Bible Question:
Is it right or wrong to donate a body to science? What is God’s view?
Bible Answer:
Today dead bodies are being buried, cremated, or donated to medical science. But what what does the Bible say? Is it right or wrong to donate a body to science? First, we will discover what the Bible teaches about donating a body to science, and then explore the options of cremation, and burial.
We will start by answering the question, “What happens to your body when you donate it to science?” When a person donates a body to science, one does not know exactly what will happen to their body. None of us can predict what will happen to our body once it has been donated to science. Maybe it will be used as a cadaver for teaching purposes, or by the military to test new weapons. The body may be used to test treatments for acne, for testing new drugs, learning something about the human body, and for any number of future unknown purposes, and maybe some disturbing purposes. What is clear is that the dead body will be cut, dissected, and disfigured.
So, does the Bible say is it wrong for our bodies to cut? The answer will reveal if it is wrong to donate a body to science. The Old Testament prohibits self-mutilation. The first passage we should notice is Leviticus 19:28. It prohibits the cutting of our bodies for the the dead or putting tattoo marks on a body
You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:28 (NASB)
This verse prohibited a common practice in false religions. So it is not surprising that God prohibits this practice in Leviticus and other Old Testament passages.
Leviticus 21:5 and Deuteronomy 14:1 prohibited the priests from making their heads bald, shaving off the edges of their beards, and making any cuts in their flesh. These prohibitions appear to be related to those in Leviticus 19:28. See 1 Kings 18:28 for an example from the priests of Baal.
Another example is from Mark 5:2-5 which describes a demon possessed man gashing himself. Gashing oneself is not normal behavior. The last example is from Jeremiah 48:37 which describes the act of mourning as including the shaving of heads, the cutting off of beards, and gashing hands and around one’s waist.
All of these examples are the practices of pagan cultures and false religions. The message is that God does not want us to follow the practices of other religions. Gashing our bodies is not normal behavior. In addition, it violates 1 Corinthians 6:19 which prohibits from damaging our bodies.
However, once a person is dead, the Holy Spirit does not indwell the body of a believer in Christ anymore. So Scripture does not contain any statements that prohibit a Christian from donating their body to science. To do so is not participating in a false religion.
Conclusion
In summary, we do not find any prohibitions against a person donating their body to science. The decision is left to the individual believer. However, it should be noted that the study “Cremation — What does the Bible say about cremation?” shows that God buried Moses. Christ was buried, and Romans 6:3-5 uses burial to illustrate that Christians have died to their old self and should now walk in newness of life. The reader is encouraged to read the study before deciding to donate your body to science.
Last, believers can rejoice that everyone’s body will be resurrected in the future and meet God either in the rapture, at the second coming of Christ, or on judgment day (Revelation 20:4-5, 13). It does not matter if the body was cremated, buried, or donated to science. God can and will resurrect our bodies. So, the decision to cremate, bury, or donate one’s body to science is ultimately a personal one. Some may feel that burial is the best choice, since God buried Moses in the ground. Others may feel the freedom to be cremated. It is important to remember that the Bible has nothing to say about either choice.
Suggested Links:
Is it wrong in the sight of God to be cremated?What does the Bible say about self-mutilation/suicide, if anything?