I was just wondering about the morality of cremation from a Christian perspective, and I found an excellent position paper on it here, by a pastor from Grace Presbyterian.

As I wonder about this, my reflections constantly acknowledge the fact that the Christian faith is not entirely about rituals and customs and traditions; not so much as it is about the kingdom of God and the redemption that comes through Jesus. Our sights as Christians should be set on the eternal perspective; on what happens to our immortal souls, not just our mortal bodies. From that view, cremation is not a crucial moral decision that should affect our salvation.

At the same time, however, we have to consider the example of the bible, where nominal Jewish and early Christian custom shunned cremation as a defilement of the body and of tradition. The Testaments’ standard, then, leans toward burial, but without any outright statement directly prohibiting cremation.

I’ev been leaning towards the desire to be cremated when I die. Should I rethink that?