Cremation? I'm not sure what the Bible teaches on this. I know it is not mentioned specifically,

[patricia92243]

but I thought there might something that sort of pointed us in one direction or the other.

[whistle]

1. Much is said in the bible about cremation

<snip>
History of Cremation:
Most archaeologists believe that cremation was invented during the stone age, about 3000 BCE. 1 It was most likely first used in Europe or the Near East. It became the most common method of disposing of bodies by 800 BCE in Greece, and 600 BCE in Rome. However, other societies had other methods: in ancient Israel, sepulchers (tombs or vaults) were used for burial; cremation was shunned. The body was exposed to the air of the tomb and simply decomposed.
the early Christian church also rejected cremation, partly because of its association with Pagan societies of Greece and Rome. Christians buried their dead in graves or in catacombs (underground vaults).
in ancient Egypt, bodies were embalmed.
in ancient China, they were buried.


When Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, and the followers of other religions were exiled or exterminated, burial became the only method of disposing of bodies throughout Europe.

An Italian, Professor Brunetti, developed the first modern cremation chamber in the 1870's. This triggered a movement towards cremation in Europe and North America, which has continued to the present day. In 1886, the Roman Catholic Church officially banned cremations. Church members as recently as World War II were excommunicated for arranging them. The Eastern Orthodox ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople stated in 1961 that "There is no formal Orthodox rule against cremation, but there is a heavy weight of custom and sentiment in favor of Christian burial" 2

There are currently about 1,100 crematories and 470,915 cremations per year in North America.



What Does The Bible Say About Cremation?:
The Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) has a few references to the disposal by burning in fire. Some verses describe executions by Philistines or Babylonians. Burning of bodies and objects in ancient Israel were mostly reserved for idols, criminals or enemies:

Genesis 38:24: Judah initially ordered his pregnant daughter-in-law to be burned to death because she was guilty of prostitution. This action would have caused the death of the woman and her twin fetuses.
Exodus 32:20: Moses destroyed the golden calf by burning it.
Leviticus 20:14: If a man marries both a woman and her mother, then all three "must be burned in the fire" (NIV). The passage is ambiguous: it is not known whether they would be burned alive, or would be stoned to death first, and their bodies burned
Leviticus 21:9: If the daughter of a priest becomes a prostitute, then she "must be burned in the fire." (NIV)
Numbers 16:35: God exterminated Korah and 250 Israelite men with fire because they opposed Moses.
Deuteronomy 7:25: God commanded that the idols of Pagan Gods be destroyed with fire.
Joshua 7:15-25: After Joshua and his army exterminated the men, women and innocent children of Jericho, a few soldiers disobeyed God's command and looted the city. As punishment for the theft, and to pay for Israel's disgrace, God ordered the thieves to be burned. They were stoned to death; their bodies were burned and buried in what was called the Valley of Achor.
Judges 15:6: The Philistines burned Samson's wife and father-in-law to death.
1 Samuel 31:11-13: Earlier in the chapter, Saul had been wounded and asked for assisted suicide from his armor-bearer. The latter refused, so Saul committed suicide himself. The Philistines impaled Saul's body and those of his sons and left them on public display. The people of Jabesh Gilead retrieved the bodies, burned them and later buried the remaining bones in Gilead. There have been a number theories raised to account for this unusual treatment to a hero: burning might have a local custom in Gilead.
the people of Gilead may have been worried that the Philistines might dig up the bodies and further desecrate them.
burning might have been necessary because their bodies may have partly decomposed.
the Hebrew word translated as "burnt" might actually mean "annointed"; thus, the bodies might not have been burned after all.

2 Kings 10:26: Jehu demolished a temple consecrated to the God Baal and burned its sacred stone.
Jeremiah 29:22: This verse contains a curse which refers to the time that the Babylonians burned Zedekiah and Ahab by fire.
Amos 2:1: God proclaimed a death curse on Moab because he had reduced the bones of the king of Edom to lime through burning.


The Christian Scriptures (New Testament) contain few references to burning of bodies or objects: Acts 19:19: Sorcerers who were converted to Christianity brought their scrolls out to be burned.
Revelation 20:15: The fate of those whose names were not written in the Book of Life is to be thrown into the lake of fire.

<MORE>

http://www.religioustolerance.org/crematio.htm

[benddem]

3. interesting

that the bible verses you quote imply the person is burned alive. So much for that book of love and compassion.

[VTMechEngr]

5. The old testement documents the history of the Jewish people.

And it was a violent time. They had to fight many tribes to maintain their place in Israel.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

6. I just can't get down with a God that is that mean. nt

[TechBear_Seattle]

2. Traditionally, Christian doctrine has strongly opposed any mutilation of the body

This is derived from the belief that people will be resurrected bodily. If the body has been burned to ashes, there would be no body to resurrect. For many centuries, this fear made it illegal to dissect human corpses for the study of anatomy. As with all other Christian doctrines, this one has changed considerably over two millennia, and few religious leaders would make such a claim today.

[patricia92243]

7. I know that people think the body shouldn't be burned because of the resurrection, but I have always

thought that people that died at sea and their bodies were not there would be resurredted - their spirit or soul would be resurrected.

[Igel]

4. Not mentioned.

Most people today wouldn't like the way the Israelites tended to dispose of their dead.

They'd deposit them in tombs so that everything that could rot did rot. A year or so later they'd dump the bones in vaults under or near the tomb itself, so the tomb could be reused. When one was "gathered to one's fathers" one's bones were literally dumped into the same pit as one's fathers' bones were; one was not simply buried. If you could afford it, you'd have an ossuary, so your bones would at least be kept separate. It puts the 'valley of dry bones' in a bit of perspective.

Those that fell in the wilderness were buried there. Those that were respected had their bones taken along for proper interring. Individual burial was not the respectful thing to do, their graves were unknown, they were not with their tribe or clan or family. This is precisely the current burial practices, of course.

[TRYPHO]

8. If by Bible you meant Old Testament...

Then you have to go to the Oral Tradition, the Talmud, which became, in Rabbinical times, updated in the Shulchan Aruch. In this, there is no mention of cremation. It isn't allowed. Liberal jews do otherwise, but then to them the laws are irrelevent I suppose. For Christians I imagine the Old Testament has been superceded by the "two rules" theory, so do what's right in your heart (you can't DWJWHD** because he was an orthodox Jew, by all assumptions**).

TRYPHO
* - Do what Jesus would have done
**- that's my new phrase, less offensive than "if he actually ever lived"