Hope of Israel Ministries (Ecclesia of YEHOVAH):

Cremation and Burial in the Bible 

When Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, and the followers and leaders of other religions were either exiled or exterminated, burial became the only permitted method of disposing of bodies throughout much of Europe. An Italian, Professor Brunetti, developed the first modern cremation chamber in the 1870s. This triggered a movement towards cremation in Europe and North America, which has continued to the present day. The question is: What does YEHOVAH's Word have to say?

 

by B. A. Robinson

The Cremation Process:

The word cremation comes from the Latin word cremo which means "to burn" -- particularly the burning of the dead.

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. The remains 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 very small portion will be left inside the cremation chamber, and subsequently mingled with the next body to be cremated.

During July of 1999 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conducted 10 test cremations to determine the optimum temperature for cremation, in order to minimize smoke, dust and gas emissions.

Most bodies that are not cremated are buried in a casket where they gradually decompose over time due to the activity of bacteria and worms.

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 by 600 BCE in Rome. However, other societies had other methods:

(a) 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 over time, leaving only bones which were transferred to a bone box.

(b) The early Christian church also rejected cremation, partly because of its association with the Pagan societies of Greece and Rome. Christians buried their dead in graves or in catacombs (underground vaults).

(c) In ancient Egypt, bodies were embalmed so that they would be preserved for the afterlife.

(d) In ancient China, they were buried.

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

An Italian, Professor Brunetti, developed the first modern cremation chamber in the 1870s. 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]

Conflicting with this statement are the Pastoral Guidelines by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America which state:

"Because the Orthodox Faith affirms the fundamental goodness of creation, it understands the body to be an integral part of the human person and the temple of the Holy Spirit, and expects the resurrection of the dead. The Church considers cremation to be the deliberate desecration and destruction of what God has made and ordained for us. The Church instead insists that the body be buried so that the natural physical process of decomposition may take place. The Church does not grant funerals, either in the sanctuary, or at the funeral home, or at any other place, to persons who have chosen to be cremated. Additionally, memorial services with kolyva (boiled wheat) are not allowed in such instances, inasmuch as the similarity between the "kernel of wheat" and the "body" has been intentionally destroyed." [3]

There are currently about 1,100 crematories and over a half million 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 later. 

Leviticus 21:9: If the daughter of a priest becomes a prostitute, then she "must be burned in the fire." (NIV) 

Numbers 16:35: YEHOVAH God exterminated Korah and 250 Israelite men with fire because they opposed Moses. 

Deuteronomy 7:25: YEHOVAH 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 YEHOVAH's command and looted the city. As punishment for the theft, and to pay for Israel's disgrace, YEHOVAH 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: 

(a) Burning might have a local custom in Gilead. 

(b) The people of Gilead may have been worried that the Philistines might dig up the bodies and further desecrate them.

(c) Burning might have been necessary because their bodies may have partly decomposed.

(d) 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: YEHOVAH 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:

(a) Acts 19:19: Sorcerers who were converted to Christianity brought their scrolls out to be burned. "Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all..."

(b) 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. "And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire."

What Does The Bible Say About Burial?

The burial of many important Biblical figures is described in the Bible: [2]

Abraham: "Then Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, the field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth. There Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife" (Genesis 25:8-10).

Sarah: "Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. So Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. Then Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying, 'I am a foreigner and a sojourner among you, Give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight'" (Genesis 23:1-4).

Rachel: "So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel's grave to this day" (Genesis 35:19-20).

Isaac: "So Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people, being old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him" (Genesis 35:29).

Jacob: "And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people....And after he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all who went up with him to bury his father" (Genesis 49:33; Genesis 50:14).

Joseph: "So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt." (The Israelites went to great effort to bury his body in the Promised Land; they retained it for over 300 years in Egypt and after the Exodus during 40 years of wanderings before burying it.) (Genesis 50:26).

Moses: "And He [YEHOVAH God] buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knows his grave to this day" (YEHOVAH God selected a burial site at a secret location in Moab for Moses.) (Deuteronomy 34:6).

Joshua: "Now it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being one hundred and ten years old. And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Serah, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash" (Joshua 24:29-30).

Eleazar: "And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a hill that belonged to Phinehas his son, which was given to him in the mountains of Ephraim" (Joshua 24:33).

Samuel: "Then Samuel died; and the Israelites gathered together and lamented for him, and buried him at his home in Ramah..." (I Samuel 25:1).

David: "So David rested with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David" (I Kings 2:10).

John the Baptist: "So he [Herod] sent and had John beheaded in prison. And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus" (Matthew 14:10-12).

Ananias and Sapphira: "Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last...And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him....Then immediately she [Sapphira] fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband" (Acts 5:5-6, 10).

Stephen: "And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him" (Acts 8:2).

To be not given a proper burial was considered to be a great tragedy and dishonor:

(a) 1 Kings 13:22: A prophet disobeyed YEHOVAH God by eating a meal in a forbidden location. YEHOVAH God laid a curse on him: that his body would not be buried in the tomb of his fathers. Shortly after, the prophet was attacked by a lion and his remains left on a road.

(b) Jeremiah 16:6: YEHOVAH God laid a horrible curse on the Israelites: that many would die of diseases, will not be mourned and would be "like refuse lying on the ground" (NIV). Their bodies were to be consumed by animals and birds. 

(c) Jeremiah 22:19: YEHOVAH God laid a similar curse on Jehoiakim because of his pride and disobedience. Jeremiah said that he would be given the burial of a donkey: to be dragged away and thrown outside the city gates.

(d) Crucifixion: Of the countless number of tombs in Palestine from the era of Roman occupation which have been excavated, only one skeleton has been found which bears the marks of a crucifixion. That is because after a Roman execution, the lifeless body would be generally discarded in an open pit where it would be devoured by wild animals. To be forbidden a traditional burial added greatly to the horror of this method of execution.

 

-- Edited by John D. Keyser.

Notes:

[1] The history of cremation is described at: www.cremationassociation.org/page/HistoryOfCremation

[2] Philip Jackman, "Cremation now a hot topic," Globe and Mail, 1998-Sep-9.  www.livescience.com/56632-vatican-issues-new-cremation-guidelines.html

[3] "Cremation," part of Pastoral Guidelines: Church Positions Regarding the Sanctity of Human Life, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, 2002, at: http://www.goarch.org/

 

 

Hope of Israel Ministries -- Preparing the Way for the Return of YEHOVAH God and His Messiah to This Earth!

Hope of Israel Ministries
P.O. Box 853
Azusa, CA 91702, U.S.A.
www.hope-of-israel.org

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