I can only assume burial is a way of getting rid of a body that will eventually rot and become a breeding ground for disease. Burial is much more hygeinic.
Ok, I know you guys hate religion talk, but bear with me! In the Bible, it talks about our bodies coming from dust, and returning to dust when we die. That's probably one reason why we are buried in the ground. I agree with Pixie, most people don't die healthy, there had to be a way to prevent disease from spreading. In ancient Egypt, they believed that if you weren't buried in a tomb, you wouldn't have a home in the afterlife. What I'm getting to is, It depends on the religion, and culture. Every country/society has their own opinions on this subject.
Is it not the soul that goes to heavan/hell anyway. Since it is not an organ in the normal sence and more of a spiritual element, it surley would not matter how the body is treated after death be it burial or cremation.
I hate it when people speak of religion like it is a fact. It is not.
If a religious person didn't view their religion as a fact, it wouldn't be believing, would it? Religion requires (add a 'blind' here if you're an atheist) faith. Otherwise it's known as agnosticism.
I don't think it matters where you're buried. If you think about it, everything eventually goes into something unpleasant. If you're buried, then you decompose into dirt in a box. The dirt eventually leaks out of the box through rainwater and is assimilated into the soil. Then crops grow over your corpse, you're eaten, etc. Cremation only makes the process quicker, and it allows you to be drunken if your burnt corpse is thrown into a body of water. That's also why I find it strange that so many people refuse to be donated to science. That way your body be multi-purposeful!
Many aspects of religion aren't very practical today. Burial and cremation probably started so that ravenous dogs or rabid squirrels wouldn't feast on the corpses and rampage the town. It also helped prevent the spread of disease. The starters of the religions, though, probably said that it was to protect against demons and whatnot. When the practicality is hidden, it makes people get used to not noticing it. Today it's gone, and people still are following traditions.
Hey, no slapping here. Some people really are quite literal when it comes to interpreting the nature of a "soul". If you could just hear some of the conversations I've heard on the subject...in earnest...
Ok I think that there is no heaven or hell. What happens when we all are already in a bad place. (which we are in a way.) But that person will be there in that persons heart and brain that saw him/her and was with him/her. But it is always good to think that that person is going to go to a better place. But I think that that person is only going to be remembered, forgiven, forgotten, and is gone.
