Making jewelry/charms out of human ashes

Is there any Biblical basis for forbidding the use of human ashes in making and wearing jewelry?

The answer is yes. Before looking at the argument, let me state a few things.

1. There is nothing wrong with cremation, but the ashes should be disposed of properly. (Some Roman emperors, like Nero, burned Christians alive. Jan Hus (1415) and others were burned during the Protestant Reformation.)
2. The ashes are the remains of the body of the dead. When we say, “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” we are committing the remains to the earth. In Biblical language, we all come from the ground and we return to it (Genesis 2:7; 3:19; 1 Corinthians 15:47-49). I do not think anyone denies this.
3. To state that a person receives comfort by having the ashes (part of the body) of the person near them implies that part of that person who is dead is not in heaven. Part of them is retained in the body (ashes).
4. There is a reality that stands behind the rituals of the Hebrew Scriptures. We need to understand that reality to exegete or interpret what the text is saying. Otherwise, the ritual becomes nothing more than a superstition.
5. In the Bible, the dead body caused pollution of the person. That is, it makes them unclean and unable to approach God. This was true of ancient Israel and the sacrificial system. Purification was required.
6. Some have argued that we are under a new covenant in Christ and, therefore, the restrictions in Jewish Law do not apply to us. We need to remember what Jesus told us in Matthew 5:17–20, that he did not come to abolish the law or the prophets, but to fulfill. Whoever breaks the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same, will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. We do not want to be guilty of picking and choosing text for our convenience.
7. Some also argue that it does not matter since Mark 13:27 says that Jesus will send his angels to gather his elect from the four corners of the earth and the heavens. Therefore, the ashes will be gathered together for the resurrection. This is a gross misreading of the text. It in no way implies that ashes are gathered. It implies the elect, both living (those on earth) and dead (those in heaven), will be gathered at the second coming of Christ.
8. Ashes in ancient and modern burials were eventually recycled into the ground for plants, animals, and even other human beings as the nutrients are absorbed in the cycle of life. The molecules of one body may be incorporated into another through this natural process.

Old Testament texts

Tell me what you would strike from the Old Testament and I’ll tell you what defect there is in your Christian knowledge. —Wilhelm Vischer 
(From Brent A. Strawn, The Old Testament Is Dying: A Diagnosis and Recommended Treatment, Theological Explorations for the Church Catholic (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic: A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2017), xxiii.)

Let us look at the text, starting with the Jewish Scriptures, the Old Testament for Christians.

Numbers 19:10–22: This passage speak of a perpetual statute for both Israelites and aliens (Gentiles) who were part of the community of faith. It details what happens when one touches the dead and the proper cleansing required. It also includes the effects of the dead on fields, houses, and even the water of cleansing. In brief, the dead make the person unclean and unfit to approach God.

This is the most important text since there are allusions to these instructions in the New Testament and required purification is defined.

This need for purity can be seen in the instructions to priests and Nazarites. Priests were seen as intercessors in the temple, and Nazarites took vows of purity. Here are the restrictions:

1. Leviticus 21:1–4 —priests are forbidden to defile themselves by contact with the dead, except for close relatives (parents, children, siblings).
2. Leviticus 21:11 — the high priest may not come near a dead body at all, not even for family.
3. Leviticus 22:4 — priests who become impure through contact with a corpse cannot eat holy offerings until purified.
4. Numbers 6:6–12 — Nazirites must avoid corpses during their vow period; if they touch a corpse, their consecration is broken and must be restarted. Even accidental impurity cancelled the vow (Mishnah Nazir 7), and the period of consecration needed to be restarted.

It is not just the Law that speaks of this restriction. We find it in the prophets and other writings.

1. Ezekiel 44:25 — Beginning in verse 15, this chapter speaks of restrictions for a priest, telling them not to go near a dead person that would defile them.
2. Haggai 2:13 (a prophetic reflection on purity laws) — suggests that corpse impurity was considered the most severe type of impurity. The rabbis echoed this, considering it to be the greatest type of pollution of the person, “the father of fathers of impurity” (avi avot ha-tum’ah), the most severe form.
3. 2 Kings 23:14–16 — When King Josiah wanted to purify the land of pagan practices he took human bones, including those burnt to ash, and had them spread on the pagan altars to desecrate them. He is using a corpse impurity polemically, defining them to make those altars unfit for sacrifice.

To summarize, in the Old Testament, the Bible consistently treats contact with the dead, bones, or graves as an intense form of impurity. Wearing human ashes never entered Jewish custom because they would have considered this a direct violation of these laws and statutes. A study of the Mishnah shows that these Jewish customs continued past the time of Christ.

New Testament Texts

But what about the New Testament? Are these restrictions still present?

The answer is yes. Most references below are tied to Numbers 19.

1. Matthew 23:27 — Jesus calls the scribes and Pharisees “whitewashed tombs,” outwardly beautiful, but inwardly corrupted. On the inside they are “full of the bones of the dead and all kinds of filth.” This reflects the impurity associated with the dead as described in Numbers 9. Jesus retained the belief in the impurity of the dead.
2. Luke 10:30–32 — In the parable of the good Samaritan, the priest and the Levite avoid a possible dead man to avoid the need for the 7-day purification. This demonstrates a cultural belief that Jesus appeals to in the parable. While the Samaritan was willing to be unclean by investigating, the point is that the restriction still existed when Luke wrote his gospel.
3. Mark 15:43–46; John 19:38–42 — When Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus managed Jesus’s corpse, they followed the burial customs of Jews (John 19:40). They became ritually unclean under the Numbers 19 rules. They rushed to get the body buried so as not to desecrate the Sabbath.
4. Acts 21:21–26 — Paul willingly participates in purification rituals at that temple. The early church still observed such rituals.
5. Hebrews 9:13–14 — This is a direct allusion to the purification ritual of the red heifer and the corpse purification of Numbers 19, where the ashes of the red heifer did purify the flesh. This ritual is used as a comparison to the death of Jesus.

Historical Practices

We can see a carryover of the practices into the time of Jesus and the apostles, even after the resurrection. What about historically in the church? Did not the church abandon such practices after the Temple was destroyed, and Christians became separated from the Jews? What about relics or the bones of the saints?

This is a complicated issue. Relics were holy because of the holiness of the individual. However, ordinary remains were not. In later times (medieval and early modern Europe), ashes of the dead were mixed with potions, worn in pouches, or scattered to ward off evil. These were seen as remnants of pagan traditions and were condemned. Folk religions sometimes allowed these practices as part of ancestral veneration or sacred keepsakes, but there was a general unease due to the pagan association.

Due to this association with paganism, wearing jewelry with ashes of relatives was rare because the Church emphasized burial and resurrection (Romans 6:3–5). Cremation itself was rare, but keeping ashes for jewelry would have been highly irregular and impious. The ashes should still be buried.

Is this really a pagan practice?

In modern times, we really do not think in those terms, although there are modern pagans. Historically, though, we do have evidence of pagan and pre-Christian practices from Europe where body parts were used for various purposes. Aside from shamanistic practices, which would include the use of remains for magical purposes, we have the following.

1. Celtic tribes would keep skulls and long bones of important ancestor in shrines. Small fragments were incorporated into jewelry. This was done to honor revered ancestors, maintain a spiritual connection, and claiming protection. Maintaining a connection is commonly invoked by those who want to place ashes in jewelry.
2. In Slavic traditions, cremated ashes were sometimes stored in amulets or small pouches worn on the body, This was to keep the ancestral spirit close, sometimes to provide protection.
3. In ancient Japan (Yamato and early Shinto period), small relics or ashes were kept in household altars or worn in ritual contexts. This was to venerate the ancestors, maintain the spiritual lineage, and for protection.

Conclusion

The practice of wearing jewelry with human ashes has become acceptable in modern culture. That does not make it either Biblical or correct. The fundamental question to ask is: do you want to comply with Biblical standards of piety or modern social practices?

We can summarize the issue as follows:

1. On the question of keeping the ashes together, at least as far as possible, we should say this was the Biblical standard. The association with being buried with Christ and the whole person being sanctified through association with his death and resurrection implies an inherent holiness of the body. These are the remains of a body and should be kept together when committed to the ground. We do not commit in part, but the whole.
2. At the same time, corpses and ashes of the dead had a quality of polluting or desecrating an individual. This is because life has left the individual. The Old Testament is explicit that handling makes the person and surroundings unclean and should be avoided. Human bones and ashes were used for intentional desecration.
3. The New Testament is aware of the decrees of Moses and leverages them in several ways. Recognition of these decrees in the New Testament tells us that they were active even then.
4. Historically, the church has rejected the practice of wearing human remains.