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Even from a purely civil perspective , there are laws to protect against inflicting an indignity on a dead human body. In some cases this law is interpreted broadly.
In Canada it’s worded this way
The Jews’ respect for the dead – is a tradition that dates back thousands of years. Today, in their law cremation is still forbidden – much like the Orthodox Church. Both Orthodox and non-Orthodox rabbinical authorities frown on cremation” ,while, on top of that, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky who leads Congregation Ansche Chesed in Manhattan, says that “after the Shoa” , “the thought of burning bodies is unbearable.” That’s one complication.
Here’s where the tradition starts in the Judeo-Christian sphere of thought:
Too often there are people (good Catholics included) who, to give a very simple analogy, consider the soul as the chips and the body as the bag. Once we’re done with the chips, just pitch the body.
More and more people seem to be under this impression ( a flagrant misconception actually) of what a man, a woman, were created to be. As God had intended in creation, the human body wasn’t meant to die. Man has his own hypostasis of corporeal (body) and spirit (soul) – both of these make up the one suppositum of man . So the promise of the Resurrection and a glorified body is a restoral – a consummation which, because of God’s grace and Mercy will actually surpass our original state we enjoyed before the fall.
A Christian body is considered with due respect and dignity , because it is/was the temple of the Holy Spirit
.
There may be some justification for cremation in certain cases. However, once an exception has been allowed and an indult granted, it only takes one precedent being set to open the door wide enough for abuses to creep in. For example, the Catholic Church desires that the body be present at the funeral and if it is to be cremated, that should happen only afterwards. There’s a way to get around it. How many times do we see funeral Masses with the ashes present today ? Or, when’s the last time someone said to you, “I’m going to have his/her body cremated after the funeral ?”
Here is a link to some regulations and explanations pertaininf to cremation and how the (Catholic) Church and the faithful are to proceed in the Diocese of Kingston (Ontario) :
romancatholic.kingston.on.ca/LITURGY%20FILES/LITURIGICAL%20FILES/Order%20of%20Christain%20Funerals%20-%20%20Cremation%202005.pdf
Even the word “ashes” is a bit of a misnomer. “Cremated remains” is a conveniently more obscure approximation.
In Canada it’s worded this way
So even the state requires respect for the mortal remains of a human person. And “scattering ashes” requires permission of the land owner, or in case of public land, the authorities. It isn’t permitted in fresh water , and as a general rule , over salt water it has to be done several miles from shore.DEAD BODY
182. Every one who
(a) neglects, without lawful excuse, to perform any duty that is imposed on him by law or that he undertakes with reference to the burial of a dead human body or human remains, or
(b) improperly or indecently interferes with or offers any indignity to a dead human body or human remains, whether buried or not,
is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years. [R.S., c.C-34, c.178.]
The Jews’ respect for the dead – is a tradition that dates back thousands of years. Today, in their law cremation is still forbidden – much like the Orthodox Church. Both Orthodox and non-Orthodox rabbinical authorities frown on cremation” ,while, on top of that, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky who leads Congregation Ansche Chesed in Manhattan, says that “after the Shoa” , “the thought of burning bodies is unbearable.” That’s one complication.
Here’s where the tradition starts in the Judeo-Christian sphere of thought:
“Jews have always had the tradition, going back to biblical times, to create a space on earth to mourn the dead,” said Rabbi Andy Bachman, spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Elohim, a Reform synagogue in Brooklyn. “The simplest way to put it is, if you go all the way back to Abraham’s first act after Sarah died, it was to secure a plot of land in order to bury her.”
Rabbi Kalmanofsky has a valid point too – throughout the ages beginning in Judaism and continuing in the shoot which sprung forth from it – Christianity , the burning of a body (unless there was some sort of an epidemic) has usually been interpreted as an indignity.
Too often there are people (good Catholics included) who, to give a very simple analogy, consider the soul as the chips and the body as the bag. Once we’re done with the chips, just pitch the body.
More and more people seem to be under this impression ( a flagrant misconception actually) of what a man, a woman, were created to be. As God had intended in creation, the human body wasn’t meant to die. Man has his own hypostasis of corporeal (body) and spirit (soul) – both of these make up the one suppositum of man . So the promise of the Resurrection and a glorified body is a restoral – a consummation which, because of God’s grace and Mercy will actually surpass our original state we enjoyed before the fall.
A Christian body is considered with due respect and dignity , because it is/was the temple of the Holy Spirit
.
There may be some justification for cremation in certain cases. However, once an exception has been allowed and an indult granted, it only takes one precedent being set to open the door wide enough for abuses to creep in. For example, the Catholic Church desires that the body be present at the funeral and if it is to be cremated, that should happen only afterwards. There’s a way to get around it. How many times do we see funeral Masses with the ashes present today ? Or, when’s the last time someone said to you, “I’m going to have his/her body cremated after the funeral ?”
Here is a link to some regulations and explanations pertaininf to cremation and how the (Catholic) Church and the faithful are to proceed in the Diocese of Kingston (Ontario) :
romancatholic.kingston.on.ca/LITURGY%20FILES/LITURIGICAL%20FILES/Order%20of%20Christain%20Funerals%20-%20%20Cremation%202005.pdf
Prohibition Lifted
Cremation is body disposal – it isn’t burial . And who reading these forums believes that 100% of the remains of a cremated body end up in the urn once you receive them ?. . . Today, when people deny the need of a Christian burial or a Funeral Mass, this might stem from a new sort of denial: a denial of the Church’s belief in the afterlife and of the need for ongoing purification and the prayers for the dead. In this case, using cremation as a way of expediting a funeral flows from a attitude that is in contradiction to Christian faith. It may reflect a world that does not like to deal with death, which is seen as an embarrassment, something to be gotten through as quickly as possible, with a minimum of pain or bother. Yet for Catholics death is a statement that life on earth is precious and is the passage to a fuller, final life with the risen Christ.
Even the word “ashes” is a bit of a misnomer. “Cremated remains” is a conveniently more obscure approximation.