On Funerals, Cremation, and the Gospel
I am often asked what I think about cremation as opposed to burial. A generation ago fewer than one-in-twenty were cremated at death. Many older folks still prefer traditional burial, but today the cost of cremation is two-thirds less. Primarily because of that, fully half of all Americans who die this year will be cremated rather than buried.
I tell people that the Bible does not forbid cremation. While my answer is based solely on my understanding of what the Bible teaches, I also sympathize with the problem of burial cost. For some it is a genuine hardship.
However, when asked, I also express a preference for burial – not a conviction, but a preference. That too is based on what I believe the Bible teaches.
When He died, Jesus’ body was placed in a tomb. The third day after His crucifixion, He rose from the dead. The Christian’s hope is that, just as Christ rose from the dead, someday all those who trust in Him will be raised from the grave in a body suited to everlasting life. Burial is not just a means of disposing of a body. It is a picture. It is a seed planted in anticipation of a future harvest of eternal physical life.
Cremation effectively erases this picture. People whose bodies are cremated essentially disappear. While sometimes the ashes are buried, often they are scattered in a field, on a lake, or rather irreverently stored on a closet shelf in an urn or a box. The departed are now part of the past; a memory. But the Bible teaches that these people are not just history, but are a continuing reality with a future.
For various reasons, in addition to the expense, families who choose cremation are far less likely to host a memorial service or a funeral. This is unfortunate. There is an old saying, “grief shared is grief diminished.” It is healthy for people to mourn with loved ones; to “weep with those who weep.” (Rom. 12:15) But more importantly, funerals are an opportunity to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I covet the opportunity to speak at funerals. A eulogy is appropriate at a funeral, but much more so is the gospel. Wise King Solomon wrote, “It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house feasting, for that is the end of all men, and the living will lay it to his heart.” (Eccl. 7:2) Who would not rather attend a birthday party, or a graduation open house than a funeral? Yet who ever left such gatherings with their priorities challenged, their outlook changed, their heart stirred? Funerals are an unparalleled opportunity to consider seriously the things that matter most – the value and brevity of life, the certainty of death, the question of life after death, and a man’s accountability to God. It pulls back the curtain of time, and briefly allows – if not forces – people to look into eternity and consider the state of their own soul and its relationship to the Almighty.
I was a high school teenager standing by my grandmother’s grave in the summer of 1979. I watched as her coffin was lowered into the ground. The grave marker was already in place. On it was inscribed verses from the book of Job. “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.” (Job 19:25, 26) I was at first appalled by the words my grandmother herself had chosen to be her memorial for succeeding generations to read. Worms?!? This text refers to the decomposition of the body. How tasteless, I thought. But as I laid it to my heart, in the words of Solomon, I grasped the message God and my grandmother wanted me to hear. She believed that, yes, her buried body would decompose. But just as the Redeemer, Jesus, is risen and alive today, someday she would be raised. This burial was not just grim grief. It was bright hope and promise. Today, largely due to the lessons learned at a burial, my faith is firmly fixed on that Redeemer. I fully expect someday to see my grandmother again, and to live with her in the presence of God.
David A. Oliver is the pastor of Ashley Baptist Church in Belding, MI.
Photo by Samuel Rios on Unsplash
But don’t you think that cremation presents the picture that the body is made of the dust of the ground better than burial? There’s a lot in Scripture about dust returning to dust. Nothing makes that clearer than dust in an urn.
Moreover, isn’t it a little bit disingenuous to claim that burial provides some kind of support for the doctrine of resurrection better than cremation? What do you think of those who are buried at sea? What of those whose bodies are so destroyed by a violent death that there’s nothing to bury?
I think we should be very, very careful to present this as “the Bible is silent,” but “here’s my preference” and then base that preference on some contrived theological foundation rather than on any clear passage. I know what you mean, but does the average believer? I’m not so sure.
MW
I apologize for not responding sooner – I have been out of the country. I also apologize for the brevity of my reply. A box on a website is sometimes insufficient for a careful discussion.
In my article I pointed out that, yes, burial is a preference rather than a conviction. It is not a sin for a family to cremate the remains of a loved one when they die. But my preference is based on first on principle, and secondarily on experience. Many who practice cremation do not bury the ashes (and often treat them in a way that is disrespectful.), do not hold funeral services, and do not communicate any sort of testimony of faith. Burial has long been the Christian tradition because that is how Christ’s body was treated, and it does portray the hope of the resurrection. All of life, including the end of life, ought to be seen as an occasion to honor God and communicate the gospel. What best glorifies the Lord and furthers the cause of Christ ought to motivate our decisions – more than convenience or cost. I believe that a funeral and burial can be a powerful gospel testimony. When people substitute cremation and storing ashes in an urn on a shelf for a funeral and burial, this opportunity is forfeit.
Of course, for those times when there is no body to bury, or only ashes remain, there can still be a burial of whatever remains there are, and there can still be a gospel service of hope. That is what I as a pastor would recommend.
One other note. You employed the words “disingenuous” and “contrived.” The first means insincere or dishonest. The second means faked or artificial. My observations were neither. I am quite certain you did not intend any accusations of dishonesty. However, in the future, caution should be observed when communicating online (or in any other format). Love thinketh no ill. Assume the best in others – even those with whome you disagree.