Dust to Ashes: Cremation Choices among Christians in Kenya

This paper explores cremation as an alternative way of disposing of the dead among African Christians in Kenya. It examines the theological justification for this practice as an accepted way of disposing of the dead. The study applies the Zerfass model to plan a theological basis for cremation. I divide the study into four Zerfass steps: The first step is the theological tradition. A situation analysis is the second step. Critical correlation is the third step. The fourth step is Theory Construction. This study shows that burial predates Christianity, meaning that Christians adopted a common practice of their historical context. It further shows the weakness of using scriptural accounts as grounds against cremation, as these scriptural accounts are descriptive narratives and not prescriptive. These scriptural narratives, which do not command, encourage or condone, cannot be used to refute cremation. Therefore, this study identifies reasons or motivation why Kenyan Christians choose cremation for burial. These reasons include changing cultural norms, exposure, Churches reform of funeral policies, and openness to new thinking. The study proposes that cremation would not offend African customs of disposing of the dead and theological grounds for adopting cremation as a Christian option for disposing of the dead.