Which statement about burial practices in early Christianity is true?

Which statement about burial practices in early Christianity is true?

• A. Christians practiced cremation as a sign of purity.
• B. Christians rejected cremation because of the resurrection of the dead.
• C. Christians avoided burial in catacombs.
• D. Christians only buried in royal tombs.

Answer: (B)

Belief in bodily resurrection drives early Christian burial practices. Christians held that God would raise the body at the end of time, so preserving the physical remains through burial fit that hope. Cremation destroys the body, which made it incompatible with the expectation of resurrection, so Christians generally rejected cremation and preferred burying the dead, often in graves or catacombs as a dignified resting place. This is why the statement about rejecting cremation because of the resurrection of the dead is the best description of early Christian practice. The other notions don’t fit: cremation wasn’t viewed as a sign of purity, Christians used catacombs and other burial places, and burial wasn’t restricted to royalty.

Belief in bodily resurrection drives early Christian burial practices. Christians held that God would raise the body at the end of time, so preserving the physical remains through burial fit that hope. Cremation destroys the body, which made it incompatible with the expectation of resurrection, so Christians generally rejected cremation and preferred burying the dead, often in graves or catacombs as a dignified resting place. This is why the statement about rejecting cremation because of the resurrection of the dead is the best description of early Christian practice. The other notions don’t fit: cremation wasn’t viewed as a sign of purity, Christians used catacombs and other burial places, and burial wasn’t restricted to royalty.