Question: What guidance do the Scriptures provide concerning the practice of cremation as a means of disposing of the body of a believer who has died?
Answer: If this question had been asked a generation ago, it would have brought forth a certain amount of incredulity, that such a question should be even asked. At that time, in the 1960s, the practice of cremation in North America was largely confined to Hindus and other eastern religions, who believed that the destruction of the body by flame had a religious significance related to their beliefs concerning the afterlife. The practice of cremation by Hindus is related to their belief that burning the physical body after death releases the soul more swiftly from the physical plane, enabling it to continue more naturally in its spiritual evolution. Cremation was also practiced by free-thinkers and liberals throughout the twentieth century to show their rejection of Judeo-Christian influence in burial of the body in anticipation of resurrection.
Cremation has gained rapidly in popularity and is now practiced by many that have no regard for Hinduism. Its appeal comes in part from the fact that it is viewed as more environmentally friendly as well as less costly. In new age thinking, cremation connects one again to the earth and ashes are often dispersed at the deceased person’s favourite lake or stream. Accordingly to the Internet Cremation Society’s website, cremation rates are about 45% in Canada and 26% in the US at the present time. These averages disguise the fact that in some regions of both countries, especially the West Coast, the rates are well above 50% and in one western Canadian province, the rate is 75%. In discussions with a local funeral director, he has advised that rates are higher in urban areas than in rural areas. He attributed this difference to the greater conservatism traditionally associated with the rural community.
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Author: The Advocate
Keywords: Death, Funeral, Grave, Coffin, Crematoria, Cremation Burial, Cremation, Cremate, Burial vs creation, Burial cremation, Buried cremated, Cremated, Burning, Burning the body, Body burning, Burning bodies, Ritual burning, Burial, Burial rituals, Ashes, Ashes to ashes, Dust to dust, Cemetery, Urn, Ashes urn
Bible reference(s): Deuteronomy 21:23, Numbers 11:1-3, Numbers 16:35, Leviticus 20:14, Leviticus 21:9, Josh 7:15, Joshua 7:25-26, 1 Samuel 31:11-13, 2 Samuel 21:14, 1 Kings 13:2, 2 Kings 1:10-12, 1 Chronicles 10:12, Jeremiah 7:31, Amos 2:1, John 19:40, 1 Corinthians 13:3
Source: “Question Box,” The Christadelphian Advocate.
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