Dust or Humus? The Advent of Human Composting, by John M. Grondelski

Trump: America Believes in ‘Power of Prayer…Most Powerful Thing There Is’
May 4, 2019
The Tenth Commandment: Intentions of the Heart and Poverty of Spirit, by Sabrina Vu
May 4, 2019

By John M. Grondelski, Ph.D., Crisis Magazine, May 2, 2019

Christians have just completed Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday with the tracing of ashen crosses on foreheads and the formula “Remember, man, that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” Lent leads to Easter, where Christians are reminded they are more than dust—their mortal shells formed from “the dust of the earth” (Gen. 2:7)—being destined to transfiguration and immortality.

This Christian perspective may soon be competing in Washington State with the vision “from human to humus.”

The state’s legislature has passed, and Governor (and presidential wannabe) Jay Inslee seems on the verge of signing, a bill allowing human “recomposting.” Techniques include putting a corpse in a sack with organic material (think alfalfa or mushrooms) for about a month to accelerate decomposition, then heating the remains to kill off any pathogens. The resulting “organic material” can be recycled as plant food. Another technique, “alkaline hydrolysis,” uses potassium hydroxide and water to dissolve the body into fluid. “Eco-death revolutionary” Katrina Spade (whose “public benefit corporation” could earn $5,500 per human mulching) is part of a broader “good death” movement whose goal is to reduce the human ecological footprint by returning the deceased not to dust but peat moss.

While environmental consciousness can be laudatory, the cultural transformation underlying “recomposting” is far from a Christian Paschal viewpoint. The Christian perspective on dead bodies is one of reverence: this flesh had, after all, been a “temple of the Holy Spirit” (I Cor. 6:19)….Read entire article here:  crisismagazine.com/2019/dust-or-humus-the-advent-of-human-composting