Cremation

I'd rather be cremated, as my mother and father were, than rot in the ground. The soul is important, not the corpse.

(It's more economical, too.)

 

This is not something that I think of as a Christian issue but, as a child my parents taught me that it was a pagan and as such we should have no part of it. I doubt they backed it up with scripture as I don't remember it.

As an adult I formed the opinion that burial rites including cremation vary by culture and environment. Places that are low may not support burial, think New Orleans.

Sometimes you have to do what is practical. It is not necessarally a right or wrong issue.

 

In Holland, a body may be buried for ten years and then the space is reused. Other countries, especially Europe, have a land availability problem. Cremation makes far better sense.

As has already been mentioned, the soul moves on immediately and the body just doesn't matter. Cremation is on my menu.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Actually, I was hoping to be sent to a taxidermist so's I could be propped up by the Jukebox when I die-----Just fill my boots full of sand----place an
iced tea in my hand. Of course, if you place a beer there that will keep someone else from drink'n it. BUT it might just put ideas in their head...

 

What would be real nice is if they just stick you in the ground and plant a tree on the spot. Now that would make some sense. Another idea would be to bury people under sidewalks and under streets. In that way you could establish a real walk of fame----or at the least be able to walk on someone who might have walked on others in life...

 

Greetings,

In the past Atheists and Agnostics would be cremated and their reason for this was to deny the bodily resurrection of the Christian. If there is any possibility that cremation could be interpreted as denying that important doctrine, I would say that a Christian should NOT be cremated. This could cause scandal. However, if there is possibility of this interpretation, then I have no problem with it.

peace

 

Not while they're alive. But afterwards, it's of no concern. Our bodies are empty shells, completely worthless. It doesn't matter if they're dumped, cremated, or dessicated and sold at auction to the highest bidder (a Star Trek reference... sorry, I couldn't resist).

Scripture doesn't dictate a specific "Christian burial", and doesn't place a ban on customs such as cremation. Hence. it's entirely up to you and your family.

As for me, I wish to be cremated. I think that full-body cemetary burial is not the best use of space, either envirnmentally or monetarily. I would rather that my family take my money and use it to improve their lives instead of my burial plot.

 

Greetings,

Cremation would be much better than Soylent Green.

peace

 

There is no scripture either for OR against cremation.

As far as I am concerned, it is up to the individual.

If we are dead when Christ comes for us, He will find us no matter HOW we were buried...

 

To quote Monty Python's Flying Circus "....both a bit of a shock really if you're not quite dead...."

I HATE the heat. However a nice lay down in the dark, now THAT'S LIVING!

 

Cremation, itself, is not specifically prohibited in my limit research. It seems the "prohibition" is based in Catholic tradition. I got this article from the Catholic Encyclopedia. There are no Biblical references but many from their history.

I've seen this passage used to speak against cremation.

"And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD." (Lev 18:21)


I don't know of any Christian families who considered the cremation of their dead as being an appeasing sacrifice to any pagan deity. If we had to avoid even a shadow of paganism, we'd have to forgo embalming as well- a practice of the Egyptians.

Personally, my wife is having me cremated and putting my ashes in an hourglass. That way, come Sunday mornings, she can flip me over and let me run for an hour. Beats a 10-year lease on a burial plot, me thinks.

 

If I die first, I've told my husband to cremate me and put me in a can of white paint. He's to paint our bedroom ceiling with that paint so he'll think of me every night.