On the Subject of Cremation

As America's population ages and finances decline, the question can arise among Christians as to whether or not cremation is a reasonable alternative to what can sometimes be a very costly traditional approach to burial. I'd like to offer a quick answer to this question even though it may be controversial to some. First of all, there isn't anything explicitly said in the Scriptures about cremation per se and whether or not it's forbidden or not forbidden by God. And yet there are some evidences (both Biblical and historical) that point to the Lord frowning upon cremation as a practice. One such evidence is revealed in Leviticus 20:14 & 21:9 and Joshua 7:15, 25. (Click references to read.) In each of these places God commanded the Jews to deal with particular sins by burning the perpetrators. So burning a dead body, in the Jewish mind, was equated with heinous sins. And this could very well be the reason why the Jews as a nation were opposed to cremation while both the Greeks and the Romans were known to cremate corpses quite often. (Zondervan Pictorial Bible Encyclopedia, pg. 672) Now I couldn't help but be reminded of how Jesus said that in hell there is a fire that cannot be quenched. (Mark 9:44, 46, 48) So hell is literally a place where eternal cremation, if you will, takes place. Those sentenced to hell will have their bodies on fire forever. It's this picture (along with historical Jewish thinking on the matter) that moves me to believe that cremation is not the best approach when it comes to dealing with the dead. My verdict, therefore, is to frown on the practice of cremation. And I think there's good evidence to support it.