Things You Might Believe About Cremation Services (That are Wrong)

When you’re planning cremation services in Boones Mill, VA, you may believe some things about them that are wrong. You are not alone. While more of us are opting for cremation services when we die, there is still a lot of mystery around the process itself. Here are some things about cremation services that you might not know the facts about.

One of the things that you might believe about cremations services that is wrong is that you will get a stranger’s cremation remains. The root of this wrong idea is the erroneous belief that more than one person can be put into a cremation chamber at a time.

A cremation chamber is only wide enough to hold a single body and only one body can be cremated at a time. Additionally, there are many steps in place to ensure that the cremation remains you receive will be those of your loved one.

The first step is a visual confirmation of the identity of your loved one (either by you or another family member in person or using a current photo). Once your loved one’s identity has been confirmed visually, a permanent tag is attached to the body that will stay with it all the way through the cremation process. Therefore, there is absolutely no way that you will get someone else’s cremation remains instead of your loved one’s.

Another thing that you might believe about cremation services that is wrong is that your loved one’s body will be burned with an actual fire. From the earliest records of humans being cremated when they died, a live fire was used and this is why you may believe that live fire is still being used for cremation services.

The technology of cremation has consistently improved over the decades. Today, cremation services do not require that an actual fire be used. Instead, cremation chambers are heated to very high temperatures so that the body can be reduced to nothing to bones. After the bones have cooled down, they are ground down to the consistency of fine sand, and place in the cremation container that is returned to you.

Another thing that you might believe about cremation services is that they are prohibited by religion. While there are a few religions, such as Islam and a minority of Jewish sects, that prohibit cremation services, most other religions do not.

At one time, most Christian religions did prohibit cremation services, and that idea of cremations being banned by Christianity has died slowly. The root of this misconception is actually related to the history of Christianity itself.

When the Roman Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire, burials became the primary method of final disposition because cremation services were associated with pagan religions.

As Christianity grew, one of its beliefs became that the Bible itself prohibited cremation services, and that is a belief that lasted for several centuries. The Bible, by the way, does not prohibit cremation services for the dead. The practice that it does prohibit is burning people who are still alive to pagan gods.

In the last several decades, Christianity, for the most part has removed its prohibition on cremation services, which is one of the reasons why cremation services have become a more common funeral arrangement.

For additional information about cremation services in Boones Mill, VA, our caring and knowledgeable staff at Lynch Conner-Bowman Funeral Home can assist you.