Should Christians Be Cremated?

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Travis: Hi my name is Travis, from San Leandro, California and I just wanted to know if cremation is practiced by the people of God.

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Brother Bob Pellien: Thank you, Travis, for your question. Death is something that no one living in this world can avoid. It’s important to note first off that here—there’s no religious rituals that are performed for any member of the Church Of Christ who passes away. For example, there’s no prayers of the dead, there’s no religious ceremonies or services that members of the Church Of Christ take part in after losing a loved one. Why not? Well according to the Bible the dead will never again take part in anything that happens in this world. That’s mentioned in the Bible in Ecclesiastes chapter 9, verse 6:

They will never again take part in anything that happens in this world

[Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 Good News Translation]

Brother Bob: Nevertheless, the bereaved of the dead strive to give a proper or decent burial for their deceased loved ones, and well, this is understandable and of course very reasonable as well. But, Travis, everything that we do, all of our actions during this highly emotional moment in one’s life as to be—which by the way, is often influenced by cultural norms, whatever those actions may be, they have to be guided by God who is the One who, of course, then will be the One to comfort people in their time of loss by means of the power of the Holy Spirit. Should we cremate our deceased loved ones?

What is cremation?

Brother Bob: First, well, what does that even mean? Through cremation the remains of the deceased will be burned, and the ashes will be placed in an urn or sometimes dispersed over soil or water.

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cre-mate

past tense: cremated; past participle: cremated