Once the family has received the ashes, they may be put into a decorative urn or split between a number of urns. Splitting cremated ashes between urns allows families to keep a loved one's ashes at separate homes.
You certainly can! There are several regulations governing ash spreading, but none governing ash division. Following a loved one's cremation, some families prefer to split the ashes.
Ash Scattering References in the Bible
In the Bible, there are no passages that prohibit or encourage cremation and scattering of ashes. However, many Christian sects believe a burial funeral aligns with best end-of-life practices.
In addition to the more traditional avenues of cremation burial or preservation in a columbarium, the scattering of ashes is a meaningful and time-honored means of memorializing a loved one after cremation. There are several methods for the release of ashes that can be personalized in any number of ways.
Since all of the organic matter is burned away during cremation, this is why ashes can last (almost) forever - or at least for our entire lifetime. Bones are still DNA and scientists believe that DNA has survived for about one million years.
Is it OK to Keep Cremains at Home? There's nothing bad about keeping cremated remains at home. Even though the practice is legal, those from specific faith communities may object to the practice. Some religious faiths, such as followers of Islam, Eastern Orthodox, and some Jewish sects forbid cremation.
Catholics are forbidden from keeping the ashes of cremated loved ones at home, scattering them, dividing them between family members or turning them into mementoes, the Vatican has ruled.
A deceased loved one, said Father Salsa, should be in a place “accessible to everyone, where they can be venerated,” so a cemetery is preferable to a home. And scattering ashes can be “misunderstood as a sort of religion of nature, while we believe in resurrection,” he said.
As a general rule, it is disrespectful to open an urn contrary to the decedent's wishes or beliefs, or for your own curiosity or benefit. You can be confident that you are treating your loved one with proper respect if you are opening the urn to follow their instructions (for scattering, etc) or to honor their memory.
For many people, the act of scattering a loved one's ashes brings peace and closure. It can symbolize the return of the individual to nature, or the release of their spirit to heaven.
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.
How to divide cremated remains. Most crematoriums return the ashes in a plastic bag, placed in a "temporary urn" made often from cardboard. This will work fine to divide ashes. If the funeral provider is dividing for you, you would ask them beforehand and provide the urns or containers you have selected.
Consider scattering or burying the ashes, or planting a tree memorial. This can be a simple way to honor the person or pet and give you peace-of-mind that you've done something special for them. Alternatively, a few different small or keepsake urns can also be an option for you or your family.
Cremation and the Catholic Church
Catholics were to believe that man, created in the likeness of God, could not experience resurrection at the end of time unless their bodies were “intact.” Cremation was also banned to counter Roman pagan beliefs, which involved burning deceased bodies.
"The Church raises no doctrinal objections to this practice, since cremation of the deceased's body does not affect his or her soul, nor does it prevent God, in his omnipotence, from raising up the deceased body to new life."
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. In fact, a dead person feels nothing at all.
Can You Get DNA From Cremated Remains? Yes. DNA testing is often done on the bodies of the dead, even after they've been cremated. The immense heat of the cremation ovens breaks down the body's organic matter, leaving bone fragments and teeth behind as they don't disintegrate during the cremation process.
A: In the Bible, cremation is not labeled a sinful practice. Frankly, the topic is not dealt with at all in terms of the detailed lists of instructions for living and dying set forth by almighty God in the Old and New testaments. The short answer to your question appears to be no, cremation is not a sin.
Can two people's ashes be mixed together? Yes. Mixing ashes is a common process known as “commingling.” Commingling means that the couple's cremated remains are mixed, or “mingled” together in an urn, most often a companion urn.
Dividing up the ashes among family members is also forbidden. These injunctions are serious enough that, should a person “notoriously” request cremation and scattering of ashes, they are to be denied a Christian funeral.
The 'Yes' From a scientific standpoint, cremated ashes do contain a little energy (energy here being “the ability to do work or cause change”). Let's look closer at that “little energy.”
Since cremation ashes are mostly made up of bone, and bones are not degradable, the ashes can last as long as a person wants them to.
Human ashes are like sand and they do not float. They will not dissolve in the water; instead, they will descend into the ocean until they hit the floor.
Cremation myth #10: Human ashes are a biohazard.
Cremation remains consist of bone matter, which includes dry calcium phosphates and other minerals, such as potassium and sodium. Rather than being toxic, cremated remains are considered a natural, sanitary substance.
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.