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I was under the impression that either being cremated, or be-headed meant that the spirit could not roam after death. Back in the Roman days, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, Octavius refuted the assertion that cremation made this resurrection an impossibility. I find the old stories regarding this fascinating.

The Hindu religion cremate their dead also, so does mean the ghost of the cremated or be-headed have been banished for all eternity?

This is a Jewish belief. It is also against Jewish Law to be cremated and is more than highly frown upon. Somewhere in the Old Testament it states that the bodies will come back to life and go to heaven. So, if you do not have a body...no after-life.

I would imagine that the spirit would be banished. After all, the body is destroyed completely after cremation, but maybe, not having a body to be attached to makes the soul linger longer with no purpose.

Though it is most like the former

Hm thats interesting...That made me think as my grandad is the only one that is cremated in our family & I feel bad now lol

BTW, when I mentioned Heaven that meant here on Earth. So you did/ do need a body - in full.

I think, with cremation, your soul is completley banished, but be-heading, I'm not really sure of that

i'm not sure that it matters, if the soul leaves the body upon death does the disposal of the body really count. different cultures use different methods. as far as be-heading , would that include decapatation due to an accident? even with cremation your "body" is still there, just in a different form. the same as after you've been buried for awhile.

Yeah, i'm not so sure that it matters...if your body has no remains after death then your soul/spirit may still linger on but for no purpose walking this earth......

Isn't there that thing where to stop an evil spirit you must burn the bones of their body? But that would be to stop them roaming the land of the living.

Does that mean when bones completely rot away to dust that the spirit ceases to exist wherever they are?!

Personally, I believe that the manner of posthumous handling of the body has no affect on any afterlife there may be. Graves have been exhumed after their inhabitants have been deceased for decades, and the bodies remain.

I would imagine there is a reason for these religious laws that was significant in historical times. Similar to the reasons of being prohibited from eating pork, that many people contracted food poisoning from meat that they didn't have the means to preserve properly.

Just a question.... so I'm wondering, do you believe in recarnation and if so then what? would it matter then??

MsDuchess, why don't you start a thread about re-incarnation? This thread may have similarities to that subject, but I would like it to remain focused. Thankyou.

here's a thought. if matter never truely ceases to be , is it possible for our bodies to "cease" to be?

If your spirit leaves your body to go wherever, possibly into a new body, why should the state of your previous body be of any consequence?

I don't think that it matters what happens to my body after it dies as I consider my body and soul to be two separate things, my body is the 'house' that my soul hangs out in for this lifetime (in my personal belief). If you look at it from the stand point of most religions they would state that if you don't observe the proper death/burial rites that your soul is screwed from whatever your religion may dictate your afterlife will be. That sucks. I guess it comes down to your personal beliefs. Kind of a round about answer but that's what I got. lol

I agree with Anabis. My body just houses my soul.

In my opinion it doesn't matter wheather you are cremated or decapitated your spirit is still there I also believe that most5 spirits that are still here are here for a purpose however there are forms of ghost that are merely shadows of the past. so i don't think how you are buried denotes wherather you will be re-born again.

they say that the eyes are the windows to the soul. to truely kill the soul u have to kill the eyes. that is just what i have to believe. i know with me the eyes tell the story of the man with out a single word spoken

When I was reading this thread the idea of the many people who have sacrificed themselves for others and have died...burned or blown up, etc. They were heroes and deserve to be in "heaven". I do not think that becuase they no longer have bodies they will be banned from "heaven".

So....I do not think cremation or beheading has anything to do with where the spirit goes upon death.

i dont now much on the topic but i know ive heard that your soul is gone some how

I don't know isn't the spirit supposed to leave the body first? Because then it just seems like their is no purpose for the body any more. That's a good question.

I wouldn't think you're afterlife depends on how the body is disposed of. I fail to see how the two would be connected in that matter.

I dont think it matters if your buried, cremated, or beheaded because first of all your dead before any of those thing will take place, so what ever it is that your soul, spirit, ghost, or what ever you want to call it is going to do would've probably already done it. Just my opinion.

i think your soul leaves your body no matter how you die

its an interesting thought but i believe the spirt escapes the body no matter what happens to it

If your soul is banished when your cremated, what happens if you die in a fire and your body is burnt to the point of ash does your soul still get banished !

Cremation to me is purely a sin. I feel that one should be burried as it is to inhabit the ability to come back to life. Not just on Christian terms. I feel like it is a mark of this life.~NFA

Darn it!!

Bang goes the horseless headsman..

I mean the headless Horseman Tale!!

I thought the soul carries over, regardless of how it is disposed of.. like the electrical energies.

I will agree with what the majority of people here have stated regarding the soul leaving the body at the time of death, so either the means of death or disposal shouldn't matter. Perhaps they do, but at this point in my life, I just don't know.

Now, as for matter/energy never ceasing to exist...the "host" can cease to exist, but the energy doesn't so it goes elsewhere. In VERY simple terms. A body will cease to be "living" because the energy is gone.

Hindus believe in Reincarnation thus the soul is not banished but reborn. There are many others who believe this as well. Many modern Pagans also believe in reincarnation as do some New Age movements, along with followers of Spiritism, practitioners of certain African traditions, and students of esoteric philosophies such as Kabbalah, Sufism and Gnostic and Esoteric Christianity. The Buddhist concept of Rebirth although often referred to as reincarnation differs significantly from the Hindu-based traditions and New Age movements in that there is no "self" (or eternal soul) to reincarnate.

I also agree with the majority once the soul departs the body it is of no use and it doesnt matter if its cremated, beheaded, buried or put in a blender and served for dinner... where the soul goes after being released from the body is what counts... and from what I know the soul makes a choice as to whether it moves on or remains earth bound.

the resurection is based on the actions and repent, not the condition of the body. Then again I am still laive so I cant really be sure yet..
So fare I would tho admit I have came in contact with a spirit that had been cremated...and once i saw at my aunt's house, onthe land a perosn that had been beheaded...they did not talk to me ..of crouse runing away might not make it easy.
So I think it is all depending on their actions.

If a spirit truly cannot roam after a beheading, how would one explain the ghost of Anne Boleyn that over 100 people have claimed to have seen in and around the Tower of London?

I don't believe it makes any difference after death (the deathof the body). I don't be believe that the body determines how the spirit goes into eternity

I never thought that it did, myself.

Reading that threat it's obvious that the large majority is rather convinced that there is a soul, spirit, whatever you choose to call it.

Wouldn't it be rather fun if the whole discussion is moot, because there might not be some sort of intangible essence after you die?

Isn't a discussion like this a bit like robber's dividing the loot before they even got past the planning stage?

Beshadowed made an excellent point. Thats enough for me to blow some peoples theories out of the water.

well some people believe that cremation helps the spirit in its travels to where ever it is going not to banish them but to assist them. Besides who would want to come back in a body that has died.

haha, not necessarily Minx I have doubted that the cremation or beheading of someone prevents the soul or spirit travelling on the astral plane. So, the horesman lives to tell another tale :) It is interesting to hear peoples theories.

When you take someone famous, for example, "Joan of Arc" she was burned at the stake but yet her spirit has lived right down the centuries. Maybe not as a roaming one, but still the soul of her is very much alive...

This is to a point made earlier in the discussion. While old Hebrew law does not allow cremation, it is also stated that in the end of days in the new christian testiment that he will riase the the dead as well as the -living- which an be interpeted as a harvesting of souls not bodies.

the headless ghost is a bit of an archetype - but why would it be believed as an archetype if beheading was thought to banish a soul? headless ghosts have been seen, and are not that rare

Cremation sounds less violent compared to beheading.

Imagine yourself about to be beheaded. Standing there in front of a wooden block or guillotine. Anxiously waiting for the blade to come down your neck. Wondering if the first few seconds would hurt or if it will be simply quick and painless and you're dead even before you know it.

Yeah. Cremation sounds a whole lot better to me. Just your corpse being consumed to a fiery inferno.

That way,my ghost could rest peacefully.

It's an interesting thought.

Unfortunately, I really don't have an opinion about it as it seems like it involves religious beliefs and asks questions which nobody can really answer and I stopped searching for that a long time ago.

To stay with the topic I do wish to be cremated myself and be kept by the ones who cherish me as opposed to being worm-food.

I never thought the guillotine would be that bad, so long as you were one of the 1st people in line and the blade was still sharp. I remember reading somewhere that in the 1790's when France was decapitating people like crazy, they would just keep dropping the blade on you neck even after it had gotten dull, they would just keep dropping it & dropping it on you until it did the job. OUCH. That and they always say that your brain is still alive for a few seconds after it is cut off so you could feasibly see your body with out your head attached!

I thought that the spirit (soul) left the body on or just after death, so what happens to the body after that is really not important.

It could be that the manner of death will stop the spirit from escaping - so maybe be-heading would have an affect. Death by burning might also not be so good.

If you believe that ghosts are the energy imprint left behind by others and the energy is from the deep regions of the brain - anything that suddenly stops the brain from working (as opposed to it slowly shutting down) will also stop that energy imprint.

however you get rid of the body, it wouldnt matter if the spirit lingers or not. i believe that if the body is gone relentless of cremation or be-heading way, the soul is going to continue to roam. the only way to get rid of the spirit is to so its way to the 'door' to the next realm.

its ancient superstitions that beheading the corpse will effect the afterlife. an you imagine? the spirit being ripped off the earth and into another plane of existance because something that happened to the corpse? no seriously, how would a higher power explain the logic in it once it happened. think about it. how?

i know what your thinking "Sceptics ... pffft!"

omg anabis I have heard about the dull guillotine and yes i would prefer to be first in line rather than last, can you imagine the pain and torture of that thing coming down on your neck as bunt as a butter knife... *shudders*

In many societies cremation was an honor bestowed on an individual for acts of heroism or someone that was well respected in the community. It was to speed the "soul" to the other side like Valhalla.

In many pagan societies cremation was not seen as something evil but rather something that was practical. You can't have diseases spread if there is no body.

In the Norse culture they were on the move alot and it's difficult to bury someone when the ground is frozen

thats wat i believed also, the spirit could no wonder as it was either burned or would wonder around as it did have a head to see were it was heading

Great Responses so far. Let's keep this ball rolling shall we?

{{Bump!!}}

To be banned from entering the afterlife for all eternity. This is the ultimate rejection of a soul by the religious fanatics!

even if you are cremated your soul can be left wandering the earth because you may have died early and still have things to finish because your soul cant rest until it happens. and beheading i don't think would make a huge difference because as a ghostly spirit you can walk through anything.

i also believe if you are creamated thats it you and done and banised i believe with no body there is no coming back

the soul or the energy survives. it always survives

Dunno what to say on this one much, but rather intriguing i must say...

I'd rather be buried and have the worms dine on my flesh...

No matter what may happen to the body the soul is or will be released and time of death. so does not matter, burned or beheaded. the soul may be trapped for the beheading on this plain to haunt. i figure, most dramatic deaths leave the soul or ghosts trapped.

I personally think that the body is just a shell for the soul. How would we explain things like out of body experience? The body is nothing to me and the soul will go on in one form or another, I want creamation cant see this shell fading away in the earth.

from ashes to ashes and dust to dust?

Does this not mean that we start as ashes and dust therefore we will return to ashes and dust?

as for my thoughts on this subject:
our soul is supposed to enter our bodies at the exact moment of birth no before or after... im not going to go into great detail about that but......
our souls are supposed to exit our bodies at the moment of death to spare our souls from the pain or hurt of watching ones death..... no i didnt get this from an episode on tv you know which one im talking about. i atually have a book that touches on this subject. i read alot about death......
anyways back on topic..... if the soul has already left the body and we are now just an empty shell then why does it matter where we are or what others have done with it like beheading and cremation. we are only givin this vessel to embody our souls we deface them like a building but never actually visibly harm the soul so it is free to roam after death and find another vessel.... im going to stop before i slide more and more off topic but to end it no i dont believe that we are punished for cremation and beheading

I agree with Cynthia. We are not punished because we are not there.

My personal feeling is that if you are cremated your soul will be freer to do as it pleases.

this is something that can never be a fact it will always be an opinion unless one of us can prove other wise, in my opwn oppinion it really doest make a diffrence and again it can be proven unless one of us now here is a spirit and got cremated.

I don't think it matters what happens to your body after death, because all belief systems that believe in a soul say pretty much the same thing: that it leaves the body upon death.

Why should a soul be punished for something it didn't even stick around for?

well i cant really say but there was the story of the be-headed horseman so somewhere there is a belief that there can be still ghost if they are beheaded, thats just one story

The spirit can not die, so the body mean nothing.

i beleive the soul leaves the body at the point of death .. it doesnt matter what happens to the body its just a vessel

Being raised in a religion that taught that you would damn your soul if you "chose" to be creamated, it was quite a shock to me that my 15 year old daughter would tell me that she would like to be creamated. So I began my journey of research and selfdiscovery of my own beliefs.

Mine are pretty much the same as those who have posted here.

I believe that upon death the soul leaves the body, so it dosen't matter what happens to the body, it is the state of your soul that matters most

WOW.. I know that cremation was not allowed in the catholic society, or officiated by the Church, till 1974 when the Pope announced it no longer rendered you soul usless. There is not a difference, in my eyes. What is to say that when you burn that your soul is not set free intead of it dissappering? The churh made the choice to use cremation because of the lack of burial space in Europe. (this information was recieved first hand to me while I lived in Italy)

i also think that when you pass on your soul does leave the body to find another body to dwell in.

your soul leaves your earthly body rots ( dust to dust) you get perfect new body

i believe that cremation and be-heading are the only ways to actually banish a spirit... which is one thing that constitutes to the beliefs that have already been stated. Many beliefs also said that it was a way to kill vampires because their souls could not come back.

It all depends on what you personally believe. For me, I don't think what happens to your body afterward makes a difference in your afterlife.

Way back in olden times (as well with very traditional types) this would be desecrating the bodies and would be an abomination. We're in a new time now. Most people feel that your body and your soul do not remain together after death. The body is just your shell in this world.

I agree that cremation would ease the transition... literally no body left to hold me back, let my spirit soar!

I do not know about the Be-heading death, but definitely no for a cremation. I know this for a fact. My grandmother had a very bad cancer in her uterus and was cremated when she died. It was actually what she wanted... Anyway, after that day, there have been many times where my mom, my younger sister, and my aunt have talked to her, or have heard her voice. Her spirit is among us and I would not be surprised if she is one of my guardian angels watching over me.

I would like to say that your soul is detached from your body. So, whether you are cremated or be-headed your soul would enter into heaven. The only thing that would stop it from entering heaven would be the spirit within the soul.

A soul raoms the Earth when it has unfinished business...they weren't ready to die.

Interesting concept..

I believe that it does not matter what happens to the body after the soul has departed. The theory that if the body has been burned down to ashes then the person can not be resurrected is putting a limit on God. If God has to have a physical body to resurrect a soul then he is not as powerful as we have made him out to be.

wow... that's pretty interesting... I'm not sure exactly what to say...

If you belive in reincarnation, it dosent matter what happens to your body, because your soul will be reborn to a new one sooner or later...

I agree.....if you reincarnate your spirit moves no matter what state your body is in....

Seems the headless horseman never new about this

I don't think you can banish anything for ALL of eternity . . . that would take some serious power.
But ya da yada supernatural . . . ta-da.

I don't believe that the soul would be lost in either way, but that is just my opinion..

Different religions believe different things about being be-headed or cremated, but personally i think it doesnt matter. Personally if your buried, your soul is released within the earth of mother nature & helps grow it trees & flowers & streams & oceans etc etc....if your cremated then your soul is released into the winds, the clouds The atmosphere & universe to travel for all time...i might be mad but thats how i see it!

I dont believe it matters .. your body is just a temporary shell for your soul

I doubt the way you are put to rest has anything to do with you not being able to come back to this earth. I personally believe that everyone roams this earth after death.

very interesting

i agree with kitten,

ooOOOoo I forgot about this thread!! Thankyou for bringing it back! I did give some thought to it orginally and meant to do more research on the subject. I must say I was really enthused about the subject, it must be my morbid sense of humour!

I don`t hink the ghost would be banished or has to stay in the world spooking around or something, just because the body was be-headed, no no.

Recently, one of the Pastor's in my church talked about this subject. Like said before the Jewish religion forbids cremation, but accourding to the article, it doesn't matter. Our souls are eternal and should a house burn down and cremate a victim inside should they suffer for not being allowed an option? I don't think how we dispose of our bodies really has any baring on our after-life

your body is just a vesal for your sould, once your soul has left it, it doesnt matter what happens to you. If you get buryed your body will decompose and turn into dirt, the only true way to keep the body (and it wont last forever) is to mummify it

I agree with kiwiking03

No one person is going to truly know the answer to this question unless it's actually happened to them...... and well, too far too late by that time. Sorry folks.

I don't believe it matters

I know that until recently (within the last decade) it was against Christian beliefs to cremate a body but it is now accepted by the church. I just found this out recently when I was informed that someone was to be cremated.

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