 2 Cor 5:17 " if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

Gen 3:19 says "dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." & Eccl 12:7 says "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." I believe with all my heart that as long as God has your spirit, God can make you a new body from the dust. Otherwise what hope of the ressurection would the victims of Hiroshima or similar weapons have?

Ps 34:20 is a prophesy about Jesus letting us know how to distinguish Him from other people.

GREAT RESPONSE, GREAT RENDITION. BUT I THINK IT FAILS TO MAKE THE MARK. REMEMBER THE QUESTION DOES NOT LIE IN THE ABILITY OF GOD EITHER 1. TO RECREATE FROM DECOMPOSED BODIES THAT HAVE RETURNED TO ITS ORIGINAL DUST STATE, OR 2. BONES THAT ARE DRIED UP, OR 3. GIVING GLORIFIED BODIES TO MORTAL BODIES, BUT WHETHER WE HAVE A RIGHT TO MAKE A CHOICE TO DO WHAT WE LIKE WITH THESE BODIES AFTER A MAN IS DEAD JUST BECAUSE WE WILL NOT BE NEEDING THESE BODIES AGAIN AS THEY OBTAINED BEFORE. THAT I THINK WIL BE PRESUMING UPON THE POWER OF THE GODHEAD. THATS THE BASIS OF MY FIRST RESPONSE.

REMEMBER ESAU. REMEMBER ONAN.

BE BLESSED IN HIM.

As with all questions that we face, the right answer is God's will for us. So each one of us needs to pray & ask God what He wants & then obey. For some people it may be ok; & others not so, it is totally up to his discretion.

As far as the scripture I have found these 2:

Gen 9:5 - "And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man."

Mic 6:8 - "He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"

So these tell me that God wants me to life this life right & when I die all I am responsible for is my blood, not my body entire.

Also there is these words of Jesus - Mt 8:22 "Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead." ; cross that over with Prov 21:16 "The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead." Those together taught me that everyone who wanders away from Jesus the "way" (Jn 14:9) shall be physically alive but spiritually dead. - So if Jesus wanted spiritually dead people to handle dead bodies then my guess would be that God doesn't care how they are treated.

BROTHER I THINK YOU ARE WALKING A SPIRITUAL TIGHTROPE HERE. YOU NEED TO EXCERCISE SOME RESTRAINT.

TAKE A LOOK AT HOW THE PATRIARCHS WENT TO GREAT EXPENSE AND EXTENT TO CHOOSE OUT THEIR BURYING PLACES. DO YOU SUPPOSE IT WAS FOR FRIVOLOUS REASONS. YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO ACCESS THEIR LEVELS OF SPIRITUAL UNDERSTANDING. AND IF YOU WILL NOT DEBATE IT, I WILL SUGGEST TO YOU THAT EVEN WITH ALL OUR SPIRITUAL ADVANTAGES IN CHRIST, OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS DOES NOT MEASURE UP TO THEIRS BY A LONG POLE.

AS A BROTHER I NEED TO CAUTION YOU. YOU NEED SOMETIMES A TELESCOPIC AND PANORAMIC VIEW OF SCRIPTURE TO REALLY GRASP, LOCATE AND ESTABLISH DOCTRINE AND PATTERNS. IT REALLY DOESNT HAPPEN BY A CONCORDANCE OR COMMENTARY APPROACH.

DO YOU REALISE YOUR POSITION IS A VALIDATION CERTIFICATE FOR ADHERENTS OF SEX CHANGE AND THE LIKE? I WILL LEAVE YOU TO IMAGINE WHO ELSE WILL FIND COMFORT UNDER THE SHELTER OF YOUR BRAND OF DOCTRINE.

THE LORD IS AT HAND.

While the Bible does not say "thou shalt not cremate", the Holy Scriptures do indicate truths that seem to hold that cremation or burning of bodies, especially the body of the Christian, should not be done.

Most of the references to burning of a body in the Bible occur over instances of punishment for criminal acts, improper behavior, killings by Pagans, or destruction of idols and evil material.

The burial (not cremation) of many important Biblical figures is described in the Bible. To not be given a proper burial was considered to be a great tragedy and dishonor.

Consider this: As our society in the United States and elsewhere has become more godless and secularized, the dignity of the human body has been degraded at the same time. JJStart is correct. It is not a great leap for a society who burns its dead by the hundreds of thousands and kills 1.2 million babies each year to also butcher, paint, deform, pierce, use the body in ways God did not intend.

It is a sad vision and epitaph on our society that the Church today is not so much changing society, but society is very much changing the Church. We know however that God's truths are unchanging. To turn this around, we must step back to see the Godly wisdom of our thoughts, irrespective of our head knowledge or perhaps what seems to be the most expedient thing to do.

Nick P.

Given that we are made in the image and likeness of God, I would agree that we are not to deface our bodies purposefully. I believe that includes cremation. I think the acceptance of cremation by Christians upon death is relatively new in our society. It would not have been considered by the Chosen People. No doubt God will resurrect our bodies regardless of what state they are in, but the Scripture does not seem to support cremation.

Please read Amos 2:1

I did but in the aformentioned scripture i believe God was mad about it because it was done to disgrace someone & not because of financial concerns. Hag 2:8 says that God owns all the gold & all the silver so if he wants us to prepare a burial plot for ourselves then He can give us the money for it.