Christian morals

32. What do you think of cremation?

I am against cremation (which is a process through which a dead person’s body is burned to ashes which afterward are put inside a urn) because the Scripture teaches me that in the days of Jesus first and then in the days of the apostles the disciples of the Lord who died were buried and not cremated and reduced to ashes by fire. Lazarus’ dead body was laid in a tomb (John 11:17); John the Baptist also was buried (Matthew 14:12); Stephen was buried (Acts 8:2). But I can mention some other biblical examples which are older, such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who were all buried (Gen. 25:9; 35:29; 50:12-13). Moses also was buried, and listen to what the Scripture says about his burial: “And he [God] buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day” (Deuteronomy 34:6). Please, notice that it was God Himself who buried Moses!! And I could mention many more examples of holy men who were buried.

Therefore, dead people’s bodies should be buried. I ask you, ‘Why should we cremate the dead bodies of the saints and shouldn’t we allow God to reduce them to dust?’ Yes, for it is God who reduces them to dust because Moses said to God: “You turn men back to dust saying, “Return to dust, O sons of men” ” (Psalm 90:3 – NIV). Why should we turn men back to dust? That is, why should we do what God Himself has appointed to do without the help of man? Indeed, there is no reason to do such a thing, at least to me there is no reason.

Perhaps someone will say that in this way, that is, by burning dead bodies to ashes, we solve the cemetery space problem, for cemeteries are full up!! Nonsense, just nonsense. You will surely find a cemetery where to put a dead person’s body. Someone else will say that in this way he will keep the ashes of his dead loved ones in his house, and such a person is to be rebuked because this custom is not fitting for the saints; the dust of the dead people must remain in the cemetery. There could be also someone who says that he has decided to be cremated because today cremation is the cheapest way of burying dead people and he also is to be rebuked because we cannot go against the Word of God in order to save money.

The Roman Catholic Church has recently sided in favour of cremation, and one of his well known members, in order to support cremation, has stated that God can raise all the dead bodies, both those which were cremated and those which were not cremated, to Him there is no difference!!! This is the same thing which is said by all those Evangelicals who are in favour of cremation. Of course, God can raise all the dead, whether they were cremated or not, He is Almighty! However, we are not against cremation because we think that cremation can hinder God from raising the dead, but we are against it because we believe that we should not do what God alone has the right to do, that is, to turn men back to dust.

Therefore I exhort believers to reject cremation. Let the heathen, who don’t know God, do such a thing, but as for us, who are children of God, let us abstain from cremation.

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