To Bury or to Burn? Cremation in Christian Perspective

Lacking explicit moral guidance from Scripture, cremation has become an increasingly popular option for contemporary believers and unbelievers alike. Yet for much of history, cremation has been avoided and discouraged by nearly everyone in the Judeo-Christian tradition. So how do we develop a biblical ethic of cremation?

I'd like to suggest Christians begin to address this issue by considering three questions foundational to any ethical methodology.

1. What Moral Norm(s) Apply in This Situation?

 

There are three passing references to cremation in the Bible worth considering (1 Sam. 31:11-12; Amos 2:1-3; 6:8-11), but as I've explored elsewhere, these references are largely incidental and give no explicit moral guidance. An appeal to the moral law as embodied in the Decalogue may be helpful, however, because the eighth commandment addresses material stewardship. The embodied moral norm is stated negatively as "Do not steal" (Exod. 20:15). However, it could be stated positively as "Respect material goods" or "Properly steward material possessions." And stewardship is not synonymous with frugality. To steward means to properly care for something, and thus the cheapest and easiest option---usually cremation---isn't necessarily the moral one.

As mentioned earlier, the Judeo-Christian tradition has historically understood the biblical call to proper stewardship of material possessions to teach that burial is the best way to handle (or steward) the body of a decedent---regardless of a cost-benefit analysis. As the apostle John wrote, "The custom of the Jews is to bury" (John 19:40).   Continue at David Jones