why are people buried in the ground?

Question

is hell is under the earth's crust, why would religion say to bury people in the ground? isn't that reducing their chances of going to heaven?

yes, i am talking about dead people...

don't you think we should rocket them out of this world to get them a better chance of going to heaven...they wouldn't smell there either

Answer 1

This is a symbolism from the book of Genesis. When God pronounces judgment on Adam he tells him, "for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." Burying people in the ground is a symbol of this judgment.

Genesis 3:19

Answer 2

It's interesting that some people such as the ancient Egyptians believed that as long as the body existed than the spirit did also. Cavemen may have believed that there was a beast or demon hidden under the skin which was actually our skeletal remains. I think most religious people believe that our life spirit or entity leaves the body at death and what remains is a useless decaying shell. Some people believe that cryogenics or freezing the body will enable scientists in the future to reanimate or bring them back from the dead. I would imagine that their spirit would have moved on long before that could ever happen. Heaven may just be a spiritual realm and existence and Hell may be the finality or loss from physical wants or satisfactions.

Answer 3

People began the burial tradition for the sake of good health for the ones still alive. Decaying corpses are pretty, well, germ infested. The orign of burials seems to be hard to find on the internet, and that probably means the custom has been around REALLY long.

If there was a "hell" it would not be in the depths of the earth, but it would if it did exist, be in another dimension. I don't believe in the literal "hell", but one where the soul does not survive after earthly death. That's just it, cessation of existence for those.

Heres a set of explanations about burial practices:

http://www.urantia.org/cgi-bin/webglimpse/webglimpse/usr/local/www/data/papers?query=burial

Answer 4

I know you're just funnin', but that is an interesting question. As far as we know it is a tradition that goes back way before the invention of heaven and hell.

If I were to speculate, I'd say that people felt they couldn't bear to see the body of their loved one get ripped apart by scavengers and get all sinky and worm-eaten. So they started burrying them to protect them - or at least so they couldn't see what happened to them. Maybe they also had a feeling of return to the ground being part of a regenerative cycle like their early crops.

You made me interested in finding out more about this. Thanks!

Answer 5

The Bible tells us a glorious truth: Not only will our souls live forever, but if we know Christ, one day God will give us new bodies—bodies that will never perish, or ever experience sickness or pain again.

No, I can't imagine exactly what this will be like—but I know it's true, for God has promised it. When Christ rose from the dead, He had a new body—similar to what it had once been, and yet in other ways different. No longer was He limited by time and space, for example. The same will be true of us, for someday God "will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body" (Philippians 3:21).

Every obituary ... every cemetery ... every twinge of pain reminds us that someday this life will be over and we will enter eternity. Tragically, however, many people never think about death or bother to prepare for it. But denying it or ignoring it won't make it go away. The Bible warns, "Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment" (Hebrews 9:27).

But listen: We don't need to fear God's judgment—not if we know Christ! The reason is because He took upon Himself our judgment and our Hell when He died on the cross for us. All our sins were transferred to Him, and He died in our place. Make sure of your salvation by giving your life to Christ today.

Answer 6

No one ever said hell is underground anymore than anyone said heaven was in the sky... that's just a popular cultural idea. Burial is an ancient practice, which in practicality avoids leaving rotting flesh out in the open and cuts down on disease. Different cultures also attach special beliefs or rituals for burial to add to the practicality of the practice.

Answer 7

I imagine long ago before history began to be written, people lived together in family groups. When someone died they discovered they had feelings and were attached to the person. They had to spend a lot of time avoiding becoming prey for the animals. Would you like to see hyena's or scavenger animals ripping and tearing your loved one apart? I don't imagine they liked it either, so they buried them or covered them with mounds of rocks so the animals couldn't get at them.

Answer 8

If you leave them on top of the ground the stench would be too great, and if you tied helium ballons to them you would cause friction with the neighbours. Some people threw their dead away by putting them on mountain peaks, which would be more sensible if heaven is "up there".

Answer 9

I don't believe in hell - and if there is a heaven I doubt it's in the sky.

BUT..... I think it's really bizarre that we put people in the ground after they die. I drive by graveyards and my face crunches up - because I just don't understand what that's all about. And all the money and effort around it. YIKES!! My favorite saying about my remains after I'm gone is:

"Put me out with the trash on Tuesday!"

Namaste!

Answer 10

I AM NOT TRYING TO BE FUNNY but to see a decomposing body is terrible, let alone smell them. You would understand if you experience it. I hope you never do. There is a scripture that sez
'THOSE ASLEEP IN THE EARTH SHALL AWAKE' slos God anked Abraham if there was ANYTHING too hard for Him? Think about it and you will say, It will not.