Bible Question: Is it against God's Law to be cremated once you are dead? I know some christians will say it is not biblical to be cremated. Is this true? |
Bible Answer: Greetings Hood Rat, It is not against God's law to be cremated, and it is not 'unbiblical' to be cremated. I have posted the following post on cremation at least 4 times (see #8822, 9932, 9934, 17274) and I will post it again below. Another post of mine on the subject is #21671, and here are some very good posts by others on the subject: #17495, 124705, 21467. You would simply type in the number to the 'search' box on the right. Here is my post, first presented to this Forum in July 2001: "Is cremation following death against God's will for Christians? "In the Bible cremation is portrayed only as an exceptional method of disposing of bodies. Most often cremation took place in the midst of unusual circumstances. For example, in 1 Samuel 31:12 we read about the men of Jabesh-Gilead who burned the corpses of Saul and his sons in order to prevent desecration of their bodies at the hands of the Philistines. "We don't find cremation mentioned in the New Testament. Burial is the normal method. Moreover, the church fathers preferred "the ancient and better custom of burying in the earth." "However, there is no actual prohibition against cremation in the pages of Scripture. And if a Christian does get cremated, this poses no problem for God in resurrecting that person's body from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). "We read in 2 Corinthians 5:1, "Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands." (NIV) It does not matter how our "earthly tent" (body) is destroyed; all that matters is that God will raise it from the dead. Even those who are buried eventually dissolve into dust and bones. So, regardless of whether we're buried or cremated, we can all look forward to a permanent resurrection body that will never be subject to death and decay." [Quoted from pg. 305, The Complete Book of Bible Answers, Ron Rhodes, 1997 Harvest House Publishers] --Makarios |