BRINGING THE DEAD TO THE CHURCH?
Is it right or wrong for the dead to be brought to the church? How right or wrong is it for a minister to come close to the dead

BRINGING THE DEAD TO THE CHURCH
By Elijah Asuo Wiredu
Is it right or wrong for the dead to be brought to the church? How right or wrong is it for a minister to come close to the dead; especially when Jesus said in Matthew 8:22 that “Let the dead bury their dead”?
It is important to note Christianity is not the same as Judaism. It is also important to note what is applied to Judaism and what is part of the culture of the people of Israel. Of course, sometimes, the culture of the people and religion look inseparable. In Numbers 19, as part of the laws, Moses mentioned some clauses that dealt with coming into contact with the dead.
Numbers 19:11-18
11 “Whoever touches a human corpse will be unclean for seven days. 12 They must purify themselves with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then they will be clean. But if they do not purify themselves on the third and seventh days, they will not be clean. 13 If they fail to purify themselves after touching a human corpse, they defile the Lord’s tabernacle. They must be cut off from Israel. Because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, they are unclean; their uncleanness remains on them.14 “This is the law that applies when a person dies in a tent: Anyone who enters the tent and anyone who is in it will be unclean for seven days, 15 and every open container without a lid fastened on it will be unclean.16 “Anyone out in the open who touches someone who has been killed with a sword or someone who has died a natural death, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.17 “For the unclean person, put some ashes from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water over them. 18 Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water and sprinkle the tent and all the furnishings and the people who were there. He must also sprinkle anyone who has touched a human bone or a grave or anyone who has been killed or anyone who has died a natural death.
The above gives a detailed account of what the law says about coming into contact with the dead. To analyze the behavior of churches toward the dead, we need to mention that the Israelites had a culture that is very similar to the Arab world. People are normally buried the same day they die unlike many other parts of the world where people take time to mourn their dead. For example, in some cultures in Ghana, when traditional rulers die, they are actually laid in state for days before they are actually buried.
Let us note that it was in this culture that Jesus touched a coffin (Luke 7:14) and held the hand of dead people to bring them back to life (Matthew 9:23) but Jesus was not pronounced unclean even though when he touched them, they were clean.
In the New Testament, when Jesus said let the dead bury their dead, he was speaking figuratively and was referring to people who are spiritually dead. No prohibition against handling the dead or against bringing a deceased person's lifeless body into a church can be found in the New Testament. Actually, Christians did not even have special structures constructed for local church meetings at the time the New Testament was written. They gathered at their homes, with a focus heavily placed on studying God's Word. We don't discover any evidence of any special circumstances or the requirement for these cleansings following contact with a deceased individual. Tabitha was placed in the upper room after being bathed by the women, who also sent someone to call the apostle Peter. No special requirements, cleansing, or being regarded as unclean for a certain period of time are stated for him. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with bringing a deceased person's body into a church or most churches. Let us note that the Old Testament restrictions are Judaic and do not bind New Testament believers.
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