What would you say to those who lost loved ones in a circumstance where there is no body for burial? How is a tangible body necessary for resurrection if we are born of dust and to dust we return? Without the preservation effort by funeral homes, a body in a casket would not be much more than bones in a handful of years.
Thanks for this follow-up question, Courtney. Of course you’re absolutely right that our bodies decompose after death—Adam was formed from dust, so also will we turn to literal dust. Even with this being true, though, Scripture also teaches that in some mysterious and supernatural way, our bodies will be physically resurrected. There’s no doubt that this is a miracle that defies our knowledge of human biology.
Thus, I’m not saying that God is unable to resurrect cremated bodies or bodies that are destroyed in some other way. It’s not as though you’re disqualified from resurrection if you’re cremated. The main thing I’m concerned about is the symbolism of cremation. What is it signifying about the body, and about death? I believe these symbols matter in that they have an effect on the way we envision the body after death.
What would you say to those who lost loved ones in a circumstance where there is no body for burial? How is a tangible body necessary for resurrection if we are born of dust and to dust we return? Without the preservation effort by funeral homes, a body in a casket would not be much more than bones in a handful of years.
Thanks for this follow-up question, Courtney. Of course you’re absolutely right that our bodies decompose after death—Adam was formed from dust, so also will we turn to literal dust. Even with this being true, though, Scripture also teaches that in some mysterious and supernatural way, our bodies will be physically resurrected. There’s no doubt that this is a miracle that defies our knowledge of human biology.
Thus, I’m not saying that God is unable to resurrect cremated bodies or bodies that are destroyed in some other way. It’s not as though you’re disqualified from resurrection if you’re cremated. The main thing I’m concerned about is the symbolism of cremation. What is it signifying about the body, and about death? I believe these symbols matter in that they have an effect on the way we envision the body after death.
Does that help clarify my meaning?