How Can I Have a Closer Relationship With God?

Episode 129 Show Notes

How Can I Have a Closer Relationship With God?

From the Show

Does the Bible have anything to say about cremation?

Cremation has often been practiced in non-Christian cultures associated with all sorts of pagan rites that go against our biblical understanding of death and the resurrection. I was in India, Varanasi, sort of the spiritual center of Hinduism, I just sat there marveling at the rituals, and the demon possession of priests as they whirled about and chanted, and then burned the bodies and sent them out into the water. And so a lot of people say, “we don’t like those associations, we’ll have nothing to do with it.” Other believers think cremation is okay because it preserves the body as much, maybe even more than burial in a casket. After all, the body disintegrates gradually anyway and turns to dust. So, are dust and ashes really different? In any case, God is going to raise the same body to life immortal by his miraculous power. And pagan rites have been associated with traditional burial too. A lot of people have been buried in the ground with pagan rites. The method of burial doesn’t really make it pagan or Christian. — Michael Horton

Questions in this Episode

1. How important is it for church to be exciting? I know that sometimes the most important things in life can be boring, but if the gospel is really about amazing grace how can we allow this to become boring? What do you think?

2. Why do you think studying theology is practical?

3. How can I have a close relationship with God? When I was part of a church that ministered to widows, I was amazed at how close some of them seemed to God. They just seemed to have a strong love and sense of his care for them. What do you think makes for a close relationship with God?

4. Does the Bible have anything to say about cremation?

5. I have heard it said that some people are so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good. Is this a real danger, in your opinion?

Resources

Why Does Church Have to Be So Boring?

Why Study Theology?

Is It Ok For a Christian to Be Cremated?