Jehovah's Witness Funerals | Paul Williams Independent Funeral Directors (2024)

FAQs

Can you be cremated as a Jehovah's Witnesses? ›

Cremation is acceptable to Jehovah's Witnesses because of the belief that Jehovah has the ability to restore anyone whether they were cremated or buried. The Bible does not state what should be done with the body after death.

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that when a person dies, their existence completely stops. This is because the Bible makes it clear that human beings do not have an immortal soul that survives when the body dies.

Embalming is considered acceptable by Jehovah's Witnesses. It can be necessary if the deceased or their family have requested an open casket.

Average Jehovah's Witnesses Sales Associate hourly pay in the United States is approximately $9.81, which is 29% below the national average.

“The Church raises no doctrinal objections to this practice, since cremation of the deceased's body does not affect his or her soul, nor does it prevent God, in his omnipotence, from raising up the deceased body to new life.” Even bodies buried traditionally eventually decompose.

What does the Bible say about cremation? According to most Biblical study websites, there is no explicit scriptural command for or against cremation. There are no passages that forbid cremation, according to most Biblical scholars. However, some passages describe standard death practices during these times.

At the service, men wear a suit and tie, and women are expected to dress modestly, but neither needs a head covering. Flowers and food may be offered to the family before, during, or after the service. Services take place in a funeral home or Kingdom Hall, the Jehovah's Witnesses' place of worship.

Those who leave the faith are called "apostates" and are "disfellowshipped", a term for formal expulsion and shunning, where members are "prohibited from talking, and even from saying 'hello' to them", according to Ohmyjw.

The denomination requires adherence to a strict moral code, which forbids premarital sex, hom*osexuality, gender transitioning, adultery, smoking, drunkenness and drug abuse, and blood transfusions.

The funeral service is usually shorter than other faiths, sometimes only lasting 30 minutes, and will take place within a week of the death. Men wear suits and women dress modestly, and neither wear head head coverings. Flowers and food are welcomed by the family.

Who goes to heaven in Jehovah Witness? ›

Based on their understanding of scriptures such as Revelation 14:1-4, Jehovah's Witnesses believe that exactly 144,000 faithful Christians go to heaven to rule with Christ in the kingdom of God.

Witnesses regard the soul as mortal, based on the statement at Ezekiel 18:4 that "the soul that sins, it shall die" (MKJV) and thus believe the soul does not continue to live after one dies.

Jehovah's Witnesses fund their activities, such as publishing, constructing and operating facilities, evangelism, and disaster relief via donations.

Much of the Witnesses' funding is donated, primarily by members. There is no tithing or collection.

Jehovah's Witnesses believe they should remove themselves from the worldly influences of nonbelievers. Gambling, drinking, drugs, and tobacco are forbidden by the church. They also show their separation from nonbelievers by adhering to strict rules of modest dress and grooming.

Judaism. Orthodox and Conservative Judaism strongly oppose cremation, citing that a traditional burial is the only acceptable option.

But the Bible does not say a cremated body can't rise. In fact, the Vatican explicitly approved cremation in 1963 as a final disposition as long as the practice remains in line with the fundamental belief in the resurrection.

It's interesting to make note of the Greek Orthodox denomination, one of the largest within the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Greek Orthodox Church prohibits cremation, and until recently, it was also prohibited in the country of Greece, even if the deceased was not Greek Orthodox.