For most of my life, I have heard (and even adopted) the conviction that cremation was an UN-Biblical manner of dealing with the human body after the experience of death. Many arguments were made to defend such objection to cremation. The primary position seemed to be that God has promised that our bodies will be re-joined with our spirits and resurrected to spend eternity with God and Jesus and that cremation removed the existence of these buried bodies.

            Some have cited that many persons have had their bodies destroyed in fires and that God will be able to perform the resurrection in these instances. It has been noted that cremation was really nothing different and God will certainly be able to accomplish the resurrection then.

            I must admit that I have never been in favor of cremation, but have never had such spiritual objections to the practice.

            My personal “opinion” on the practice of cremation was changed a few years ago when the current “non-family” owners of an old family farm requested permission to move the family graves from their farm to a nearby cemetery, thus allowing them to more easily farm their field. The graves in this family cemetery were all seventy-five “plus” years old. Permission was granted to make this move and it was handled with much care and dignity. Photographs were taken so as to share the process with any concerned persons.

            The process of moving these graves revealed that there was little remaining in these graves except for the metal parts of the coffins and a pair of plastic false teeth. (I was amazed that these teeth appeared so much like current ones.)

            After reviewing this grave-moving, it revealed to me that the passing of time caused the human remains to return to the dust of the earth, and cremation only hastened this process.

            A review of some Bible Scriptures reminds us that (1) We were created from dust. & (2) We normally will return to dust after physical death. (Note the following Scriptures) (Highlighting is mine)

  • Genesis 2:7 (ASV) 7And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
  • Genesis 3:19 (ASV) 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.
  • Psalm 104:29 (ASV) 29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled; Thou takest away their breath, they die, And return to their dust.
  • Ecclesiastes 3:20 (ASV) 20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
  • Ecclesiastes 12:7-8 (NKJV) 7 Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it. 8“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “All is
  • Daniel 12:2 (ASV) 2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

                                    After considering the above thoughts and Scriptures, I am not saying that there is any preference for the practice of cremation, but only to indicate that I can see no Biblical objection to the practice.

            May God lead each of us to approach the noted subject with love and discretion and not make the Bible say more than it does.

 

James Rowe is currently a member of the Hikes Point Christian Church in Louisville and serves on the Board of Directors of the Southeastern Christian Education Corp.