The Bible says very little directly about cremation. The first and clearest mention is in 1 Samuel 31:11-13, where the bodies of Saul and his sons were burned and then their bones were buried. This appears to have been done for sanitary reasons after their bodies were mutilated, not as a normal practice or religious requirement. Cremation is otherwise rarely mentioned, and burial is depicted as the standard practice for both Old and New Testament times. Some other references include the burning of bodies as punishment, such as Achan and his family in Joshua 7:25. There is no explicit biblical command forbidding or endorsing cremation. The Bible does teach that the body returns to dust or ashes (Genesis 3:19, Ecclesiastes 3:20), which many interpret as compatible with cremation. The New Testament affirms that God can resurrect the dead regardless of burial or cremation (e.g., Mark 13:27, Revelation 20:13, 1 Corinthians 15:35-38). In summary, the Bible neither mandates nor condemns cremation, and many Christian denominations accept it as an acceptable practice. The key points are:
- Burial was the common cultural practice and preferred in biblical times.
- Cremation is mentioned but was exceptional, not normative.
- The resurrection of the body is not affected by the method of body disposal, as God can re-create the body.
- Cremation is not considered sinful in itself.
Thus, cremation is biblically permissible and consistent with Christian faith regarding death and resurrection.
