DO YOU BELIEVE CREMATION IS A VIABLE OPTION?

[wwjd_kilden]

I see no biblical reason not to choose cremation (if God needs a perfect body to resurrect us, he isn't Almighty after all, is He?) Besides, we will be given a new body in heaven, so the state of the old body don't matter.

I think it is a matter of two things: if it is affordable for the family, and whether or not they feel they need a grave to visit.
For my part, I don't care what happens to my body after I am dead, I will be too busy worshiping God when I come to heaven anyway.

 

[Fencepost]

I have been praying about this and concerned ever since my grandfather was cremated 16 years. I will continue to search and pray about this but I can not with a clear conscience be apart of this poll atm. I will hopefully if the Lord willing find a answer soon. I have to goto church be back soon.

 

[MissCris]

When I die, if any of my organs are any good to anyone, take 'em. Then light a fire under my...ha, well, you know. I'd like to be cremated. I don't like the idea of my loved ones having to go to a cemetery to visit a grave...I would rather them visit the places I liked to go and remember me that way.

 

[Sarah88]

Well judging by the fact that I probably won't be miraculously resurrected after three days of being dead..due to me not being the son o God and all...i think this might be the weakest argument. Especially since our bodies are just earthly vessels, i really dont think it matters what happens to them when we die. You could sell mine to science or feed it to a pack of rapid wolves for all im concerned

LOL! Very true! I agree. The real me is not going to be there anymore. That's just my "shell".

 

[RickyZ]

It seems to me that the underlying implication of this question is "What happens if there is no body to resurrect?" I think that Jesus, Himself, and the Apostle, Paul both addressed this issue. The religious leaders of the time asked Jesus a complicated question about marriage and resurrection, hoping, no doubt, to trip him up on some fine point of Jewish law.

"Jesus replied, 'The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection.'" (Luke 20:34-36, emphasis added)

And Paul said, "So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: 'The first man Adam became a living being'; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. (1 Corinthians:42-47)

I believe that these passages are pretty conclusive evidence that the body which is raised on Resurrection Day will not be the same body that was buried in the ground when the person died. Therefore, cremation or burial does not seem to make a whole lot of difference to God.

Jesus' physical body was raised, else it would still be in the tomb.

 

[sanglina]

I would like to be buried. I know I'll not feel anything once I am dead but still the though of my lifeless body consumed by fire scares me to bits. I would rather want my dead body to decay on its own by being buried.

 

[oOfallen_angelOo]

Well Jesus sorta kinda ascended to heaven lol, only the 144,000 get to go to heaven alive, so unless your one of them he he...

The only verse I've encountered about the physical body and dying, is simply one in Ecclesiastes 12:7 that says the body returns to the ground where it came from ( dust of the earth technically.) What happens to your physical body after you die doesn't really matter because all the physical body is for is to assist in containing and refining the soul.

Genesis said we came from the dust of the ground; even decaying bodies turn to dust, and the ash from cremation is also just dust.

But hey, burials tend to be more formal and sweeter I think than watching your love one burst into flames

 

[Trax]

Thank you for addressing or at least bringing up the Biblical aspects or concerns related to
Cremation. It should be considered what 'resurrection of the dead' and similar concepts
from scripture mean in practical application. I would like to see more discussion on this.

God created everything. Think about it. I mean REALLY think about it. Who is going to
create that new glorified body for the believer? If He started with nothing and created all things,
He don't need decayed body parts to fashion a new body. What did Rome do to believers?
They burned that at the stake. Not a difficult task for God to get the believer up and running.
Lazarus came out of the tomb when Jesus called his name. If Jesus hadn't singled Lazarus out by
name, when He said, "Come forth", everyone would have come out of the grave. That's how easy
it will be for Jesus to raise the believers. All He'll have to say is, "Sheep, come here" and we gone,
new body and everything.

 

[BishopSEH]

I am not taking part in the poll because its too limited.

Ok, so I have checked the Bible and there is nothing in it about how we are to handle the bodies of the departed. I do know that the Bible refers to the boy as a tent. A temporary dwelling.

As to what my Wife and I have decided on. We are both going to be cremated and mixed together in a common urn. That urn will then in turn, be buried.

 

[nathan3]

Genesis 3:19 King James Version

19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

People are nothing more then dirt at the end of the bodies life.

Its written that moment you die; you return to God. Paul said once you die. you return to God in a different body. Your not going to be able to stand in front of God with the body your in now. As the scriptures so eloquently state: You have a better one that waiting. 1 Corinthians 15 (King James Version)

There's nothing wrong with cremation. It's cheaper . Not many people have the money for much ells. Your not going to need it were your going.

 

[StephenH]

I personally don't believe there's anything wrong with cremation. I don't care what happens to my body once I'm gone, as I'll no longer have need for my earthly body until after the resurrection when myself resurrected body and my spirit are reunited.

He can just will it - it doesn't matter where you are or how you were buried or your body disposed of.

I look forward to that day.

 

[RickyZ]

Jesus' physical body was raised, else it would still be in the tomb.

Sorry I've been gone but I saw this thread as I was leaving and wanted to respond. As I hate the glass keyboards it had to wait until now.

Jesus' physical body was raised, else it would have been in the tomb.

Jesus' new body is spiritual, that's true. But go back to the beginning. Man was both physical and spiritual, when he fell he lost the spiritual connection. So when the Messiah returns to restore things as they were, one of those things will be the spiritual/physical union. Yes Jesus' body (and ours to be) is spiritual. But it did and we will have a physical component, based upon the physical components we embody today.

Else we would be in the tomb, unlike Him.

So does it then matter whether we be buried, burnt, or blown to smithereens? No. Matter can neither be created or destroyed, all we can do is change it's appearance. But God's work in creation, the resurrection, and the final 'decreation' of the old and the creation of the new, all occur at the subatomic level. So the 'harvesting' of your atoms, no matter where they might be, will be easily accomplished.

Now, I don't have scripture for that last one (well I do but it's a whole 'nother post), it's an understanding based upon a lifetime of experience and learning; but I do know from scripture that

Jesus' physical body was raised, else it would have been in the tomb.

 

[Tracy3761]

I've always believed cremation was wrong. However, when my dear husband passed away in 2012 after a lengthy illness ... I had no money and wasn't able to get any. I almost became homeless. I had no choice but to have him cremated. And it bothers me GREATLY. I feel like I failed him. I'm hoping not only does God forgive me, but that my husband does too.

 

[chubbena]

This is what i mean...i SPECIFFICALLY said there are no verses that opposes cremetation, BUT that burial IS mentioned frequently in the bible ! i specifically mentioned that! I KNOW there are none that say "you shall not get cremated" but ....on the other hand, burial is a the option used frequently in the bible.

I KNOW there were alot of customs back then. I know jesus came to fulfill the law, that we are no longer in it. Your stating the obvious.
Burial wasnt law. HOWEVER, imo, these laws are placed in the old testement, thats the way God wanted us to live, but we failed to do so. They are reasons God put them in the Old Testement, it still reflects the way God would have wanted us to act. If you fail to see this, then i am wasting my time.

I have given you verses and examples from the bible which support what i am saying.

You sure?
Amos 2
This is what the Lord says: "For three sins of Moab, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath. Because he burned, as if to lime, the bones of Edom's king. I will send fire upon Moab that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth."
Apparently here in the context it's a sin burning dead bodies to lime.
And the cremations recorded in the scripture were for criminals.

 

[Angela53510]

Old, old post!!!

 

[RickyZ]

But worth revisiting