The Synod of the Bible-Presbyterian Church of Singapore in May 1987 passed a resolution stating that burial and not cremation is the biblical way of putting to rest the body of those who have been called home to be with the Lord. In the Life B-P Church constitution (7.10) on Funerals, it is stated, "The normal practice of the B-P Church is to bury the dead."

What are the reasons for the B-P church to adopt this position on burial and not cremation? The reasons are based on Scripture and Doctrine. We shall first examine the practice of cremation in the light of Scripture, and then present the doctrinal reasons why we ought to bury and not cremate.

Cremation is a method for the disposal of the dead by burning. This method is not new. It has ancient origins, and was practised by the Canaanites in the time of the Old Testament. In the light of the Old Testament, we learn that cremation is not only a heathen practice but also a sign of divine judgement.

Dr John J Davis in his book, What About Cremation?, said that cremation "was both early in origin and widespread in geographic scope. For the most part, it was associated with pagan ideas about the essence of life or mythical beliefs regarding the afterlife." Cremation is tied to the heathen practice of offering human sacrifices. God commanded the Israelites not to follow this cruel and hateful practice in Deut 12:31, "Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods." For the heathens, cremation was the way to send off both the living and the dead to the netherworld. Is it no wonder that non-Judeo-Christian religions like Hinduism and Buddhism also practise cremation?

The Jews regarded the act of cremation as a form of idolatry. Israel in keeping herself distinct from the heathen nations, and in obedience to the command of separation, practised burial instead of cremation. To prove that the divinely sanctioned method is burial and not cremation, the Jews cited Deut 21:23, "His body shall not remain all night upon a tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day" (see also Gen 23:19, 35:8; Deut 34:6; 1 Kgs 11:15, 22:37, Ezek 39:15).

Cremation is also a sign of judgement. In the Old Testament, cremation was done to dishonour or punish those who had sinned against God. Achan for his sin of idolatry was punished by fire. God said, "And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath, because he hath transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel. … And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? The Lord shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones" (Josh 7:15, 25).

Fire is a symbol of God’s judgement. When the wicked priests—Nadab and Abihu—offered strange fire before God which He commanded them not, "there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD" (Lev 10:1-2). God destroyed the homosexual cities of Sodom and Gomorrah with brimstone and fire (Gen 19:24). The nation of Moab, too, faced God’s fiery judgement, "For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime: But I will send a fire upon Moab" (Amos 2:1-2). In the New Testament, we find the same teaching that fire and burning point to God’s judgement and disapproval. In Acts 19:18-19, the newly converted believers renounced their heathen past by burning all their books on witchcraft and sorcery. The Apostle Peter prophesied that God would destroy the whole universe one day by fire, "But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men" (2 Pet 3:7). At the judgement before the Great White Throne, all the fallen angels and all the finally impenitent will be cast into the lake of fire for eternal punishment (Rev 20:14-15).

In both Testaments, believers have always been buried. The Old Testament patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—were all buried (Gen 25:8-10, 35:29, 49:33, 50:1-13). The same is true in the New Testament: John the baptiser was buried (Matt 14:10-12), Lazarus was buried (John 11:17), Stephen was buried (Acts 8:2), our Lord Himself was buried (John 19:40-42).

Dr Davis has rightly concluded, "The biblical record of burial is clear that inhumation was the only acceptable practice among both Jews and Christians. Although the practice of burning the human being is not absent from the Old Testament; when it appears, it is cast in a negative light."

Why is inhumation or burial the biblical way for Christians? There are two doctrinal reasons why we should bury and not cremate. We bury because of (1) the doctrine of the resurrection and (2) the doctrine of the body.

As Christians, we believe in the bodily resurrection. Burial is meaningful to the Christian because it points to the future resurrection. This was certainly what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he said, "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection" (Rom 6:4-5). When we bury the human body, it is like sowing a seed into the ground; at the appointed time, it will sprout out of the ground as a plant. God will one day raise up our body just as He raised Christ’s (1 Cor 15:42-44). Cremation, on the other hand, with all that fire and burning, would only evoke thoughts of punishment and judgement. Would not the message on the Christian’s blessed hope of a future resurrection be contradicted by rolling a casket into the furnace? The fire gives a picture of hell, not heaven. Clearly, cremation illustrates the eternal destiny of unbelievers, and not of believers. The hideous sight of a body stoking up the furnace will only bring more sorrow and grief to the bereaved, not hope and comfort. The message of the resurrection is lost when we cremate our dead.

The Bible teaches that a human being consists of two parts: (1) the spirit and (2) the body. These two parts are not only distinguishable but also separable (Gen 3:19, Luke 23:43, 46, Eccl 12:7). Both the spirit and the body are important. The spirit is that part of man that relates to God (John 4:24, Rom 8:16) while the body is that part which allows man to subsist on earth. For Christians, the body is also the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19). Although at death, the spirit will be separated from the body, both will be rejoined at the time of the resurrection (1 Cor 15:44). So the body is not merely "a shell that contains the nut." When a believer dies, he is said to be sleeping (1 Cor 15:51). When a person sleeps, he expects to wake up. This awakening will happen when Christ returns. So the body is an important part of man and must be treated carefully even at death.

The Jews understood the doctrine of the resurrection and of the body (cf John 11:24). That was why they treated the body of their departed loved ones with great care. Consider the following Jewish burial procedure:

The Church pretty much kept to the Jewish and biblical practice of burial. Dr Davis noted that "the early church practiced inhumation and rigorously opposed cremation. Prompt burials followed death and a special memorial service was conducted the third day following the believer’s death. The choice of the third day was a means of reaffirming belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the ultimate resurrection of all believers. … The overwhelming consensus of early church writers and leaders was that cremation was associated with rites that were incompatible with many basic tenets of their faith."

The B-P church like the early church practises inhumation and opposes cremation. As such, B-P church members should choose burial, and should inform their next-of-kin, who might be unbelievers and might prefer cremation, that their wish is to be buried and not cremated. B-P pastors should only conduct funerals that are by burial.

The following statement was published in the Far Eastern Beacon, July 1987:

The Scriptures plainly teach:

We recognise that there could be unusual circumstances, e.g. in times of war, or plague, where disposal of the dead by burning may be mandatory.

In keeping with the Word of God, we of the Bible Presbyterian Church of Singapore: