John Piper encourages Christians to choose burial over cremation

John Piper, founder of desiringgod.com and chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary, encourages Christians to prefer burial over cremation.

In a post on his website desiringgod.com, the pastor shares his views on the matter based on what he has discovered through the Bible. Piper points to Philippians 1:20, a verse that says, "Glorifying God is what the body is for — in life and in death."

Piper writes on this post that "our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit," implying that human bodies should be used for God's glory. The pastor continues to refer to 1 Corinthians 15:37 as well as verses 42–44, saying that people's bodies are destined to be resurrected to glory. Piper believes that burial is like sowing the body as a seed, which is a picture of the body's resurrection.

Cremation is discouraged as it uses fire, which depicts evil and damage, as well as hell. It shows contempt, as Piper writes in his post, and not the glory that the body is destined to have.

Furthermore, fire has always been related to injury or torture. It is not a good picture of how to leave the earth, and Piper believes it is not what the Bible wants to impart. 

Nevertheless, Piper clarifies that the option for a burial is not a command but a preference, so as not to condemn people who practice cremation.

Chuck Colson, an evangelical leader and founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries and daily radio commentary "BreakPoint," had said that there were suspicions connected to cremation since it was a practice done by pagans during the early Christian period.

Colson, who passed way in 2012, had told his "BreakPoint" listeners back in 2007, as reported by Christian Post, that Christians buried their dead, and that Jesus' resurrection should inspire people to treat the body, even the deceased body, with respect.