For most of church history, Christians never questioned whether to choose burial or cremation. In 1980 in Canada, only 6% of people opted for cremation—and most of them would have been non-Christians. Today, that figure is over 75% and is a popular option among people of all faiths. How should Christians think about this trend? Is this a question of faith? Is it wrong to cremate a body?

Burial is described, not prescribed, in the Bible

When reading the Bible, it’s important to distinguish between what the Bible merely describes and what it directly commands. The Bible describes Christians casting lots to make important decisions (Acts 1:26), sharing all things in common (Acts 2:44-45), and holding church services in homes (Romans 16:5), but none of these things are required of faithful Christians.

It was the practice of God’s people in the Old and New Testament to bury their dead. Abraham (Genesis 25:10), Moses (Deuteronomy 34:6), David (1 Kings 2:10), John the Baptist (Mark 6:29), Stephen (Acts 8:2), and Jesus Himself (1 Corinthians 15:4) were all described as being buried following their deaths. Burial practices varied, however, and John the Baptist and Jesus are specifically described as being laid in tombs rather than buried in the ground.

Saul and his sons’ bodies were burned and their bones buried (1 Samuel 31:11-13), but it’s not clear that this was intended to honour them. Some form of cremation is described in Leviticus 20:14, Amos 2:1, and Amos 6:8-10, but it is not seen positively.

What’s clear from the Bible is that burial is seen positively and cremation is seen negatively, but no commands or warnings are ever made regarding either practice.

We should hear the perspective of the church

While there are no commands to bury the dead, it can’t be denied that burial has been a distinctive of Christianity for most of the last 2,000 years. Since cremation is commonly practiced by people of other faiths, Oxford historian Diarmaid MacCulloch writes that “universally archaeologists are able to detect the spread of Christian culture through the ancient and early medieval world by the excavation of corpse burials oriented east-west.” Until 1963, the Roman Catholic Church explicitly forbade cremation.

Today, the consensus has shifted—not that there are strong Christian advocates for cremation—but it is viewed by most as an area of Christian freedom. John MacArthur is representative of many who feel that burial and cremation are both equally valid options for believers. He writes, “Obviously any buried body will eventually decompose (Ecclesiastes 12:7). So cremation isn't a strange or wrong practice—it merely accelerates the natural process of oxidation.  The believer will one day receive a new body (1 Corinthians 15:42-49; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Job 19:25-26), thus the state of what remains of the old body is unimportant.”

The argument for burial comes down to its symbolism

The minority of Christians who argue for burial today do so based on its symbolism. They feel that the way we treat a dead body should reflect what we believe about death. John Piper, for instance, points to the fact that fire is associated with hell and torture in the Bible. One could counter, however, that fire is often connected with the purification of God’s people (Zechariah 13:9; Malachi 3:2-3; 1 Peter 1:6-7).

He and others also point to the fact that burial expresses more dignity for the body and treats it with greater care. It also maintains the biblical symbolism of sowing and sleeping. Paul talks of the natural body being sown like a seed but raised in glory (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). Arguably, the burial or scattering of ashes could express something similar.

One of the ways that the New Testament expresses the hope of the resurrection is by referring to death as sleep. Jesus referred to Lazarus’s death as sleep before He raised him back to life (John 11:11-14), and Paul regularly referred to believers who had passed away as having fallen asleep (1 Corinthians 15:6, 18, 51; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-15). The term reminds people that the person is in the presence of the Lord and that their body will one day be raised and transformed.

When believers choose to bury a body, they lay it down as if putting the person to rest. In fact, the word cemetery comes from the Greek word meaning “sleeping place.” It’s as if a graveyard is a resting place for bodies awaiting resurrection. The only problem with the symbolism is that it’s practiced by Christians and non-Christians alike.

Cremation isn’t a sin, nor does it hinder the resurrection

While it’s good to hear people’s perspectives on burial and cremation, it’s important that we remind ourselves that this is an area of Christian freedom. The Bible never forbids cremation nor commends burial. God will raise a believer’s body, whether it’s been cremated, buried, or lost at sea. Let’s seek to glorify God in our death as in our life and understand that different people will do that in different ways.

In awe of Him,

Paul