Ashes to ashes, dust to dust

The closer I get to catching my own train to the Transcendent Be- yond the more convinced I am to return to ashes by cremation rather than moldering in an expensive casket for several hundred years to reach the same end. How do you feel about your own departure?

Steadily increasing numbers of Americans are sharing my feelings. The U.S. cremation rate is expected to increase from 60.5 percent in 2023 to an astounding 81.4 percent by 2045, according to the National Funeral Directors Association’s 2023 Cremation and Burial Report.

More people than ever before clearly are choosing to dispose of their material remains by fire soon after the conscious spirit has departed.

Are there spiritual implications? Not in the Bible, which is silent on the acceptance of cremation. Nowhere in scriptures is it condemned. However, The Jewish faith does denounce it.

But for Catholics, the Vatican in 2016 proclaimed cremation acceptable, saying, “The Church raises no doctrinal objections to this practice, since cremation of the deceased’s body does not affect his or her soul, nor does it prevent God, in his omnipotence, from raising up the deceased body to new life.”

To my way of thinking, cremation with an accompanying memorial service for relatives and friends also is far less expensive and tedious on survivors who often must bear that burden than can easily stretch into thousands of dollars. For those concerned with the environment, it requires less valuable space than a burial plot.

Plus, I’m not fond of thinking of those I’ve known and loved throughout life ogling my lifeless, embalmed remains tinted by makeup lying in eternal repose, awaiting my drop into the six-foot hole in the ground, as a minister reminds all of “ashes to ashes and dust to dust.”

My ashes can be given to the family to do with as they please. Some may bury those in a cemetery or place the urn within a columbarium or mausoleum niche while others can share and keep them at home,or distribute them at a favorite place of the deceased like beneath a tree or in a stream, lake or the ocean. after all, at that point whatever the decision, it is being made to satisfy those still living.

The Neptune Society, a national organization, which for decades has assisted in cremation planning, prepared a study of religious attitudes by various religions about cremating one’s remains. The results of their study were mixed:

JUDAISM

Throughout history Jewish law has held that burial is the only acceptable option. Although Jewish faith today continues to generally discourage cremation, Reform Judaism is becoming more accepting of the practice. “If a person chooses to be cremated, most Reform Jewish cemeteries today will allow their remains to be buried in Jewish cemeteries,” notes Neptune, “although often they stipulate that the cremains must still be buried in a coffin. Orthodox Judaism, however, remains strongly opposed to cremation.”

CHRISTIANITY

Throughout most of its history Christianity (but not the Bible) was opposed to cremation. However, in recent times it has become more acceptable within most mainstream Protestant churches, as well as Catholicism. The acceptance has occurred for various reasons, Neptune reports, “the most important of which is that cremation is no longer understood by these churches to impede resurrection. Burial is still the preferred practice, but cremation does not stand in the way of an individual receiving a church funeral or being interred in a churchowned cemetery.” However, some sects, such as the Greek and Russian Orthodox churches, retain more historical views of resurrection and do not consider cremation an acceptable alternative.

ISLAM

Of the world’s religions, Islam is perhaps the most strongly opposed to cremation, Neptune reports. “Unlike Judaism and Christianity, there is little diversity of opinion about it. Cremation is considered … an unclean practice. Muslims are forbidden to take part in the act of cremation in any way, including witnessing the event or even stating approval of it. This disapproval is based on beliefs that the body after death should be treated with the same respect as it was in life, the belief that some part of the body may be necessary for resurrection, and the belief that the body is required for mourning as a reminder that death comes to all.”

MORMONS

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, generally known as Mormons, believe the body is inextricably tied to the soul, notes Neptune. “Because of this, they are generally advised to avoid cremation unless it is required by law. However, Mormonism does not prohibit cremation; it is not seen as a hindrance to resurrection, and cremation does not preclude Mormons from receiving an LDS memorial service or funeral.”

JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES

Members of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, known as Jehovah’s Witnesses, have no prohibitions against cremation. Unlike many other Christians, they believe in spiritual rather than physical resurrection; they do not believe a physical body is necessary to be resurrected. Members also are advised to consider local customs and laws, then make the right decision for their family.

Buddhism, a set of teachings or practices based on the life of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha or the “enlightened one,” isn’t a religion in the sense of requiring a belief in a god. Buddhists are not required to follow a prescribed set of funeral practices. Many choose cremation because the Buddha was cremated, but burial is also permissible.

HINDUISM

The Hindu view of the body and soul is the soul is inherently pure, Neptune, reports, “but it must have a body in which to live. The body is prone to desires and attachments that keep it bound to the mortal world. At death the soul leaves the body and enters another, a process which will happen many times until the soul, perfected, achieves ‘mukti’ or union with the Source. This process is called reincarnation and is the basis for Hinduism’s close association with cremation. Cremation encourages the soul to leave the body and more toward mukti.”

Now go out into the world and treat everyone you meet exactly like you want them to treat you (even as challenging as that can be in today’s world).