One of our readers has asked about cremation vs. burial. Tacitus, the Roman leader, once said that the Jews \u201cbury rather than burn dead bodies\u201d (Hist<\/em>. 5.5). Not all have agreed with this ancient tradition, though. What do you think? Who has some thoughts about cremating vs. burying our loved ones? What do the pastors think? One of our readers has asked about cremation vs. burial. Tacitus, the Roman leader, once said that the Jews \u201cbury rather than burn dead bodies\u201d (Hist. 5.5). Not all have agreed with this ancient tradition, though. What do you think? Who has some thoughts about cremating vs. burying our loved ones? What do the pastors […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[337],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-theology"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nBoth the ancient Israelites and the early Christians avoided cremation \u2014 in part, no doubt, because it was a common pagan custom.
\nIn Leviticus, for the body to be burned was an ultimate sanction and abomination (cf. Lev. 20:14; 21:9).
\nOn the other hand, it must be admitted \u2014 and correct me if I\u2019m wrong here medically\/physically \u2014 that bodies decompose over time so that, however long it takes for a body to decompose, the cremated body and the buried body eventually end in (roughly) the same condition.
\nIt must be admitted also that a major reason why both Israelites and Christians did not cremate was to distance themselves from paganism.
\nEnvironmental and economical issues can be factored into the decision made by individuals (who choose to be cremated) and familes.
\nIf God can put back together the bodies of the decomposed by burial, he can do the same to the decomposed by cremation.
\nMy friend, the Zarman, had this comment: \u201cI lean toward putting me in the dirt; don\u2019t burn me up.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"