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Is Cremation Scriptural?
A burning question frequently raised is, “Is cremation scriptural?” Personally, I plan on being cremated as a form of stewardship due to the costs of caskets. That might be thinking outside of the box, but I do believe it is well-grounded. OK, enough of the fun puns. Is cremation scriptural?
Two common reasons given for burials are: Biblical examples, and the resurrection. When looking at processings of the human body within the Bible, we do see mainly burials. What is missing in some’s thinking is cremains are also often buried. Plus, cremation has the same effect as burying a body whole in that the body does return to dust (Genesis 3:19). There is one example of a cremation in the Bible, and that is 1 Samuel 31 where the residents of Jabesh-gilead rescued the bodies of Saul and his sons from being hung on a wall and burned the bodies. This is an act of honoring these men.
As for the resurrection and the scattering of the ashes, does anyone think God’s power is so weak as to be unable to gather our ashes from all their locations? I am reminded of Revelation 20:13 which reads, “Then the sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave their dead; all were judged according to their works”. When a body was buried at sea or bodes fell into the sea during storms and battles, such is not beyond God’s power.
Let’s close with the words of Jesus when discussing the resurrection: “You are deceived, because you don’t know the Scriptures or the power of God” (Matthew 22:29).
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