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[charis]

My father died just a year ago.  My mother and brother and I were all there.  My dad and mom had agreed that if there was no chance of recovery that we just "let them go"..... That was so hard for me, but we did it.  Dad did not die instantly, but kept going for another 3 days with no food, water, or oxygen.  When he did, his body was cremated - which I think is barbaric.  My mom has Dad's ashes, but she won't tell me where they are.  I know cremation is an accepted and common way to go, but I have nightmares about it.  I am a inquisitive person, and found a website that I had hoped would give me more information about cremation.  What they gave me was a detailed step by step video of a person being cremated.  It was awful.

My question is about death and cremation.  How can a dead person "rest" till Jesus comes when they aren't even molecularly that person anymore?

[Chrissie]

My father died just a year ago.  My mother and brother and I were all there.  My dad and mom had agreed that if there was no chance of recovery that we just "let them go"..... That was so hard for me, but we did it.  Dad did not die instantly, but kept going for another 3 days with no food, water, or oxygen.  When he did, his body was cremated - which I think is barbaric.  My mom has Dad's ashes, but she won't tell me where they are.  I know cremation is an accepted and common way to go, but I have nightmares about it.  I am a inquisitive person, and found a website that I had hoped would give me more information about cremation.  What they gave me was a detailed step by step video of a person being cremated.  It was awful.

My question is about death and cremation.  How can a dead person "rest" till Jesus comes when they aren't even molecularly that person anymore?

I'll leave the scientific answer to the scientists Charis. 

I can imagine watching a cremation on the internet like that would be awful. I personally don't like cremation, and only recently attended a funeral, where the person was cremated. It was done tastefully, with the coffin going down behind a curtain and one couldn't see what happened after that. However, it gives me the creeps.

My husband has always stated that he wants to be cremated until just recently and he's gone all sentimental (that's a worry. Is he sick?). He's decided that he'll be buried as it wouldn't be fair to me he explained, as he knows how I feel about it. I am relieved that his decision has changed, as I would feel obliged to carry out his wishes.

But as for your question "How can a dead person 'rest' till Jesus comes when they aren't even molecularly that person anymore?". When anyone dies, the body very quickly breaks down so that finally there is just a mound of 'dirt' in the casket (depending on the time the body has been 'resting'), so I guess if God can put that body back together again, He can also put ashes back together into a person again.

I remember being taught by Catholic nuns that it was sin to be cremated, as that person had no chance of going to heaven if their body has been cremated, but I see that now as denying the power of God. It is a very sensitive topic and one where many people will have varied ideas - all of them legitimate to that person.

[bonnie]

My father died just a year ago.  My mother and brother and I were all there.  My dad and mom had agreed that if there was no chance of recovery that we just "let them go"..... That was so hard for me, but we did it.  Dad did not die instantly, but kept going for another 3 days with no food, water, or oxygen.  When he did, his body was cremated - which I think is barbaric.  My mom has Dad's ashes, but she won't tell me where they are.  I know cremation is an accepted and common way to go, but I have nightmares about it.  I am a inquisitive person, and found a website that I had hoped would give me more information about cremation.  What they gave me was a detailed step by step video of a person being cremated.  It was awful.

My question is about death and cremation.  How can a dead person "rest" till Jesus comes when they aren't even molecularly that person anymore?

I see nothing wrong with cremation, EXCEPT I could not have a family member cremated   I have lost several family members and have not had to face that. I have recently found out that some have expressed that for themselves .
My husband has no desire to be cremated, but I have told him if he should change his mind,It is one wish I will not honor.

However, I think Christ will find you anywhere. In terms of that it is not any different than those that have lost their life in any other type of fire. Many that have lost their life at sea are no more. Nothing remains of them, but I believe that Christ will find them anyway.

[Ozzie]

My father died just a year ago.  My mother and brother and I were all there.  My dad and mom had agreed that if there was no chance of recovery that we just "let them go"..... That was so hard for me, but we did it.  Dad did not die instantly, but kept going for another 3 days with no food, water, or oxygen.  When he did, his body was cremated - which I think is barbaric.  My mom has Dad's ashes, but she won't tell me where they are.  I know cremation is an accepted and common way to go, but I have nightmares about it.  I am a inquisitive person, and found a website that I had hoped would give me more information about cremation.  What they gave me was a detailed step by step video of a person being cremated.  It was awful.

My question is about death and cremation.  How can a dead person "rest" till Jesus comes when they aren't even molecularly that person anymore?

I see nothing wrong with cremation, EXCEPT I could not have a family member cremated   I have lost several family members and have not had to face that. I have recently found out that some have expressed that for themselves .
My husband has no desire to be cremated, but I have told him if he should change his mind,It is one wish I will not honor.

However, I think Christ will find you anywhere. In terms of that it is not any different than those that have lost their life in any other type of fire. Many that have lost their life at sea are no more. Nothing remains of them, but I believe that Christ will find them anyway.

I support everything you have stated here Bonnie. I don't believe that we can limit God or put Him into a little box, bounded by our human perceptions.

I would hate to be expected to make the decision for a loved one to be cremated, if that was their wish. I think that is one that is in the 'too hard basket' for me.

[Johann]

Times have changed. Now in the Copenhagen, Denmark, area, where I served for many years, space in the cemeteries is so scarce that cremation is almost a must. Older graves are dug up and what remains is deposed.

I was conducting more and more funerals of Adventists with cremation. I had to reason that God is not dependent on the remains of the body for the resurrection.

When my mother died in Denmark we were worried what would happen to the grave when we all moved to other countries, so we had her cremated. Not until 4 years later were we able to bury the ashes in my father's grave only 10 minutes from where I live now. Even though it is only the ashes it is a comfort having the "resting" place of my parents together and not far away.

[bonnie]

There is not an easy answer on this for some, and I am one of them. I flat out would refuse to honor a loved's ones wishes on this for no good reason I could put my finger on.

Yet,the other alternatives are no more attractive, just something we are used to. I lost my  two  sisters when I was a small child to a drunk driver. Even tho very young, I remember their funeral vividly. The beautiful white satin dresses made for them, the bows in the hair. Looking as peaceful as you could wish.

One time while tending the graves I was surprised to see what looked like a type of disturbance of the grave of one of my sisters. To say I was upset would be to put it mildly. I have always carried the picture of the last time I saw them and that is how they remained in my mind. Never changing. When my husband explained to me what had happened to the grave it haunted me for days. I no longer carry that final picture of them.

What had been my sister, no longer remains. It was decomposition of her and casket after all these years that caused the dramatic sinking of her resting place.

There are different practises now in buriel, but for all those that have gone before it is little different than being cremated. Yet, the thought of cremation is something I could not even consider

[charis]

Maybe it IS more cultural..  I'm just having a difficult time with the whole cremation idea.  And "soul sleep"... What is soul sleep???  I had never heard that term until a non-SDA told me that's what I believed in.  Is that just another name for "resting in Christ"?  I know the spirit goes back to God, and the body is the physical remains.  But where is the soul??

 

(I should know these things, but I don't.) 

[Ozzie]

Maybe it IS more cultural..  I'm just having a difficult time with the whole cremation idea.  And "soul sleep"... What is soul sleep???  I had never heard that term until a non-SDA told me that's what I believed in.  Is that just another name for "resting in Christ"?  I know the spirit goes back to God, and the body is the physical remains.  But where is the soul??

 

(I should know these things, but I don't.) 

Charis, you are obviously a deep-thinking person, and that is good.

I understand that the 'soul' is actually the breath of life that God breathed into us when we were born. When we die, that 'spirit' and 'soul' returns to God and the person "knows not anything until the day of the Resurrection". Maybe, some of our theologians could explain this much better than I?

Your feelings would still be raw Charis, as it's only twelve months since your Dad died and Dads are very special people. Even when I think of my dear Dad now, tears come to my eyes.

I have to run right now, but come back later and see if anyone else has been able to answer any of your questions Charis.

[Johann]

I think the Biblical formula could be stated like this:

body +  spirit = living soul

The two components are needed to become a living soul.

[Daryl Fawcett]

In the opposite sense, body minus spirit = sleeping (dead) soul, from which we get the words "soul sleep."

[Johann]

When one is missing the soul is dead - sleeping -  until the resurrection.

[Daryl Fawcett]

I am reminded of the saying, "from ashes to ashes, from dust to dust."

Whether cremated or not, the body eventually decomposes and returns to the ground from which man came, as in Adam.