"... we know that the ancients speak of prayer for the dead, which we do not prohibit; but we disapprove of the application ex opere operato of the Lord's Supper on behalf of the dead."
Do Christians think praying can help a dead person get into heaven? Not exactly. All Christians believe that only God can determine whether a person belongs in heaven or in hell. Entreaties on behalf of the deceased can't sway God from what's right, but post-mortem praying does have other uses.
Note also the admonition of Leviticus 19:31 which states "" Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God"" (NIV). The Bible expressly forbids consulting mediums or souls of the dead and also forbids certain practices which were associated with the dead.
God desires for His people to pray and communicate with Him, but to pray to a dead relative, friend, or as some suggest – a saint – is forbidden in Scripture. No person has greater access to God than Jesus Christ and He alone is our mediator between us and God the Father (1 Timothy 2:5).
There are eighteen such death wish texts in the Hebrew Bible (excluding the suicide stories) spread out over eight books, but mostly found in narratives. Nine different characters utter a wish to die: Rebecca, Rachel, the Israelites (as a collective), Moses, David, Elijah, Jeremiah, Jonah, and Job.
The Prophet said: 'Do not pray concerning yourselves unless you say what is good. The angels will second whatever you say in your prayers. ' He then prayed for the deceased saying: 'My Lord! Grant forgiveness to Abu Salamah and raise his status among those who are rightly guided.
Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” Psalm 73:26 “My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.” Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”
What does the Bible say about cremation? According to most Biblical study websites, there is no explicit scriptural command for or against cremation. There are no passages that forbid cremation, according to most Biblical scholars.
The reunion of believing loved ones
When Paul writes to believers who grieve the loss of a loved one, he offers them this comfort: “We who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thessalonians 4:17, emphasis mine).
Possible meaning: Show respect to people who have died by not saying anything bad about them. Since dead people can no longer hurt us, or defend themselves, it is better to forget their bad actions and remember only their good ones.
According to the Catechism in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, "We pray for (the dead), because we still hold them in our love, and because we trust that in God's presence those who have chosen to serve him will grow in his love, until they see him as he is." Although this statement indicates that prayer is typically ...
A funeral for a Christian is a celebration of a promotion, which has already taken place. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:8 that “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” It is a testimony to our family and friends that we believe our deceased loved ones are not in the casket.
Obviously, since Christians are told to pray (I Thess. 5:17-18), their prayers are heard by God, even though they do sin (I John. 1:8, 10).
Heaven will be an infinite world of new discoveries, and Jesus Christ will unfold them to you. Thomas Boston says: The divine perfections will be an unbounded field, in which the glorified shall walk eternally, seeing more and more of God; since they can never come to the end of the infinite.
According to Matthew 6:14-15, a person who doesn't forgive others will not be forgiven by God. In the verses, Jesus states: "For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
In fact, the Bible indicates we will know each other more fully than we do now.
Christians who knew and loved each other on earth will know and love each other in heaven. The life we enjoy in heaven is not going to be less than the life we enjoy now. In every respect it will be more. The whole point of this passage is to bring comfort to believers who grieve the loss of a loved one.
While Jesus says that the institution of human marriage will end, He never even hints that deep relationships between married people would end. Our family will always be our family, but we will also be part of one big happy family.
During cremation, the body parts that do burn consist of organs, soft tissue, hair, and skin, while the water in our bodies evaporates. The body parts that do not burn are bone fragments. Teeth usually burn during cremation, but not entirely.
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.
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 observation of the 40th day after death occurs in Syro-Malabar and Eastern Orthodox traditions. The ritual represents spiritual intercession on the part of the dead, who are believed to collectively await the Day of Judgment.
Length of the Mourning Period
Protestant Christianity does not have a prescribed amount of time for the actual period of mourning. Since the funeral is usually held within a week of the death, that period of time from the death to the burial is considered the time of mourning.
➢ Grief is what we think and feel on the inside when someone we love dies. Examples include fear, loneliness, panic, pain, yearning, anxiety, emptiness etc. ➢ It is the internal meaning given to the experience of loss. ➢ Mourning is the outward expression of our grief; it is the expression of one's grief.