Rev. David Holwick ZH Questions People Ask topical series
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
November 3, 2002
1 Corinthians 15:35-44
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I. What will happen to you when you die?
A. Bombs away...
Seattle, Washington. May 24, 2002.
A Cessna 182 flew over the stadium and dropped an object.
It crashed into the stands and spewed white powder everywhere.
The Mariners game was halted and 45,000 fans were immediately
evacuated.
Worried officials called the Hazardous Materials team.
The fire department was concerned it was another September 11
terrorist attack.
It wasn't. It was a dead man's ashes.
Apparently the bag the ashes were in failed to open properly.
Allen Kenitzer, a spokesman for the U.S. Federal Aviation
Administration, commented:
"I guess the deceased was a big Seattle Mariners fan."
#17322
B. So many options...
1) Cyrogenics and frozen heads.
2) Ray Bradbury had his ashes sent into Earth orbit.
3) It can border on the tasteless:
Ed Headrick was the inventor of the Wham-O Frisbee.
He said the Frisbee is really a religion - the followers
call themselves 'Frisbyterians.'
When they die, they don't go to purgatory ... they just
land up on the roof and lay there.
When Ed died this summer, he had his ashes molded into a
special edition Wham-O Frisbee, and distributed to close
family and friends.
This is not a joke.
#17857
4) Celeste likes idea of being turned into jewelry for
the kids. (ashes are pressurized into diamonds)
a) Burial seems almost pass.
b) Cremation is the hottest issue right now.
It may seem like a strange topic for a sermon, but
this is a series on Questions People Ask, and I have
been surprised about how many have asked about
cremation.
C. Overriding issues:
1) Which option is best for grieving families?
2) Which option best honors God and affirms Christian teaching?
3) Each of us will one day be called upon to handle the death
of a loved one.
a) How we honor the dead matters a great deal.
II. Cremation is on a roll.
A. It is an increasing popular option for the deceased.
1) From Kennedy to Kennedy.
When President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963,
the cremation rate in the U.S. was about 3 percent.
The Roman Catholic Church, of which Kennedy was a member,
had only two years earlier dropped its ban on cremation.
Catholic priests in the U.S. generally did not allow
cremated remains to be brought into church buildings for
a funeral mass.
Fast-forward to 1999, when John F. Kennedy Jr. was killed
in a plane crash.
He was cremated and had full Catholic services.
#17858
2) The actual statistics on cremation:
1963 - 3%
2002 - 25% (today)
2010 - 40%
B. Less spiritual?
1) Some Christians have had issues about it.
2) Are their concerns valid?
III. History of cremation.
A. Popular in ancient world.
1) Sometimes refers to live human sacrifice. (Old Testament)
2) Ritual burning of dead.
B. Jews and Christians chose burial.
1) Burial distinguished them from Greeks and Romans.
a) Only exceptions in Bible: Saul and Jonathan (mutilated)
1 Sam 31:12
b) Other kings had memorial briers, but weren't burned.
2 Chr 16:14
2) Christians won over the pagans.
As Christianity spread and eventually became the official
religion in the Roman Empire and elsewhere, Christian
burial practices spread as well.
The growing importance of saintly relics added more weight
to the tradition of careful preservation of the body.
When Christian missionaries encountered cultures with
different funerary practices, adoption of Christian
customs became a sign of changed allegiance.
For example, King Olaf Haraldsson of Norway is credited
(posthumously) with the conversion of his people to
Christianity in the eleventh century.
After his death his body was hidden in sand, dug up, and
reburied by newly pious members of a culture whose
folklore celebrated funeral pyres.
(Christian History magazine called his story, "Dead Man
Converting.")
#17858
IV. Why cremate?
A. Fire is a positive symbol - purification and holiness.
B. Burial is not important in the Bible.
1) Burial is never commanded for Christians, and cremation
is not condemned.
2) Jesus gave little attention to disposing of the dead.
a) "Let dead bury their dead." Matthew 8:22
b) He made negative references to "whitewashed tombs."
3) The Apostle Paul viewed the body as a temporary abode.
a) Only a living body is a temple of God.
b) Bodies are compared to tents.
C. Cremation only speeds the natural process. Gen 3:19
1) We return to dust anyway - cremation is just faster.
2) All believers will be resurrected, no matter what happens
to their bodies.
D. Cremation is practical.
1) It is certainly cheaper.
a) Full funerals in this area easily cost $7,000.
b) Cremations can be as little as $700.
1> (Viewings, etc., can make cost comparable to a
regular burial.)
2) Traditional funerals can be very materialistic.
a) "History Channel" documentary - those who had mansions
and expensive cars in life can have equivalent
luxury in a cemetery.
1> Should Christians follow these values?
b) Also, there is a concern over land use.
1> Arlington, where my parents will rest, will fill
up in 20 years with regular burials.)
2> One cemetery in California will hold over one
million people.
3> Should so much land be tied up for this?
3) There is also the emotional concern over decay of body.
V. Questions about cremation.
A. It can be less dignified.
1) People joke about ashes.
a) "Father of the Bride" movie - cat knocks over urn,
uses ashes for cat litter.
b) Local rabbi mentioned to me that people do not treat
ashes with the same respect they give to an embalmed
body.
2) Stories of ashes being misplaced, etc.
a) Our local funeral home has hundreds of abandoned urns
which must be disposed of.
3) Often there is no memorial service for those cremated or
an opportunity for emotional closure.
a) Cremation can lead to the secular viewpoint that this
life is all that is important - when you are dead,
you are gone. Period.
B. Disputes over cremation supporters' claims.
1) Fire is more often a negative symbol of eternal judgment.
2) Jesus gave little attention to many important questions.
a) Jesus does not criticize burial but the hypocrisy of
his opponents.
3) Paul did not devalue dead bodies. 1 Cor 15:42
a) He compares it with planting a seed, implying burial.
4) Burial does not have to be materialistic.
5) We should not speed up death, so neither should we speed
up decay.
C. Burial was consistent Christian practice in past years.
1) Follows example of Christ.
2) Christians never rejected burial.
3) It is the best way to portray our belief in resurrection.
VI. Dust that is eternal.
A. Neither cremation nor burial do justice to resurrection.
1) No matter what happens to body, God can raise it.
a) Revelation 20:13 mentions the sea giving up its dead.
2) If you are atomized, God can put atoms back together.
B. Resurrection is associated with body, but goes beyond it.
1) Ancient Jews had a literalistic tradition that the bodies
of believers would roll through tunnels so they could
be in Jerusalem at the resurrection.
2) Christians have always realized our resurrection does NOT
hinge on the condition or location of the remains.
3) Resurrection bodies recall ours, but are different.
a) They are not merely physical, but supernaturally
(spiritually) physical.
b) Comments from 1 Corinthians 15...
VII. Honor God with your body.
A. No clear Biblical command about funerals, so do as you wish.
1) Either can honor your Lord if you make that your intention.
B. Whichever you choose, focus on these points:
1) The dead should be shown respect.
a) Bodies are dust, but we know they were once people.
1> Respect for the dead is an extension of respect for
the living.
b) Memorial services and even viewings are appropriate.
c) A place of rest can be helpful to survivors.
1> Tombstones can be a positive witness.
2> (Bible verses on old-time gravestones)
3> Proclaim your faith to future generations.
2) The resurrection is our ultimate hope.
a) Burial cannot guarantee it.
b) Cremation cannot thwart it.
c) Only your decision based on faith can attain it.
C. Opening=closing question: what will happen to YOU when you die?
1) Do you know where you will be for eternity?
2) Have you accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?
=========================================================================
SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
#17322 "Cremation Ashes Startle Baseball Fans," Reuters News Service,
May 24, 2002.
#17857 "Frisbee Funeral," Internet, http://europe.cnn.com/2002/us/08/13~
/life.frisbee.reut/index.html, May 24, 2002.
#17858 "The Cremation Question," by Elesha Coffman, Christianity Today,
http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/newsletter/2002/~
feb22.html
#22421 "From Ashes To Ashes: Is Burial The Only Christian Option?" by
Norman L. Geisler and Douglas E. Potter; Christian Research
Institute; http://www.equip.org/free/dc765.htm
This article forms the basis of many of the pro/con arguments
in the sermon, though I disagree with their conclusion. The
article is summarized below.
These and 20,000 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,
absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
=========================================================================
"From Ashes To Ashes: Is Burial The Only Christian Option?"
Norman L. Geisler and Douglas E. Potter
Christian Research Institute
http://www.equip.org/free/dc765.htm
Summary of article [with some of my alterations and additions]
==================
I. Why cremate?
A. Fire is a positive symbol - purification.
B. Burial is not important in the Bible.
1) Burial is never commanded for Christians, and cremation
is not condemned.
2) Jesus gave little attention to disposing of the dead.
a) "Let dead bury their dead."
b) Negative reference to "whitewashed tombs."
3) Paul viewed body as temporary abode.
a) Only a living body is a temple of God.
b) Bodies are compared to tents.
C. Cremation only speeds the natural process. Gen 3:19
1) We return to dust anyway - cremation is just faster.
2) All believers will be resurrected, no matter what happens
to their bodies.
D. Non-religious issues.
1) Cost is not an inconsequential concern.
a) Traditional funerals can be very materialistic.
b) Also, space requirements.
2) There is also the emotional concern over decay of body.
II. Questions about cremation.
A. Can be less dignified.
1) People joke about ashes.
2) Stories of ashes being misplaced, etc.
3) Faddish? Ashes turned into jewelry.
B. Emotional concerns.
1) Often no memorial service or opportunity for closure.
a) Local funeral home with hundreds of urns that must be
disposed of.
C. Disputes over its claims.
1) Fire is more often a symbol of eternal judgment.
2) Jesus gave little attention to many important questions.
a) Jesus does not criticize burial but the hypocrisy of
his opponents.
3) Paul did not devalue dead bodies. 1 Cor 15:42
a) He compares it with planting a seed, implying burial.
4) Burial does not have to be materialistic.
5) We should not speed up death, so neither should we speed
up decay.
III. The argument for burial.
A. Consistent practice in past.
1) Follows example of Christ.
2) Christians never rejected burial.
B. Focuses on physical body, and, by extension, our resurrection.
1) Body is a potent symbol - we are created in image of God.
2) Burial is the seal of death.
3) Resurrection is proof that death is not final.
C. Emotional closure at viewing ceremony.
1) We associate the body with the person in a special way that
ashes cannot.
2) Burial offers most respect for the dead.
3) Cremation similar to burning a flag?
a) Even if it is necessary (disease), ashes should be
buried and not cast to the wind.
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