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We have low budget funerals. No wake. no fancy funeral, If possible we are to be buried on the same day we die, before sunset. I guess we are anti morticians, coffin makers and funeral directors.
Woodrow, how is that basically handled here in the U.S.? Do you have your own funeral homes/parlors? Your own cemeteries? Not requiring embalming, a casket and a vault makes it very simple and natural.
How comes it that you are speaking for inquiring minds , Mr. Christian?
I wasn't going to post, but, if I did respond as an atheist I suppose I'd want to show that, after I was dead, I reckon my bod could be disposed of in a polite sorta way - no elements of needing to keep it at least in a plot of ground with a polished basalt slab saying:
"This is where Arequipa's bod used to be except the soil is acid so even the bones are gone, but the organic traces left rest here in the sure hope of some sort of resurrection."
So to answer your question, I'd suggest that we are showing that we have no attachment to our preserved remains - as indeed you do not yourself.
AREQUIPA, I saw where the cremation rate in the U.S. is around 32%...... 42 percent in Canada, 71 percent in Great Britain and more than 98 percent in Japan. That's right up there. Cremation
Woodrow, how is that basically handled here in the U.S.? Do you have your own funeral homes/parlors? Your own cemeteries? Not requiring embalming, a casket and a vault makes it very simple and natural.
I know you directed this to Woodrow, but since Judaism and Islam are very similar in this regard I wanted to answer as well.
We have burial societies within our communities that honor and prepared the dead for burial. In addition to cleaning and dressing, we pray over and guard the bodies until burial. In my community, we work with a local funeral home that is familiar with our customs and allows us the space carry out the preparations and prepares the site at our Jewish cemetery (it is a separate section of the city's historic cemetery).
I know you directed this to Woodrow, but since Judaism and Islam are very similar in this regard I wanted to answer as well.
We have burial societies within our communities that honor and prepared the dead for burial. In addition to cleaning and dressing, we pray over and guard the bodies until burial. In my community, we work with a local funeral home that is familiar with our customs and allows us the space carry out the preparations and prepares the site at our Jewish cemetery (it is a separate section of the city's historic cemetery).
Hi Juliet Bravo, I waited to respond to your original post because I had to do a little looking up. I came across this yesterday when I was surfing the net and wanted to verify it. Anyway, I wanted to post this article and see if you had any comments. I would guess this is very small percentage of the Jewish population?
Quote:
A growing number of Reform Jews, including several Reform rabbis, are electing to be cremated. Some are repelled by the thought of their bodies decomposing slowly in the ground. Some environmentally conscious Jews believe it is wasteful to reserve large sections of precious land for burial. The cost of cremation, too, is far less than for a casket and a full-size cemetery plot. Although I have chosen traditional burial for myself, I believe their choice must be honored.
Woodrow, how is that basically handled here in the U.S.? Do you have your own funeral homes/parlors? Your own cemeteries? Not requiring embalming, a casket and a vault makes it very simple and natural.
Here in the USA, because of laws. The Body is often taken to a funeral home. But the body is prepared by volunteers from the nearest Mosque and the body is taken to the burial site as soon as possible. We do have our own Cemeteries that do follow local laws and ordinences. They are usually unnoticed as we do frown on any permanent markers and tombstones, although they are not forbidden. we also frown upon visiting the graves after burial and any mourning after a few days.
Hindus believe in reincarnation and view death as the soul moving from one body to the next on its path to reach Nirvana, heaven. Death is a sad occasion, but Hindu priests emphasise the route ahead for the departed soul and a funeral is as much a celebration as a remembrance service.
Hindus cremate their dead, believing that the burning of a dead body signifies the release of the spirit and that the flames represent Brahma, the creator.
Hi Juliet Bravo, I waited to respond to your original post because I had to do a little looking up. I came across this yesterday when I was surfing the net and wanted to verify it. Anyway, I wanted to post this article and see if you had any comments. I would guess this is very small percentage of the Jewish population?
I can't really give hard numbers, but most people that I know, regardless of their stream of Judaism, still favor traditional burial. The Reform Movement handles Jewish law differently than the others, and tradition doesn't always carry as much weight.
I think the article is a good one, and I like the opposing views being given equal space. Rabbi Stahl (answering "yes") gives a great explanation of the Reform position, while Rabbi Gluck (answering "no") gives a more traditional answer. Keep in mind that while Reform Jews are the largest group in the US, many still give a lot of weight to tradition and customs.
Both the Orthodox and Conservative movements consider cremation forbidden.
For those that believe in the fallacy of <echo> the rapture </echo> what will happen. Will there be a ash cloud formed over every cemetery, or the urn on the mantle?
How do you feel about cremation? Is there anything about the practice of cremation that is prohibited or not in line with your religion or spiritual views?
If God can create Adam from the dirt, he can call back my ashes from the ground or the four winds or whatever.
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