A question that I have been asked more times that you might think is whether or not cremation is a Christian practice. Based on sheer statistics, it is a question people are asking whether they pose it to a pastor or not. The number of cremations in the U.S. is on a major upward swing. I read recently that between one-quarter and one-third of all corpses are now cremated, compared to less than 5% in 1970. By 2025 that percentage will rise to 60%.
Historically, there is no question about the burial practice of Christians; they always opted for burial if given a choice. In fact, there are those who have written that the great care of a body that Christians displayed is a reason why 'the Way' spread throughout the Roman Empire. Like many modern ethical issues we face, the Scriptures do not really deal with cremation directly. 1 Samuel 31:8-13; Amos 2:1-3, and 6:8-10 are the only explicit passages. Amos 2:1-3 is the only one of the three that unambiguously condemns the practice. The partial cremation of the bodies of King Saul and his sons can be connected to the necessities of war and quite frankly the latter passage in Amos is debated by OT scholars. It may or may not deal with cremation. I believe it probably does, but the cremation of bodies can be seen in that passage as necessary due the great numbers of the dead. While there are no 'thou shalts' or 'thou shalt nots' to draw from, that does not mean the Bible is unclear on the issue. In both testaments, it is absolutely clear that the standard way that God's people handled a corpse is burial. Obviously, there is also the example of Jesus. His body was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. There are exceptions, but they are rare. The exceptions certainly do not lend themselves to approval, even tacitly, of the practice.
There are basically four reasons Christians chose burial over cremation. First, the body was created by God in His image and was proclaimed by Him as 'very good' [Genesis 1:31]. While some deny the physical aspect of the image of God, Genesis 9:6 is clear: "Whoever sheds man's blood, his blood will be shed by man, for God made man in His image." This verse makes no sense at all if the soul (non-body) was the essential part of a human being. Thus the body is not just an appendage housing the soul/spirit (non-body). Human beings are a body/non-body unity, incomplete when that which is non-body is separated from the body.
Second, there is need to consider the Incarnation. "The Word became flesh and took up residence among us" [John 1:14]. John Stott has written, "Christians should treat the human body . . . with special respect. Why? Because this is the form in which God became flesh."
Third, there is the fact that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit [1 Corinthians 6:19]. Christians have historically believed that the body should be honored because the third Person of the Trinity used it as His home, living through the body and producing His fruit [Galatians 5:22-23].
Fourth, the final part of a Christian's salvation is the resurrection of the body. Paul wrote, "And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through His Spirit who lives in you" (Romans 8:11). According to Millard Erickson, "This new body has some connection or point of identity with the old body, but is differently constituted." That different 'constitution' is that it is transformed, outfitted for eternity. However, there is a direct connection between the mortal and immortal body. Christians have believed that burial best bears witness of this connection.
Thus the issue is not whether God can raise a body that has been cremated. Of course He can. Neither is the issue whether cremation is sin. I do not believe that it is. The issue really is two-fold: What burial practice best reflects the hope of the Gospel? What burial practice honors the body as God's good creation in His image? It seems to me the answer is burial. Just as we (Baptists) believe in immersion baptism because it shows best in a symbolic way what has happened spiritually to a person, burial does the same thing—the burial of a body shows in a symbolic way that God created the body good in His image (thus we honor it), and it better reflects the hope of the future resurrection of that mortal body.
Why has cremation become so popular? I can mention a few reasons. First, the traditional funeral is seen as a waste of money; thus it has become a consumer issue. Second, environmentalism has caused a "Save the Land for the Living" mentality to creep into the American consciousness. Third, there is the upswing of other spiritual worldviews, especially eastern mysticism, which is shown in the increased approval of such ideas as reincarnation. Cremation can be seen as a cleaning/releasing of the soul from the dead body so it will be prepared for another life. Rodney Decker observes correctly, "The cremation movement thus reflects the dramatic shifts in American views of 'spirituality' and the radical pluralism of our postmodern culture." Perhaps a traditional burial will be one of the most counter-cultural acts a Christian can perform in the next generation.
There is a specifically Christian way to grieve. Paul wrote that Christians are not to grieve as those without hope [1 Thessalonians 4:13]. Russell Moore challenges us with this thought, "Christian grief, the way the Christian community deals with its dead, signals what it believes to be true about the dead in Christ." Is what the Christian community believes best seen in burial or cremation?
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