Bible Scripture on Cremation?

Question

Knowing its there somewhere, I just cant find it. Help?!?

Answer 1

In the Bible cremation is portrayed only as an exceptional method of disposing of bodies. Most often cremation took place in the midst of unusual circumstances. For example, in 1 Samuel 31:12 we read about the men of Jabesh-Gilead who burned the corpses of Saul and his sons in order to prevent desecration of their bodies at the hands of the philistines.
We don't find cremation mentioned in the New Testament. Burial is the normal method. Moreover, the church fathers preferred "the ancient and better custom of burying in the earth."
However, there is no actual prohibition against cremation in the pages of Scripture. And if a Christian does get cremated, this poses no problem for God in resurrecting that person's body from the dead (1Cor 15:42-44).
We read in 2 Cor 5:1, "Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands." It does not matter how our "earthly tent" (body) is destroyed; all that matters is that God will raise it from the dead. Even those who are buiried eventually dissolve into dust and bones. So regardless of whether we're buried or cremated, we can all look forward to a permanent resurrection body that will never be subject to death and decay.

Answer 2

I'm not sure if you are asking just for references to cremation in the Bible. Now,the Catholic Church (Roman) had, for many centuries a prohibition against cremation because it was seen as a negation of the resurrection of the body. Now it is not forbidden, because people do not get cremated to deny the resurrection, just for practical reasons.

1 Samuel 21,12-13 has to be taken in context,it only talks about what the soldiers did with the bodies, and Amos 6, 10 only mentions the "..man who buries him...". There is no quote directly dealing with cremation, because it just wasn't an issue they had to deal with.

Answer 3

There is no Scripture on cremation per se. There are some Scriptures that talk about the Israelites making a great fire in honor of a dead King but the Jewish people always buried their honored dead. There are other Scriptures that talk about bodies being burned but they always have to do with either being burned in an act of God's judgment or in some act of idolatrous worship.

Answer 4

Try I Samuel 31v 12&13 or Amos 6v 10. Hope that helps you.