Why Must the Dead be Buried?

[Dark Muse]

This is a question that has been tickling at the back of my mind, just one of those little random curiosities in which I would be interested to hear what other people think.

Christians practice the rite of the burial of their dead because they believe that on the day of final judgement they will be restored back into their physical bodies and the dead will rise once more to ascend to heaven, so it is important that their bodies are preserved for the soul to reenter into.

But if God is all powerful, than even if a person was cremated and their ashes thrown into the ocean, would not God be able to restore a persons body together again from those scattered ashes?

Why is it so important that the body be buried, because no matter what becomes of a persons remains should not God be able to restore the body back again, because if not than wouldn't that make him less than all powerful?

[DanielBenoit]

Burial rites have existed since far before civilization or organized religion. It is an intrinsic human impulse to pay respects for the dead. Maybe it's an avoidance of the Reality Principle as a way to evade an acceptance of the non-existence of a certain person by paying respects to them by digging a grave, paying dues like mourning or decorating the grave with flowers or a stone, etc. This may also be the origin of the idea of ghosts and even the afterlife; a means of comfort in believing that your dead friend or family member is not in fact gone forever but is waiting for you in some other realm and whose body needs to be paid respect such as burial rites.

In a sense, it is a way for us to avoid the terrifying suggestion that once life leaves the body, it is nothing more than just a gigantic slab of meat.

[OrphanPip]

Humans have been conducting ritual burials for at least 130,000 years, there is even evidence that Neanderthals performed burials. It's a religious practice that the Jews likely picked up from the other religions of the area.

Apart from theological reasons, burial is an effective way of disposing of the dead to prevent health problems, and it is likely wrapped up with a superstitious concern with the position of the dead. Burial grounds act as a ritualized location for the honouring of the dead, and burial ceremonies are often associated with providing a certain level of closure for family and friends.

Edit: Well Daniel beat me to it.

[The Comedian]

I'm sure part of the reason is also sanitary. . .and aesthetic. . . . the rotting body of a friend or relative could spread physical disease, smell terrible, and psychologically hard to handle seeing day after smelly day.

[Dark Muse]

I'm sure part of the reason is also sanitary. . .and aesthetic. . . . the rotting body of a friend or relative could spread physical disease, smell terrible, and psychologically hard to handle seeing day after smelly day.

But cremation would solve all of those problems, it would be a perfectly sanitary way of disposing of dead bodies.

Part of my question is not about burial rites in general, but specifically to why it is required within the Christian religion that bodies must be buried as opposed to being cremated. For according to the Bible the bodies are buried so that the souls my return to them, and the dead will rise again on final judgement day, thus thier bodies need to be preserved in tact.

But if God is indeed truly all powerful, than even if one were cremated would not God have the power to restore thier bodies whole from thier ashes?

[OrphanPip]

But cremation would solve all of those problems, it would be a perfectly sanitary way of disposing of dead bodies.

Part of my question is not about burial rites in general, but specifically to why it is required within the Christian religion that bodies must be buried as opposed to being cremated. For according to the Bible the bodies are buried so that the souls my return to them, and the dead will rise again on final judgement day, thus thier bodies need to be preserved in tact.

But if God is indeed truly all powerful, than even if one were cremated would not God have the power to restore thier bodies whole from thier ashes?

No I read it. All the other religions in the areas were doing it, so the Jews just wanted to belong. The theological arguments are an afterthought.

Edit: Although, if you want a specific reason, the Catholic faith views the body as sacrament, thus to burn it is to commit sacrilege. Looking for logical consistencies within religious dogma is not always a fruitful process.

[DanielBenoit]

Burial of the dead, as I've said before, is an intrinsic practice amongst almost all Western religions. Any other option was inconceivable. Like OP said, the theology of it all was an afterthought. In the end it was all a part of tradition.

[Dark Muse]

Burial of the dead, as I've said before, is an intrinsic practice amongst almost all Western religions. Any other option was inconceivable. Like OP said, the theology of it all was an afterthought. In the end it was all a part of tradition.

The practice of burning the dead was widespread among many Pre-Christian cultures, even within the Western world. The Romans at different points practiced both burning or burial, as well the Greeks were known to either burn or bury thier dead. The Vikings also practiced burning thier dead, and the Celts alternately burned or buried their dead.

[OrphanPip]

The practice of burning the dead was widespread among many Pre-Christian cultures, even within the Western world. The Romans at different points practiced both burning or burial, as well the Greeks were known to either burn or bury thier dead. The Vikings also practiced burning thier dead, and the Celts alternately burned or buried their dead.

But the Egyptians, Zorastrians, Sumarians, Babylonians, and Canaanites all had taboos against cremation and elaborate burial rights. These are the Semitic religions that are most closely related with Judaism and Christianity.

[Dark Muse]

But the Egyptians, Zorastrians, Sumarians, Babylonians, and Canaanites all had taboos against cremation and elaborate burial rights. These are the Semitic religions that are most closely related with Judaism and Christianity.

My comments were aimed primarily at the idea that one of the foremost reasons for the practice of burial was the fact that any other method was simply inconceivable because everyone buried their dead in the Western World which is not strictly true. As there were other methods of disposing of the dead practiced in the Western World among varying different cultures.

The above statement contradicts the idea that the practice of burial stems primarily from convenience, practicality, or habit, with the teleological reasons coming only as an afterthought. For clearly there were some very specific theological reasons which were behind the choice of burying bodies over cremation.

[OrphanPip]

My comments were aimed primarily at the idea that one of the foremost reasons for the practice of burial was the fact that any other method was simply inconceivable because everyone buried their dead in the Western World which is not strictly true. As there were other methods of disposing of the dead practiced in the Western World among varying different cultures.

The above statement contradicts the idea that the practice of burial stems primarily from convenience, practicality, or habit, with the teleological reasons coming only as an afterthought. For clearly there were some very specific theological reasons which were behind the choice of burying bodies over cremation.

I disagree, it makes much more sense for cultures in areas where you have winters that prevent burial, like in Europe, to practice cremation because burial is not always possible. Moreover, access to fuel for burning, either wood or something else, was much more readily available to Europeans than to those living along the rivers of North Africa and the Middle East.

Of course religious reasons motivate how and why burial is done, as death rituals within and of themselves are motivated by superstition. But the specifics of the theology in Judaism is an afterthought as the practice of ritual burial was fully institutionalized amongst the religions Judaism developed out of, and interacted with in its formative years. The general kind of theology that motivates burial over cremation usually involves some belief in the possibility of harming a spirit, or harming a body that needs to be kept sacred for w/e reason.

[Dark Muse]

The general kind of theology that motivates burial over cremation usually involves some belief in the possibility of harming a spirit, or harming a body that needs to be kept sacred for w/e reason.

The primary purpose of my original intent upon posting this question was meant to be aimed at the theological question of the need to protect the body after death, more so than the logistics of the physical act of burying.

[Silas Thorne]

It's always nice to use the dead as fertiliser. You can see the pretty flowers and the plants nearby the graves, and imagine that the dead pass into the world to become them. But why are there little stones scattered over some graves so the plants can't grow?
If you feed the dead to the fishes or send them to the skies, sure, they enter the big chain of life, you just can't see it. Perhaps many people just psychologically like to have a place to remember a person from. In New Zealand (and I'm sure in many other countries around the world) people also put little shrines where there were fatalities in car accidents and leave flowers there. They usually put a cross there too, but I'm not sure if this is Christian, or just due to human psychology.

Sorry Dark Muse, just saw your last message, I should have deleted this before writing it, but spent a few moments writing it so I'll let it be.

[Dark Muse]

Sorry Dark Muse, just saw your last message, I should have deleted this before writing it, but spent a few moments writing it so I'll let it be.

It is alright, I blame myself for not having stated my intent clearly enough within the original message, or using too misleading of a title that did not convey accurately my meaning.

[African_Love]

This is a question that has been tickling at the back of my mind, just one of those little random curiosities in which I would be interested to hear what other people think.

Christians practice the rite of the burial of their dead because they believe that on the day of final judgement they will be restored back into their physical bodies and the dead will rise once more to ascend to heaven, so it is important that their bodies are preserved for the soul to reenter into.

But if God is all powerful, than even if a person was cremated and their ashes thrown into the ocean, would not God be able to restore a persons body together again from those scattered ashes?

Why is it so important that the body be buried, because no matter what becomes of a persons remains should not God be able to restore the body back again, because if not than wouldn't that make him less than all powerful?

Maybe it started out as a convenient means to dispose of a dead body. For whatever reason it's done, it can only benefit the living.