Expert: Pastor Kimberly Lemler - 2/14/2007

Question
CAN YOU TELL ME WHERE I CAN FIND WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUT CREAMATION AND WHERE IN THE BIBLE IT IS LOCATED.

Answer
Hi Walt,

Thank you for your question.

Most of the reference in the Old Testament about burning bodies is in association with negative circumstances...

Cremation is mostly practiced by pagan religions, although it is gaining popularity in the Christian world because of the low cost. Personally, I would not choose to have myself cremated nor any of my family. My dad had his brother's ashes in an urn in his garage all winter long until the ground thawed and he could bury the ashes on top of his mother's grave. It was very creepy to me to walk in that garage...

The burial of many important Biblical figures is described in the Bible:

Genesis 25:8-10: Abraham
Genesis 23:1-4: Sarah
Genesis 35:19-20: Rachel
Genesis 35:29: Isaac,
Genesis 49:33 and 50:1-13: Jacob
Genesis 50:26: Joseph (The Israelites went to great effort to bury his body in the Promised Land; they retained it for over 300 years in Egypt and after the Exodus during 40 years of wanderings before burying it.)
Deuteronomy 34:6: Moses (God selected a burial site at a secret location in Moab for Moses.)
Joshua 24:29-30: Joshua
Joshua 24:33: Eleazar
1 Samuel 25:1: Samuel
1 Kings 2:10: David
Matthew 14:10-12: John the Baptist
Acts 5:5-10: Ananias and Sapphira
Acts 8:2: Stephen

Most important of all, Jesus was buried in a tomb...not burned.

I hope this helps...

In His Service,
Rev. Lemler