Jehovah's Witness Cremation is allowed by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, or Jehovah's Witnesses as they're more commonly known. Unlike some other Christian sects, the Jehovah's Witnesses believe in spiritual rather than physical resurrection, so cremation isn't an issue.
In fact, Hinduism is the only religion that mandates cremation, which is known as antim sanskar, or last rites. It is usually performed within 24 hours of death or as soon as possible, due to the fact that Hinduism also doesn't traditionally use embalming or other preservation tactics.
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.
Burying the dead was the usual practice in Biblical times, and until recently, the preferred method for most people when they passed. Even though many Bible passages see cremation as necessary in only dire times, nowhere in the Bible is cremation directly condemned.
Cremation does not “prevent God, in his omnipotence, from raising up the deceased body to new life,” the Vatican says, but it does raise the possibility that the deceased's body, which the church believes is sacred, will not be properly respected by ancestors and relatives.
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.
Although traditional burial procedure which reflects respect for the body is still normal Catholic practice, cremation is allowed by the Catholic Church for justifiable reasons. Cremation would ordinarily take place after the Funeral Liturgy.
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.
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.
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.
The Bible does not clearly define about cremation as a means to dispose of the dead. However, there is no scriptural prohibition of cremation in the New Testament. The Bible neither favors nor forbids the process of cremation.
Muslims are always buried, never cremated. It is a religious requirement that the body be ritually washed and draped before burial, which should be as soon as possible after death. Those carrying out this duty should be immunised against hepatitis B and be aware of the hazards of AIDS.
Catholics do not favor cremation because they believe in resurrection of the body after death. They follow the custom of burying the dead, as Jesus Christ was buried in a tomb.
Catholics believe that the soul is immortal and does not depend on the physical body. Since cremation of the deceased's remains do not affect his or her soul, according to the Church, there are no doctrinal objections to the practice.
Eastern Orthodox Catholicism (Greek and Russian)
Eastern Orthodox churches strongly oppose cremation. This is because these orthodox religions associate cremation with a deliberate desecration of the body. These churches prefer the natural decomposition of a traditional burial.
Unlike our previous examples, Judaism traditionally doesn't allow cremation.
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.
Catholic views on condoms. The Catholic Church's opposition to contraception includes a prohibition on condoms. It believes that chastity should be the primary means of preventing the transmission of AIDS.
You would indeed be able to have a funeral Mass. A Catholic who is divorced and remarried without an annulment is not excommunicated and is surely still a member of the church.
Buddhists and cremation
Due to their belief in reincarnation, cremation is seen as the preferred choice when a loved one dies. The physical body holds little significance to the Buddhist faith, it is merely a vessel for holding the soul. Buddhists also believe in organ donation as it is seen as a good deed.
For thousands of years, Jewish law has held that burial in the ground was the only acceptable option for the Jewish faith. And yet today, despite tradition and continued opposition from some in the Jewish community, many Jews are choosing cremation instead of – or as part of – traditional burial.
The Church considers cremation to be the deliberate desecration and destruction of the purpose for which God has made and ordained the body. The church insists that the body be buried so that the natural, physical process of decomposition may take place.
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.
We enter heaven immediately upon our death, or our souls sleep until the second coming of Christ and the accompanying resurrection.
The average cremated adult will produce about five pounds of pulverized bone fragments, a coarse powder that is sterile and safe to touch, even if the person died of a communicable disease.