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Question: What does the Bible say about cremation?

1. Passages--What few Biblical references are made to cremation are
in the Old Testament.
     1 Sam. 31:11-13: Burning of bodies of Saul & his sons.
Probably was an emergency measure lest the Philistines further
molest the bodies.
     Lev.20:14; 21:9: Those guilty of sexual immorality
     Josh. 7:15,25: Those under a curse such as Achan and his
family were to be burned.
     Occurrence of cremation is rare and exceptional. 


2. Lack of proper burial was a great misfortune 1 Kgs.13:22; Jer.
16:6.
     
3. Related passages: Amos 2:1: He (Moab) burned the bones of the
king of Edom into lime. cf. Amos 6:10.

4. Quotation from Edersheim: "Cremation was denounced as a purely
heathen practice, contrary to the whole spirit of Old Testament
teaching." (Sketches of Jewish Life, p. 169

5. Ghassul flourished during the latter half of the [?] fourth
millennium. Archaeologists have documented the Ghassulian custom of
burying the dead in ossuaries (ceramic receptacles for bones) in
many other areas, particularly the coastal cities near modern Tel
Aviv. These ossuaries were usually shaped like animals or houses,
in imitation of those used in daily life. After the body was
cremated mourners buried the ossuary in a stone cistern together
with provisions for the afterlife. (The Bible Almanac, p.95).

6. Guy Woods: Life is the union of the body and spirit; death the
condition  resulting from their separation. Once the spirit has
flown, the body is lifeless and begins its return to its original
elements. Whether the return is the slow disintegration of the body
through the processes of decay or is achieved in seconds by fire,
the result is the same--the return of the body's elements to their
original state. In the resurrection, these "building blocks" will
be re-assembled...
     We are taught in the New Testament, largely by example, to
exhibit proper respect for the dead and to deal with them in
dignified and respectful fashion...

7. As I reflect upon the question, emphasis is placed on using
one's body in life to glorify the Lord (Rom. 12:1,2; 1 Cor. 6:18-
20); and upon the entrance of the soul into the hadean world at the
point of death. Emphasis is not given to the disposal of the body.
Stress is not placed on the funeral, but upon the life one lives
prior to the funeral. cf. Lk.12:4; Matt. 10:28.

8. The question does not ask for my personal preference. I do not
want cremation for my self, or for any member of my family. But I
know of no New Testament principle that is violated by cremation,
if one does make that choice.


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