The choice between cremation or burial is a matter of personal preference. It is generally guided by considerations including the cost of a funeral, environmental impact, practicality and religion.
Cremation Vs Burial
Direct cremations are more cost-effective than direct burials as they do not require embalming. Plus, you have the option of keeping the body in a alternative container instead of a casket. Cremation is a simpler process that also helps save ground space, but it is not so in case of burial.
Burial respects the cycle of nature, and our bodies give back, to the Earth that gave so much to us. Burial is calm, natural, and respectful. Cremation is a loud, disgusting, and violent procedure to the bodies of our loved ones. If ashes are scattered, there is no physical memorial to the dead.
According to the Bible, it doesn't matter whether you are cremated, buried, or scattered in your favorite place. It's more about the legacy you leave behind.
In terms of affordability, cremation is often a better choice. The biggest reason for this has to do with the circumstances of cremation. Burial is traditionally preceded by a funeral, but this tradition isn't as strong with cremation. Many people still hold funerals for cremated loved ones, but it isn't as common.
Religions like Orthodox Christianity, Islam and Judaism follow traditions that frown upon cremation, even prohibiting it. Traditionally, their culture believes that the idea of turning human body into cremation ashes might interfere with God's ability to resurrect the dead and bring it to heaven.
No matter what a person's preference is, from the Christian perspective, cremation does not prevent one from going to Heaven. So there's no need to worry, if God can create life from dust, surely he can restore life from ashes.
HAVING RELATIONSHIPS WITH SPOUSES, LOVED ONES IN HEAVEN
A. Yes to both. The reunion will take place, but not as husband and wife. We learn this in Jesus' explanation to the Sadducees: "When people rise from death, there will be no marriage.
Of all world religions, Islam is probably the most strongly opposed to cremation. Unlike Judaism and Christianity, there is little diversity of opinion about it. Cremation is considered by Islam to be an unclean practice.
The six feet under rule for burial may have come from a plague in London in 1665. The Lord Mayor of London ordered all the “graves shall be at least six-foot deep.” The order never said why six feet. Maybe deep enough to keep animals from digging up corpses.
People may have also buried bodies 6 feet deep to help prevent theft. There was also concern that animals might disturb graves. Burying a body 6 feet deep may have been a way to stop animals from smelling the decomposing bodies. A body buried 6 feet deep would also be safe from accidental disturbances like plowing.
The body does not feel pain during cremation because the person is no longer alive. When a person dies, their brain stops sending signals to the body. This means that the person cannot feel pain or any other sensation.
What's really returned to you is the person's skeleton. Once you burn off all the water, soft tissue, organs, skin, hair, cremation container/casket, etc., what you're left with is bone. When complete, the bones are allowed to cool to a temperature that they can be handled and are placed into a processing machine.
Christians who know and love each other on earth will know and love each other in heaven.
Many Christians rely on Matthew 22:30, in which Jesus tells a group of questioners, "At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.”
We enter heaven immediately upon our death, or our souls sleep until the second coming of Christ and the accompanying resurrection.
New Testament
Since the Bible does not ban nor promote cremation, most Christian denominations do not consider cremation to be sinful.
For most Christians today, the question of cremation is largely left to individual discretion. Many Christians choose cremation as an alternative to burial, while still retaining those aspects of their traditional funeral practices that allow them to honor the lives of their loved ones and glorify God.
Scriptures of the Old Testament, such as 2 Kings 23: 16-20 spoke of the desecration of an altar after human bones were burned there; however, nowhere in the Old Testament does it command against the burning of a human body. On the other hand, cremation was not a common practice by New Testament believers.
The Bible neither favors nor forbids the process of cremation. Nevertheless, many Christians believe that their bodies would be ineligible for resurrection if they are cremated. This argument, though, is refuted by others on the basis of the fact that the body still decomposes over time after burial.
How long does a cremation process take? Cremations last between one and three hours with cooling taking a further one or two hours. This depends on cremation temperatures, the size of the deceased, and coffin material.
If you are concerned that the ashes will smell after the cremation, the answer is no. There is no odor emitted from ashes that have been properly cremated. Even over time, you shouldn't expect any particular smells to develop. If anything, certain cremation containers will simply emit a slight incense-like smell.
The only thing remaining of the human body after cremation is part of the skeletal structure and occasionally small amounts of salts and minerals. The human skeleton is composed mostly of carbonates and calcium phosphates.