Welcome to the new format of Ask the Pastor. The intention is to give an opportunity to the members of Messiah Lutheran Church to ask questions regarding the faith and practice of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. The first question this month is an excellent and timely one! It was sent to us at our website www.ilf.org/messiah by one of our members.

THE QUESTION:
      I have a question for you. I was born & raised in a LCMS home. My parents were against cremation, but I was never given an explanation as to why. My question to you - Is there anything mentioned in the Bible that cremation is wrong or displeasing to God? Thank you & have a great day!

THE ANSWER:
      First of all, what is meant by cremation? Cremation (from the Latin, cremo - to burn) involves the disposing of a dead body by fire.

Cremation generally involves the application of high temperature, typically between 1400 and 2100 Degrees Fahrenheit (760 to 1150 Deg. C), to a wooden box or casket which contains a dead body. The body and container are almost completely consumed; the cremated remains consist of bone fragments and particles, which usually weigh from 4 to 8 pounds (1.8 to 3.6 kg). They are then finely ground into granule form. The entire process takes 3 to 5 hours. Although the attendants attempt to remove all of the remains, a small portion will be left inside the cremation chamber, and subsequently mingled with the next body to be cremated.

In the Bible we notice something almost immediately from the outset. . .that the people of God BURIED their dead. Even though cremation was known and practiced in the ancient world, among the Canaanites for example - the disposal by cremation was never practiced either by the Israelites or the early Church. Why?

Clearly the reason is connected to the high esteem that both the Old and New Testaments attach to the body - a person created in the image of God and by baptism incorporated (literally, to share the body) into the death and resurrection of Jesus. Because both the old and new testaments of the bible attest to the resurrection of the body of the deceased, burial was understood to affirm a belief that a person will rise from the dead with his body in the resurrection of all flesh. Contrasted with cremation, which at times was directly connected to a denial of the resurrection of the body and a physical embodied life after death.

Some of the notable people of the bible who expressly mentioned as having been buried: Abraham, Sarah, Rachel, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Joshua, Eleazer, Moses, Samuel, David, John the Baptist, Stephen and our Lord Himself.

The Church's stance against cremation was also reinforced by those who mocked the belief in the resurrection of the body. Many of the early martyrs were burned at the stake and then their persecutors scattered their ashes as a sign of contempt for this Christian belief. After the legalization of Christianity in the 4th century, cremation generally ceased in the Roman Empire. As Christian culture continued to spread, even in those missionary lands, regular bodily burial became the norm, even in cultures that had once practiced cremation. Due to the religious belief of the people, the civil authorities also outlawed cremation: for example, Charlemagne made cremation a capital offense in 789. The only exception given to this rule was when there may have been a mass death and the spread of disease threatened.

As to the modern movement to encourage and 'mainstream' cremation as method of disposing of a dead body. It was the Freemasons who first obtained official recognition of this practice from various governments. The campaign opened in Italy, the first attempts being made by Brunetti, at Padua, in 1873. Numerous societies were founded after this, at Dresden, Zurich, London, and Paris. In the last city a crematory was established at Pere Lachaise, on the passing of the law of 1889 dealing with freedom of funeral rites. The Church, for this reason, has opposed from the beginning a practice which has been used chiefly by the enemies of the Christian Faith.

The number of cremations in North America has increased dramatically in recent years: from 5% in 1962 to 20% in 1992. As of 1996, about 21% of Americans and 36% of Canadians are cremated at death. Percentages vary from 75% in BC, to 61% in HI, 50% in WA,... 7% in LA, 4% in GA, 3% in MS and 1% in Newfoundland. The high number in British Columbia is partly caused by the large transient population in the province, and the presence of many Hindus and Sikhs who are almost always cremated. Cremation is expected to be the preferred method of disposing of bodies in Canada about 2015 AD.

The Lutheran Cyclopedia, 1954 offers this: The chief objection [to cremation] is that it was originally a heathen custom, that it is not in line with Bible custom, especially with the burial of Jesus, and that it savors of the unbelief which denies the resurrection of the body. Two reasons are usually advanced in its favor are that cremation is more sanitary than burial and in many instances is less costly than the modern mode of internment.

We should not go so far as to say that it is a sin to cremate the remains of a Christian. People may be motivated simply by economic reasons and have no desire or intent in denying the resurrection of the body. Yet on the other hand, we also should be very sensitive to the message we send even by our funerals. We are currently living in a culture which, with its emphasis on the 'new age movement' (which is simply Buddhism rehashed) - which very much denies not the immortality of the soul BUT THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. That belief in the resurrection of the body is central to the Christian faith is clearly evidenced by St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 15. This is why the Son of God became man, because He did not hate what He created (even in ancient Greek philosophy you had the notion around that the material was intrinsically evil and only the soul was good) but by His death and resurrection ushered in the new creation. 'If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation' 2 Cor. 5: 17

The Christian will want to take into account these two major differences between burial and cremation. Burial encourages us to see the body as a seed planted in the ground (an image which both Jesus and St. Paul used) that will one day rise from the dead. Cremation does not allow for that. Secondly, cremation - by the very fact that fire is used, which often in the Bible is connected to the judgment and especially annihilation of evil (re: the prophets of Baal who were consumed by fire at the prayer of Elijah, think of the 'unquenchable fire' of hell, judgment, 2 Peter 3 etc.)

A Christian will want to do everything possible to witness to the hope that is within us, to glorify God in our bodies, even in our death. Think of the witness Lazarus gave when Christ called him from the grave, and think what honor and glory we will give Him too.
Pastor Ledic

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