Human Compost

Compost, Image Source https://flickr.com, Image Author normanack (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)

Human composting – already legal in Vermont, New York, Delaware, Maryland, California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington – is attractively described as an eco-friendly process that transforms human remains into nutrient-rich soil through controlled microbial decomposition [1][2]. 

Human composting a/k/a Natural Organic Reduction, an alternative to burial or cremation, is part of the Green Burial Movement which, also, offers biodegradable caskets and casket-less burials [3].  An end-of-life ceremony is optional but may take place, should the family so desire.

Prehistory

From earliest times, human beings have buried their dead.

Some of the oldest burials by Home Sapiens are located in Qafzeh Cave in the Jezreel Valley, in the Galilee, in Israel.  These are thought to date back 100,000 – 130,000 years [4].  The grave goods interred with the 25 deceased individuals lovingly buried there include seashells, and red ocher-stained stone tools.

Neanderthal burials in the Levant may be even older [5].

Prehistoric burial mounds (barrows) and prominent Neolithic stone tombs (dating from around 5000 BC – 2500 BC) can be found across the globe [6][7][8][9].  The cairns and dolmens at Newgrange in Ireland, Maeshowe in Scotland, Barnenez in France, and Ganghwa in Korea are several well-known examples [10][11][12][13].

Countless civilizations mummified, interred, or cremated their dead, creating rituals to mourn and commemorate them, as well as assure safe passage into the next life.

Jewish Tradition

“For dust you are, And to dust you shall return” (Gen. 3: 19).

Cremation was historically associated with pagan practices.  The Jews distinguished themselves by burying their dead, as the First Century historian Tacitus noted [14A].  There are numerous burials recorded in the Old and New Testaments.  These include the burials of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, and Christ, Himself.

The body belongs to God [14B].  Consequently, Jewish tradition rejected cremation, stressing the need for a dignified burial as an act of justice for the dead [15][16].

This interdict was reinforced by the millions of Jews burned in Nazi crematoria during the Holocaust.  However, Reform and Liberal Judaism today allow cremation.

Christian Tradition

Ancient Romans practiced both burial and cremation [17].  Gladiatorial combat arose from funeral games in honor of the dead.  Following Jewish tradition, however, early Christians favored burial [18].  The catacombs in Rome illustrate this. Christians did use ossuaries to store skeletal remains.  The practice was likely derived from Second Temple Jews who did the same.

Though the church always taught that the destruction of earthly remains posed no threat to bodily resurrection, many Christians risked their lives to prevent desecration of the relics of saints.

Christian acceptance of cremation has grown over the past century in North America, Western Europe, and Australia [19].

Biblical Teaching

“I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” (Ps. 139: 14).

There is no express prohibition against cremation in the Bible.  However, the Bible teaches that the human body was divinely created.  It is, therefore, sacred and to be treated with respect – both as an instrument with which to serve God, purchased by the sacrifice of Christ’s death on the cross; and as a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3: 16, 1 Cor. 6: 19-20) [20].

Materialist View

The fact that human composting is being discussed at all suggests we no longer believe this.  Since we are merely animals, why should we take the trouble to bury our dead?  After all, we sell fetal body parts.  Better that we should fertilize the earth, than take up unnecessary space with cemeteries.  There are too many of us here, as it is.

Evidently, so goes the thinking.

The 1973 science fiction film Soylent Green portrayed an overcrowded dystopian earth which fed its citizens on the bodies of their fellows [21].  At the time, the thought was shocking.  Since then, it seems, we have come to see ourselves as little more than protein, parasites on the face of Mother Earth.  Anything else is mere sentimentality.

We have swallowed whole Satan’s lie that we are nothing more than dirt.  Only the adversary, however, sees us as human compost.  God made us in His image. Through Christ, we are His adopted sons and daughters (Rom. 8: 15-16; Eph: 1: 5; Gal. 4: 4-5).

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[1]  Wikipedia, “Human Composting”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_composting.

[2]  Encyclopedia Britannica, “human composting”, https://www.britannica.com/science/human-composting.

[3]  Web MD, “What is human composting?”, https://www.webmd.com/balance/what-is-human-composting.

[4]  Smithsonian Institution, “Qafzeh:  Oldest Intentional Burial”, https://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/behavior/burial/qafzeh-oldest-intentional-burial.

[5]  IFL Science, “What’s the Oldest Burial in the World?” by Tom Hale, https://www.iflscience.com/whats-the-oldest-human-burial-in-the-world-75584.

[6]  Wikipedia, “Long barrow”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_barrow.

[7]  Wikipedia, “Tumulus”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumulus.

[8]  Wikipedia, “Neolithic tomb”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neolithic_tomb.

[9]  Grokipedia, “https://grokipedia.com/page/neolithic_tomb.

[10]  Wikipedia, “Newgrange”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newgrange.

[11]  Wikipedia, “Maeshowe”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maeshowe.

[12]  Wikipedia, “Barnenez”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnenez.

[13]  Wikipedia, “Ganghwa Island”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganghwa_Island.

[14A and 14B]  Chabad, “Why Does Judaism Forbid Cremation?” by Naftali Silberberg, https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/510874/jewish/Why-Does-Judaism-Forbid-Cremation.htm.

[15]  My Jewish Learning, “Jewish Views on Cremation”, https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/judaism-on-cremation/.

[16]  After, “Jewish Cremation:  Is It Forbidden?  Views by Denomination”, 5/8/06, https://www.after.com/articles/jewish-cremation.

[17]  Wikipedia, “Roman funerary practices”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_funerary_practices.

[18]  Wikipedia, “Christian burial”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_burial.

[19]  Wikipedia, “Cremation in Christianity”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cremation_in_Christianity.

[20]  Bible Repository, “35 Important Bible Verses about the Body Being Sacred (Explained)” by “Pastor David”, 5/14/26, https://biblerepository.com/bible-verses-about-the-body-being-sacred/.

[21]  Wikipedia, “Soylent Green”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soylent_Green.

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