Should Christians Be Cremated?

[Video starts] Travis: Hi my name is Travis, from San Leandro, California and I just wanted to know if cremation is practiced by the people of God. [Video ends] Brother Bob Pellien: Thank you, Travis, for your question. Death is something that no one living in this world can avoid. It’s important to note first off that here—there’s no religious rituals that are performed for any member of the Church Of Christ who passes away. For example, there’s no prayers of the dead, there’s no religious ceremonies or services that members of the Church Of Christ take part in after losing a loved one. Why not? Well according to the Bible the dead will never again take part in anything that happens in this world. That’s mentioned in the Bible in Ecclesiastes chapter 9, verse 6: They will never again take part in anything that happens in this world [Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 Good News Translation] Brother Bob: Nevertheless, the bereaved of the dead strive to give a proper or decent burial for their deceased loved ones, and well, this is understandable and of course very reasonable as well. But, Travis, everything that we do, all of our actions during this highly emotional moment in one’s life as to be—which by the way, is often influenced by cultural norms, whatever those actions may be, they have to be guided by God who is the One who, of course, then will be the One to comfort people in their time of loss by means of the power of the Holy Spirit. Should we cremate our deceased loved ones?                   What is cremation? Brother Bob: First, well, what does that even mean? Through cremation the remains of the deceased will be burned, and the ashes will be placed in an urn or sometimes dispersed over soil or water. [On-screen graphics]  cre-mate  past tense: cremated; past participle: cremated dispose of (dead person’s body) by burning it into ashes, typically after a funeral ceremony] What happened to people who died in the Bible? Brother Bob: Let’s take a look at how the people of God have set the example for us regarding this. We turn to the book of Genesis verses 1-4 we’ll also read verses 10 and 11 Good News Bible: Sarah lived to be 127 years old. She died in Hebron in the land of Canaan, and Abraham mourned her death. He left the place where his wife’s body was lying, went to the Hittites, and said, “I am a foreigner living here among you; sell me some land, so that I can bury my wife.” Ephron himself was sitting with the other Hittites at the meeting place at the city gate; he answered in the hearing of everyone there, “Listen sir; I will give you the whole field and the cave that is in it. Here in the presence of my own people, I will give it to you, so that you can bury your wife.  [Genesis 23:1-4, 10-11 Good News Bible] Brother Bob: So, Travis, dear friends, burial was clearly the practice of God’s people, for example, in this case of Sarah, Abraham’s wife. Abraham, well he mourned her death and buried her body into the ground. There [are] so many more examples in the Bible that really show to us God’s people burying their loved ones into the ground. For example in the book of Genesis 50:26: They embalmed his body and put it in a coffin.  [Genesis 50:26 Good News Bible] Brother Bob: As well in the book of Joshua 24:32: Now they buried the bones of Joseph,  [Joshua 24:32 Amplified Bible] Brother Bob: In those verses the Bible speaks about the processes that Joseph’s family went through, so as to obey God’s expectations or commandment of burying those who had served the Lord God in ancient times. One of the most famous individuals mentioned in the Bible is Moses, of course. Everyone has heard of Moses. What did God himself do with Moses after he died? Did He burn him, cremate him, and sprinkle his ashes? Let’s turn to the book of Deuteronomy this time wherein the Bible gives a response to that, verses 5 and 6. Let’s take a look at what’s recorded there: So Moses, the LORD’s servant, died there in the land of Moab, as the Lord had said he would. The LORD buried him in a valley in Moab, opposite the town of Bethpeor, b