Q. Is it wrong for a Christian to choose to be cremated?
A. Burial and cremation are personal choices;
So we’re done. The answer is “No.”
the Bible does not prescribe a particular method for disposing of bodies after death.
Still “No.”
However, Christians have historically followed the Jewish custom of burial, for several reasons.
So “Yes”, then?
First, it shows respect for our physical bodies, which are the creation of God. We are "fearfully and wonderfully made," the Bible says (Ps. 139:14).
Fear, a wonderful trait for any religion.
Jesus Himself chose to come to earth in a physical body just like ours, and He was resurrected in that same body.
As told in the clear contemporary documentation of…I’m sure it’s around here somewhere…
Lets see, Jesus was a big, important figure in first century religion. I’m sure there are lots of people who wrote about him at the time…
Rats.
No worries. I’ll keep looking!
Our bodies are also destined for resurrection;
Really?!? I thought that was reserved for “the Family”
our "natural" bodies will be gloriously transformed into "spiritual" bodies when the dead in Christ are raised (1 Cor. 15).
Sounds great!
At that time, when we receive our glorified bodies, it will not matter whether we were buried or cremated at death.
So we’re back to “No.” Your concision is amazing!
Many Christians who have perished in fires have been involuntarily cremated.
Clearly “No.”
Think of those believers who lost their lives in the collapse of the World Trade Center, for example.
“Randolph Scott!”
Most of the bodies were not recovered; the victims' remains were obliterated and their ashes scattered in the massive pile of rubble. It was humanly impossible to identify the dead, yet the God who created them can identify their bodies down to the last atom.
Cool! Just a side question – for the guy who had just clipped his fingernails before the planes hit, do those atoms count as still his? At what point do the atoms of someone’s spit stop being part of him and start being not his atoms anymore? I’m just asking.
And He will resurrect them "in the twinkling of an eye," exactly as He will those Christians whose bodies were buried and decomposed naturally.
So we’re back to “No.”. It seems odd to use 262 words just to say “No.”
Burial or cremation is a very personal choice.
Ah! A time honored tradition of school kids reaching a word requirement – repeat yourself unnecessarily.
You should discuss it with your closest family members before making a decision, so they will be comfortable in carrying out your decision and living with the memories.
Very good advice! It got really wordy in the middle and never really said “No, it’s not wrong”, so Johhny, you get a C+.
No comments:
Post a Comment