And propound I shall! LOL
There are essentially three principles that drive Christian doctrine. One, Direct commandment, two, necessary inference, and three, example.
There is no direct commandment that is all inclusive.
The necessary inference is that the bodies must be dealt with, but there is no necessary inference as to how.
But, there is plenty of example.
Before i get into that, let me deal with another issue. God CAN raise whom He will. No fire prevents resurrection, no burial at sea could either. So those lost in a natural fire or those who have lost loved ones that way have nothing to fear. Nor should there be fear for those lost at sea or eaten by wild animals, or whatever other cause of death one can imagine that might destroy the body.
Now, on to examples. The simple premise is that throughout all of scripture, Godly men buried Godly men. And pagans burned their dead. This was true both in the Old and New Testaments. Fire is reserved for punishment, not for disposing of bodies. The pattern goes back as far as we have records. There are over 100 records in scripture of the people of God being buried by other Godly men.
But, even more so, God Himself Buried Moses. He could have chosen any other method, but he chose burial. God punished Korah and his accomplices with fire, but Moses He buried. This does not appear to be just the traditions of men, but the way God Himself handled a beloved servants death.
5 So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. 6 And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knows his grave to this day. 7 Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished. 8 And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. So the days of weeping and mourning for Moses ended.
<Deuteronomy 34:5-7
New King James Version (NKJV)
5 So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. 6 And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knows his grave to this day. 7 Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished. >
The next example was Christ Himself, who was buried, and He likewise instituted Baptism for us, a likeness of His burial AND resurection:
<Romans 6:3-5
New King James Version (NKJV)
3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, >
Now for some examples of the regard that burning has:
<Genesis 38:24
And it came to pass, about three months after, that Judah was told, saying, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot; furthermore she is with child by harlotry.” So Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!”> Clearly punishment there.
Here also:<Numbers 11:1
Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp.>
Now this example is also important as it shows the disgrace of being burned and the contempt of those who burned them. The man brought the Lord's anger on all Israel by stealing the devoted things.
Here the Psalmist speaks of punishing evil:
<Psalm 140:9-11
9 “As for the head of those who surround me,
Let the evil of their lips cover them;
10 Let burning coals fall upon them;
Let them be cast into the fire,
Into deep pits, that they rise not up again.
11 Let not a slanderer be established in the earth;
Let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him.>
