burial or cremation

[shakinah]

i was listening recently to a teaching that suggested that a christian should be buried and not cremated, for me i have never thought this to be true and would reference those christian martyrs that were burnt at the stake. After further study i can see that cremation was actually illegal in the uk until 1885. i was just wondering other peoples opinions on the matter was. For many today the cost is a major factor in the type of funeral received. The teaching seemed to suggest that cremation comes from philosophies such as hinduism where they believe there is no longer any use for the body. I suppose it brings up the question as to whether you believe the physical body is to be raised up at the resurrection as christs body was. I know from past studies people even believed that your coffin had to be positioned in a certain direction. So i am wondering what of this teaching is the leftovers from middle ages superstition or if there is any biblical principal here.

So although i dont believe it to be a salvation issue personally, i did wonder peoples views on it. Without naming the particular teacher whom i have respect for on many teachings, i was taken back at this suggestion, so am i missing something....

 

[Willie-T]

Light the match. It's more sensible and a lot cheaper.

 

[BeyondET]

Light the match. It's more sensible and a lot cheaper.

I haven't had a match since superman died. lol

 

[BeyondET]

After the death of Sixtus, the prefect of Rome demanded that St Lawrence turn over the riches of the Church. St Ambrose is the earliest source for the narrative that St Lawrence asked for three days to gather the wealth. He worked swiftly to distribute as much Church property to the indigent as possible, so as to prevent its being seized by the prefect. On the third day, at the head of a small delegation, he presented himself to the prefect, and when ordered to deliver the treasures of the Church he presented the indigent, the crippled, the blind, and the suffering, and declared that these were the true treasures of the Church. One account records him declaring to the prefect, "The Church is truly rich, far richer than your emperor." This act of defiance led directly to his martyrdom and can be compared to the parallel Roman tale of the jewels of Cornelia.

On 10 August, St Lawrence, the last of the seven deacons, and therefore, the ranking Church official, suffered a martyr's death.

As deacon in Rome, St Lawrence was responsible for the material goods of the Church and the distribution of alms to the poor. St Ambrose of Milan relates that when the treasures of the Church were demanded of St Lawrence by the Prefect of Rome, he brought forward the poor, to whom he had distributed the treasure as alms. "Behold in these poor persons the treasures which I promised to show you; to which I will add pearls and precious stones, those widows and consecrated virgins, which are the Church's crown." The Prefect was so angry that he had a great gridiron prepared with hot coals beneath it, and had Lawrence placed on it, hence St Lawrence's association with the gridiron. After the martyr had suffered pain for a long time, the legend concludes, he cheerfully declared: "I'm well done. Turn me over!"

 

[Marcelo]

Our bodies will turn into dust anyway, so cremation will only speed the process.