Should Christians be Buried or Cremated?
If you’ve recently experienced the pain of losing someone close to you, then perhaps you also know the pain and challenges that come along with the days that follow when it comes to planning funeral services, coordinating with family members, and trying to allow time to grieve and mourn. As human beings, we all share the desire to see loved ones that have passed away be properly cared for after they pass.
In the midst of challenging economic times, the rising costs of funeral services have been one factor that has led to a rise in the use of cremation services over traditional burial.
In considering cremation or burial for yourself, or for your loved ones that have not left any specifications behind, what factors should be weighed? Is there a clear Biblical position that can apply to this decision?
A recent article published by the Washington Post sites that by the year 2040, 4 out of 5 Americans are projected to choose cremation over casket burial, according to both CANA and the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA). Compare this to data from the 1970s when cremation was very rarely used in the United States.
There are multiple factors that have led to this increase in demand for cremation services, but perhaps the most prevailing factor in the rise of cremation services is the rising costs that are associated with funeral services, caskets, and securing a burial plot.
Perhaps another reason that cremation is on the rise is a growing lack of concern and reverence for the body, that perhaps was once a more dominant force in culture.
What Does Scripture Say?
There is nothing in the Old or New Testament that specifically forbids the practice of cremation. The first actual mention of any type of cremation in the Bible is in the book of 1 Samuel where Saul and his sons are burned and then their bones buried after terrible ravages were inflicted on their bodies. (1 Samuel 31:11-13) However, this was probably done for sanitary reasons rather than for a ceremonial conviction.
Moving forward in history, the Romans and Greeks began cremating their dead around 600-800 BCE, as their dominant culture primarily believed that there was no life after death. This view was opposed by those who believed in God during that time and held to a belief in the importance of the physical body and the afterlife. And we can trace the importance and significance of burial all the way back to Genesis 23 where Abraham purchases a cave so that he could bury his wife, Sarah.
If you choose cremation, or perhaps financially can’t afford a burial, be encouraged, this act should not be considered sinful.
In Scripture, this is not a black-and-white issue, such as other moral issues or clear commands from God. Christ followers have the freedom to choose based on their own personal convictions in regard to this choice for themselves or their loved ones.
However, if someone were to approach me, as a pastor, and ask for my advice on what they should choose, I would most often counsel them towards burial. Take a look at these three reasons that have helped me come to this conclusion.
1. The Importance of the Body
In many of Paul’s writings from the New Testament, we see his emphasis on the importance of the body. In 1 Corinthians Paul writes,
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body”. – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
The treatment and adornment of our physical bodies as a temple where the Holy Spirit dwells should in many ways serve as an encouragement and reminder of how we can do harm or good to our bodies every day with the choices that we make. This sacred belief and emphasis on the body was an early Christian teaching that perhaps we have a hard time fully understanding in our modern culture.
2. Aids with the Grieving Process
More often than not, a burial is associated with a funeral service, in which family members and loved ones have an opportunity to view the body for a final time. The final closing of the casket, carrying the casket to the gravesite, and the ceremony at the gravesite, are all ways that I’ve personally been able to have closure in situations where I’ve lost people close to me.
Funerals and burial procedures are fundamental to how we mourn, how we grieve, and how we connect with others. And more importantly, they reflect what it means for us to be human and for us to love.
In the instance of someone opting for a closed casket burial there is still significance in the funeral proceedings as it relates to closure and mourning.
3. The Hope of the Resurrected Body
There is a biblical pattern that points to burying your loved ones as a sign that you believe in the resurrection of the body. Circling back to my first point, the body is sacred and precious, and one day Christ promises new bodies that will be resurrected from the dead, ascending into heaven.
Certainly, it could be said that even in the case of burial, the body will eventually decompose. It is no more “there” in one hundred years than if you cremated it. However, in making the case for burial, we are talking about the symbolic significance of a body, lovingly laid out in a coffin for others to pay their respects and goodbyes. The act of seeing a loved one’s body, one last time, has helped me to point to the hope of the future resurrection of the body that Christ promises for all who believe in his name.
