Question:
I
have made funeral
plans to be cremated,
but I cannot find
anything in the
Bible that says
this practice
is biblically
acceptable. What
about spreading
my ashes?
Answer:
The
prophet Amos mentions
the procedure
of cremation after
warning the people
of an impending
invasion. He said,
“If there remain
ten men in one
house, a man’s
uncle shall take
him up, and he
that burneth him,
to bring out the
bones of the house,”
(Amos 6:9‑10
KJV). The dead
bodies found in
the houses were
to be cremated.
When
King Saul and
his sons perished
in battle the
Bible declares,
“When the inhabitants
of Jabesh‑gilead
heard what the
Philistines had
done to Saul,
all the valiant
men rose and walked
all night, and
took the bodies
of Saul and the
bodies of his
sons from the
wall of Beth‑Shan,
and they came
to Jabesh and
burned them there,”
(1Sam 31:11).
Someone might
say, “Who cares?
Saul is burning
in hell anyway.”
Nobody knows that
for certain. Samuel
told Saul, “Tomorrow
you and your sons
will be with me,”
(1Sam 28:19).
I
cannot find Scripture
condemning or
specifically commending
cremation. Neither
can I find the
word Bible in
the Bible. Thus
I believe there
is liberty. (See
2Cor 3:17.) Sharks
eat people and
people have been
burned to death
in wars and forest
fires. Christians
have been burned
at stakes for
their faith. The
cowboy in the
Old West died
on the prairie,
decayed into the
earth, and fertilized
the grass which
was eaten by the
cow. Yikes stripes!
I tend to make
more over the
person, not the
carcass. God controls
the molecules
of the bodies.
Once
I leave my body
I don’t care how
they dispose of
this old house.
Our bodies are
described as a
house which is
conducive to life
on planet earth.
(See 2Cor 5:1.)
Death is not the
end of me once
I depart from
this body. Someone
might ask, “What
about the bodies
to be raised at
the rapture of
the church?” God
controls the molecules,
and He can handle
it. I personally
cannot wait for
the new model
which will never
develop arthritis
or require surgery.
Cremation
only speeds the
process of what
worms will do
over time. If
anyone still has
a problem with
cremation, he
should be buried
instead of letting
the worms to do
the job. Loved
ones may have
concerns about
cremation. You
might consider
explaining your
reasons to
them.
