Dear Mr. Froese,

First, I am instructed and blessed by your explanations of end-time verses. Your book, Democracy Invades Islam is good reading. I wonder if the Babylon references could be an Islamic Kingdom. Babylon is noted for false religion. 

This is the good thing.

Now, I must take issue with you on the tract, “Burial or Cremation?”

Every incident you quoted was unrelated to the peaceful cremation which is happening today. Cremation today is not like pagan rituals, with public display, funeral pyres. You began your essay with a proper disclaimer: cremation or burial has no connection to salvation. I am puzzled by the last portion, which claims cremation is an “abomination” to the Lord.

Every reference to the body’s use as Christian witness refers only and exclusively to a living body. You mentioned 1 Corinthians 6:19, “What? Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own?” This refers to LIVING for Christ, not a dead body. 

I think you have failed to rightly understand the Word!

You sloughed over the expenses of burial as though they didn’t matter. 

I think it matters if a person, being a steward of funds God has graciously permitted him to have, goes into debt, making payments which could be used to reach out to the living, who need Christ.

What you are expressing is personal choice, not Bible doctrine. That burial was used for some people is not necessarily the example for others. If God condemned the burning of bodies because of personal choice, he would have stated it plainly without any qualifications.

You referenced Amos 2:1, “Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime.” This is not a condemnation of cremation, but of a pagan practice which was done out of contempt.

Your influence is diminished for the Lord because you expressed an opinion and attempted to tie it into Scripture. Cultures change. A living body is vastly different from a dead body, and to make them otherwise is wrong. A body three days in the sun is a stench; a body three weeks in the sun needs a medical examiner to identify it.

We are to present our bodies as a LIVING sacrifice, which is our reasonable service. God is the God of the living. In God only we have LIFE.

I only hope the good causes regarding end-time truths are not tainted with this tract. I wish you had not written it, not for any “conviction of me” but how it will cause seekers to turn away.

I love the Lord and like you, do not allow “patriotism” to become an idol by association.

-F. Hubbard, FL

Answer: The Bible neither mentions Islam nor refers to an “anti-Allah or anti-Muhammad,” but clearly reveals a false Christ, a false gospel, and a false spirit. When we take these facts seriously, then we must come to the conclusion that Churchianity is the greatest danger for the true Church.

The tract in question is not my opinion, but cites Scriptures clearly revealing the biblical method of disposing of the body of the saint. That’s enough reason for me to follow that example. Besides, Cremation was virtually never practiced until in recent years when Hinduism and Buddhism have flooded the European world (West).

Virtually all correspondence relating to Cremation emphasized the financial burden. Here is my testimony: My wife Ruth and I and family agree that we should be buried—the simplest way. The so-called “green burial” lists the cost as follows: $300 casket; $200 body transport; $800 for plot, opening and closing. That, you will agree, is significantly less costly than Cremation.

We are fully aware of the controversy surrounding this issue, but sense strongly that Bible truths must be proclaimed. Cremation is not an option, according to Scripture.