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Belief in reincarnation is held by many Hindus, Buddhists, and Taoists but such beliefs are held by relatively few Christians and Muslims. Among the mainstream Christian denomination the Spiritism, born in France, includes reincarnation in its doctrine. Some Christian creeds and confession have consistently proclaimed a belief in a single judgment of humanity and in the eschatological hope of the resurrection of the dead. Some small churches, such as the Liberal Catholic Church, The Christian Community, The Order of the Cross and esoteric groups, as the Rosicrucian Fellowship and the Anthroposophical Society, do however include the concept of reincarnation. This article discusses the adherents of Hinduism. ...
A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, SiddhÄrtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by...
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There is also a collection of Hadith called Sahih Muslim A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Persian: Mosalman or Mosalmon Urdu: مسلمان, Turkish: Müslüman, Albanian: Mysliman, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of the religion of Islam. ...
Christianity percentage by country, purple is highest, orange is lowest Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch...
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Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box: In Christian theology, Christian eschatology is the...
// Main article: Jewish eschatology Orthodox Judaism holds that belief in the Resurrection of the Dead is one of the cardinal principles of the Jewish faith. ...
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The Liberal Catholic Church is a form of Christianity open to theosophical ideas. ...
The Christian Community (German: Die Christengemeinschaft) is a worldwide Movement for Religious Renewal. ...
Etymology Esoteric is an adjective originating during Hellenic Greece under the domain of the Roman Empire; it comes from the Greek esôterikos, from esôtero, the comparative form of esô: within. It is a word meaning anything that is inner and occult, a latinate word meaning hidden (from which...
The Rosicrucian Fellowship Emblem The Rosicrucian Fellowship - An International Association of Christian Mystics - was founded in 1909/11 by Max Heindel as herald of the Aquarian Age and with the aim of promulgating the Rosicrucian teachings of the Mystery School of the West, the invisible Rosicrucian Order (which, according to...
Based on the ideas of Rudolf Steiners spiritual science, Anthroposophy (based on Greek words meaning man-wisdom) is a philosophy (or, as some opponents claim, a religion) that was born within the setting of Helena Blavatskys Theosophy movement. ...
Judaism's attitude is broad enough to allow Jews to hold various views of the afterlife, as the gilgul concept. Orthodox Judaism supports a belief in reincarnation (see Jewish eschatology) but Judaism as a whole does not emphasize matters of the afterlife the way Christianity does. Reincarnation is a central concept of Kabbalah, which, while not universally accepted, has generally been a core component Orthodox Jewish theology for centuries. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
Gilgulim neshamot (jewish concept of reincarnation) literally means circles of the souls (around lifes or incarnations to the body). ...
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This article is about traditional Jewish Kabbalah. ...
Most mainstream denominations in the Abrahamic religions reject belief in reincarnation, sometimes viewing it as heresy. An Abrahamic religion (also referred to as desert monotheism) is any religion derived from an ancient Semitic tradition attributed to Abraham, a great patriarch described in the Torah, the Bible and the Quran. ...
Reincarnation, literally to be made flesh again, is a doctrine or mystical belief that some essential part of a living being (in some variations only human beings) survives death to be reborn in a new body. ...
Look up Heresy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Some, however, have long questioned or rejected this exclusion, and in modern, western Christendom, a few churches and denominations have first begun to explore this issue - both from a philosophy of inclusion and integration with Eastern philosophy, as well as a struggle to return to alleged teachings of the original, pre-Roman church. Some Christian movements of the past which were deemed heretical, such as the Cathars, saw reincarnation as central to their belief system, with the idea of Eternal Life in Christ being an image of release from constant rebirth. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
This T-and-O map, which abstracts the known world to a cross inscribed within an orb, remakes geography in the service of Christian iconography. ...
A religious denomination (also simply denomination) is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name, tradition, and identity. ...
The philosopher Socrates about to take poison hemlock as ordered by the court. ...
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The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ...
Cathars being expelled from Carcassonne in 1209. ...
Differences between conservative and liberal Christian views
Modern Christianity is divided on how much authority the Bible has in determining the life and belief of its adherents. Some Christians view the Bible as the only authoritative source of truth (a common view among Protestants), whereas others emphasise the tradition of the Church as also authoritative (particularly Roman Catholics and Orthodox). However, the tradition of the Church (e.g. the Nicene Creed), and the New Testament proclaim a belief in the Resurrection of the dead, which most liberal Christians would view as antithetical to notions of reincarnation. Belief in reincarnation is thus extremely rare among liberal Christians, because of their attitude towards, and interpretation of, the Bible, tradition, and church doctrine. This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ...
Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ...
The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ...
Separate articles treat Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Orthodox Judaism. ...
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This article is about the Christian scriptures. ...
// Main article: Jewish eschatology Orthodox Judaism holds that belief in the Resurrection of the Dead is one of the cardinal principles of the Jewish faith. ...
Liberal and progressive Christians do not see the Bible as being inerrant, or interpret it very differently (often in an idiosyncratic fashion), and many Christians (both liberal, conservative, as well as moderate or centrist) attribute more authoritative weight to selected parts of the Bible (Jesus' teachings for example, as being more authoritative than the teachings of the Apostle Paul). Additionally, some Christians feel less bound by traditional interpretation, and often taking a more subjective and Post-structuralist approach to reading the Bible, which results in a variety of interpretations. They may not always find the concept of reincarnation in conflict with their Christian faith — although the belief is rarely held even among more liberal Christians, who are more likely to question the notion of life beyond death altogether. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box: Liberal Christianity, sometimes called...
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In politics and religion, a moderate is an individual who holds an intermediate position between two extreme or radical viewpoints. ...
In politics, centrism usually refers to the political ideal of promoting moderate policies which land in the middle ground between different political extremes. ...
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Judaism The notion of reincarnation is not mentioned in the Tanakh ("Hebrew Bible"). The classical rabbinic works (Mdrash, Mishnah and Talmud) also are silent on this topic, as are the writings of the Geonim and many of the Rishonim. The Mishnah (Hebrew ×ž×©× ×”, repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ...
The first page of the Vilna Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, folio 2a. ...
Rishonim (ר××©×•× ×™× Hebrew - sing. ...
Maimonides' 13 Principles of Faith teaches the importance of techiyat hameitim, the "revival of the dead", but has no mention of reincarnation. However, books of Kabbalah - Jewish mysticism - teach a belief in gilgul, transmigration of souls. Commonly used image indicating one artists conception of Maimonidess appearance Maimonides (March 30, 1135 or 1138–December 13, 1204) was a Jewish rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Spain, Morocco and Egypt during the Middle Ages. ...
There are a number of basic Jewish principles of faith that were formulated by medieval rabbinic authorities. ...
Transmigration can has several meanings: Transmigration of the soul is a common term for reincarnation. ...
The soul, according to many religious and philosophical traditions, is the self-aware essence unique to a particular living being. ...
Rabbis who accepted the idea of reincarnation include the founder of Chassidism, the Baal Shem Tov, Levi ibn Habib (the Ralbah), Nahmanides (the Ramban), Rabbenu Bahya ben Asher, Rabbi Shelomoh Alkabez and Rabbi Hayyim Vital. Among well known Rabbis who rejected the idea of reincarnation are the Saadia Gaon, Hasdai Crescas, Yedayah Bedershi (early 14th century), Joseph Albo, Abraham ibn Daud and Leon de Modena. The idea of reincarnation, called gilgul, became popular in folk belief, and is found in much Yiddish literature among Ashkenazi Jews. The entire idea is generally dismissed by non-Orthodox Jews. See Reincarnation for a full discussion. Reincarnation, literally to be made flesh again, is a doctrine or mystical belief that some essential part of a living being (in some variations only human beings) survives death to be reborn in a new body. ...
Supporting passages from a Christian point of view | | The neutrality of this article or section is disputed.
Please see the discussion on the talk page. | There are several verses that some claim support reincarnation: Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ...
Jeremiah 1:4–5 The 'Word' came to Jeremiah, and said "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." This verse has been used by Traditional Christians as evidence that God has foreknowledge of persons and events — that is not limited by time and space. Christians who believe in reincarnation may see this verse as evidence ability to "know" a person throughout a variety of reincarnated lifetimes. Look up logos in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem by Rembrandt van Rijn. ...
This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ...
Elijah became John the Baptist Jewish priests were sent to ask John the Baptist, "Art thou Elijah?" (John, 1:21), which is seen as supporting the conception that Jewish priests believed in the theory of reincarnation. Christ said of John the Baptist "this is Elijah." (Matthew 11:14.) Later on, upon the Mount of Transfiguration, the Christ said, "Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed… Then the disciples understood that He spoke unto them of John the Baptist." (Matthew 17:12,13). This idea of reincarnation is perhaps a little different from the commonly viewed notion of what reincarnation means. In the second chapter of II Kings, Elijah does not die, but rather is called up into heaven while yet alive. Mainstream Christian opinion would interpret these passages as referring to the role that John played in the spiritual life of first-century Jews, rather than his personal identity being that of Elijah. For the hip-hop producer with the same name, see John the Baptist (producer). ...
Elijah in the wilderness, by Washington Allston Elijah (Hebrew: ×ליהו, ) was a prophet in Israel in the 9th century BCE. He appears in the Hebrew Bible, Talmud, Mishnah, Christian Bible, and the Quran. ...
The Gospel of John is the fourth gospel in the canon of the New Testament, traditionally ascribed to John the Evangelist. ...
Christ is the English of the Greek word (Christós), which literally means The Anointed One. ...
The Gospel of Matthew (literally, according to Matthew; Greek, Κατά Μαθθαίον or Κατά Ματθαίον, Kata Maththaion or Kata Matthaion) is one of the four Gospel accounts of the New Testament. ...
Actually, those passages refer not only to the 'role' that John played but also to the 'office', assignment, or the commission that he was given by God. In this regard, John was to serve the same purpose that Elijah served. Just as Elijah was considered instrumental in serving as a guide to lead the Israelites back to the worship that God required of his covenant people under the Law of Moses, so John was to act in a similar capacity, leading the first-century Jews to the Messiah. In this way John 'was' Elijah, as mentioned in Matthew's account of Jesus' statement at Matthew 11:14.
Matthew 5:25–26 "Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny." Supporters of reincarnation might say that Jesus is referring to the cycle of death and rebirth that continues until all negative karma is met.
Matthew 11:14–15 Jesus is recorded as saying, "and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 Let anyone with ears listen!". Most traditional Christians prefer to interpret this verse only in a loose fashion to mean that John was only like Elijah. For those Christians who advocate a belief in reincarnation, this verse is interpreted more strictly as meaning exactly what it says, namely that John the Baptist is/was Elijah the prophet himself, which in this strictly interpreted context could only mean that John the Baptist was the reincarnation of Elijah. One related consideration that Christian advocates of reincarnation address concerning the fact that John 1:19–21 appears to contravene Matthew 11:14, denying that John the Baptist is/was Elijah reincarnated, this view ignoring the idea that John the Baptist did not know that he was Elijah. Christian advocates of reincarnation propose that this apparent Biblical contravention in John of what is stated in Matthew may have been a later editorial insertion by doctrinal purists. These types of corrective insertions in John, contravening the first three Gospels, appear to them to have also been added in many other instances within John as well, the gospel of John generally being agreed by Liberals adherent to Higher Criticism to have been written several years after Matthew. Higher criticism, also known as historical criticism, is a branch of literary analysis that attempts to investigate the origins of a text, especially the text of the Bible. ...
Matthew 11:25–26 "At that time Jesus said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will". Some supporters of reincarnation might say that that the infant has a knowledge of its spiritual nature and has not yet forgotten its past lives, because the ego, that which separates humans from God, has not yet formed.
Matthew 17:11–13 "He replied, ‘Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things; 12but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands.’ 13Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist." Another reference by Jesus that equates John the Baptist with Elijah.
Matthew 26:52 "Then Jesus said to him [Peter], "Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword". It seems fairly probable that Jesus knows that not everyone who kills another is murdered in this life; however, supporters of reincarnation might say that it refers to the negative karma such an individual incurs that has to be satisfied in another life.
Mark 9:1 And he[Jesus] said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.
Mark 9:11–13 "Then they asked him, ‘Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?’ 12He said to them, ‘Elijah is indeed coming first to restore all things. How then is it written about the Son of Man, that he is to go through many sufferings and be treated with contempt? 13But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written about him'." Supporters of reincarnation might take this passage to mean that the reincarnation of Elijah (i.e. John the Baptist) was beheaded. They might also say that Elijah had followers of Baal killed, so this might be an example of payment for negative karma.
Luke 1:17 "With the spirit and power of Elijah he [John the Baptist] will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord'." Supporters of reincarnation might say that spirit and power is the definition of reincarnation: an individual's spirit, with all its developed abilities etc. (i.e. power), inhabits the body physical.
John 3:1–10 "Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’ 3Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ 4Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’ 5Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You must be born from above.” 8The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’ 9Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can these things be?’ 10Jesus answered him, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?" According to the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, the Pharisees believed in the reincarnation of good souls. Supporters of reincarnation might say that Jesus is surprised that this leader of Pharisees seems ignorant of the process of reincarnation. They might also say that being born of water is possibly a reference to normal Earthly birth, and that being born of the spirit is a reference to virginal birth (being born from above); consequently, they might say that Jesus is implying that an individual must be developed (i.e. their souls through reincarnation) to the point whereupon virgin birth (being born from above) is possible, and then they would be purified enough to go to Heaven. Supporters of reincarnation might also say that one grows to Heaven, rather than goes to Heaven.
John 9:1–3 The disciples observe a man who was born blind, and inquire of Jesus whether the man himself or his parents sinned, that he was born blind. Some interpret this question to imply that the man would have had some opportunity to sin prior to birth, which at least presupposes the pre-existence of the soul in a situation where there was free will and the ability to commit sin. Jesus replies that in this case neither the man nor his parents sinned, but he does not rebuke the disciples in any way for their belief that it would have been possible for the man to sin prior to birth. This can be and has been interpreted in many ways.
Galatians 6:7 "Whatever one sows, that he will also reap". Some feel that this agrees with the idea of enforced karma, a basic tenet of some other religions that hold the belief in reincarnation; however it also agrees with the concept of divine justice, and of each person being judged fairly, a central tenet of Christianity. The subsequent verses seem to imply that a certain amount of time may pass before a just person reaps their true reward: "at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up". However there is no indication that this time might span more than one lifetime. In any case, those who attempt to use this verse to prove that the Bible endorses the concept of karma suffer the same burden as those who attempt to use Hebrews 9:27 to disprove reincarnation. It is problematic because, by itself, it does not prove reincarnation and is only a single verse. The fact that it was written by the Apostle Paul, and not a saying of Jesus, may also influence Christians who give more weight to Jesus' teachings than to Paul's. For other uses, see Karma (disambiguation). ...
Bible passages seen to be in opposition There are also some Biblical passages commonly seen to refute a Christian belief in reincarnation:
Hebrews 9:27 The verse most commonly used to dispute reincarnation is Hebrews 9:27, which states that it is appointed to man to die once, and after that face judgment. This verse does not, by itself, rule out reincarnation. Traditional Christian teaching (including beliefs held by modern Fundamentalists and Evangelicals) interprets this verse in the context of the "Day of Judgment", when Christ will return and judge the earth — including all those who have died. In this sense, a person has only one life, and then, when he dies, will face judgment. Liberal Christians, however, may feel comfortable in dismissing or reinterpreting the verse — especially considering the Higher Criticism debate over the authorship of the book of Hebrews. Many consider it dangerous to base doctrine on a single verse. Christians believe that Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant (see Hebrews 8:6). ...
People. Whether this is the same judgment referred to in Hebrews 9:27 is open to debate. However, this "life review" is surprisingly similar as described in the Tibetan Book of Dead. People who have had near-death experiences also report that after their life reviews they have been given Also note that Hebrews 9:27 is only a problem when one believes in Biblical inerrancy. It is possible to Liberals that the writer of Hebrews was expressing a personal belief, much as a bishop over a group of churches might today write a letter expressing certain personal theological beliefs to the churches in his sphere of influence. The author of Hebrews, whoever it may have been, may never have intended for his thoughts to be preached as ultimate truth for centuries to come. Hebrews is different from most other New Testament books (in part because it was directed towards Jewish Christians throughout the Roman Empire rather than those living in Palestine), so Hebrews 9:27 may have been intended only to refute a common Sadducean Jewish belief of the time, that the soul ceases to exist after death. The Bardo Thodol, Liberation through Hearing in the Intermediate State, sometimes incorrectly called the Tibetan Book of the Dead, is a funerary text that describes the experiences of the consciousness after death during the interval known as bardo between death and rebirth. ...
Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box: Biblical inerrancy is the...
Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box: This article is about...
Luke 13 Something that seems to deny not reincarnation itself but any notion of karma and retribution can be found in Luke chapter 13: After hearing about an accident that killed 18, Jesus warns his listeners not to think that this happened to the afflicted because they were especially evil people. However, supporters of reincarnation might counter that Jesus is admonishing his followers to avoid judgment (lest they be judged), and there is always the possibility that God is making his works manifest etc.; a human could never be sure. The Gospel of Luke is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament, which tell the story of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. ...
Psalm 78:39 "He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return." Traditional Christians would say that this verse denies reincarnation.
Ecclesiastes 9:5,6 &10 These scriptures indicate what happens to the person after death "but the living know this at least, that they must die. But the dead know nothing, they have nothing for their labour, their very memory is forgotten. their love has vanished with their hate and jealousy, and they have no share in anything that goes on in the world." "Throw yourself into any pursuit that may appeal to you, for there is no pursuit, no plan, no knowledge or intelligence within the grave where you are going." These scriptures seem to suggest that nothing remains of a person after death, that is their love, hate and jealousy (major parts of a person's personality) "vanish". Furthermore, verse 10 implies that after death a person ceases to exist or nothing of the consciousness of the person remains.
(Bible quotations: The old testament, A new translation, By James Moffatt D.D., D.Litt., M.A. (Oxon), Volume II)
The thief on the cross Jesus, when on the cross, tells the thief being executed beside him "This day you will be with me in paradise". This would seem to imply that the thief would go straight to heaven, and not be reincarnated. On the assumption that a thief convicted of a capital crime would be likely to need a reincarnation before achieving perfection, this passage could point more to the one-stroke redemption believed in by traditional Christians.
Hindus and others would refute this interpretation's claim to contradict reincarnation. To Hindus, Devaloka, akin to heaven, is a plane of blissful existence that can be reached as soon as one is sufficiently atuned to light and good. However, to become even better and to learn more, one must return to a life on Earth, until all the learning possibilities here have been exhausted. Then, any other lives become unnecessary and liberation or moksha is achieved. Also, Hindus believe that God's grace can overcome the karma of someone who has already become close enough to liberation through one's own merits, and through grace a one-stroke redemption can occur without the need for reincarnation. This article is about the Hindu religion; for other meanings of the word, see Hindu (disambiguation). ...
Devaloka is a sanskit word which means, literally, plane of beings of light, referring to a higher plane of existence where Gods and Devas exist. ...
Look up Liberation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Moksha - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...
Paul's teaching Paul, in his epistles, teaches extensively about the nature of heaven. It would seem likely that had reincarnation been involved, he might have mentioned it. Indeed a strong argument against reincarnation is that in the whole of the Bible, only a tiny number of passages exist that could even remotely be interpreted as supporting it. Significant doctrines in Christianity are usually based on dozens or sometimes hundreds of passages.
Christian Apologetics for Reincarnation
Apologetics Most Christian apologists maintain that the concept of reincarnation is not described in Biblical texts. They maintain that the verses that appear to support the idea of reincarnation are interpreted from the context of a reincarnation worldview and not from context of the Biblical Jewish/Christian worldview. Apologetics is the field of study concerned with the systematic defense of a position. ...
This might be best understood when one considers the popularity that Hinduism and Buddhism have gained in some circles of the West. In many cases, they do so by claiming that the verses that appear to support the idea of reincarnation are taken out of context, while apparently applying a different standard to verses that appear to deny the possibility. Unfortunately, the practice of taking verses out of context (and sometimes, stringing unrelated verses together in a way that makes them appear related) to prove a favored belief or disprove someone else's belief is nothing new to Christianity, or to the opponents of Christianity; according to some, this technique has already been applied in composition of the New Testament writings itself. Hinduism (known as in modern Indian languages) is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. ...
This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ...
Contemporary Christian thought objects to reincarnation because it is not seen compatible with the traditional biblical view of man and the idea of salvation through Jesus.
Some Christians, though, interpret Jesus' death on the cross as providing believers the opportunity to grow towards salvation despite personal imperfections, rather than ensuring instant salvation for all believers after death. Reincarnation may simply delay a person's ultimate destiny - most religions that believe in reincarnation do not believe that a person continues to reincarnate indefinitely.
Origen Origen, an early Christian theologian who lived during the third century, wrote that "The soul has neither beginning nor end. [They] come into this world strengthened by the victories or weakened by the defeats of their previous existence" (De Principiis). This belief was not unique to Origen; early Christians believed that the soul exists prior to the conception and birth of a person, a belief that many then-popular variants of Greek philosophy accepted. However, this does not in and of itself imply reincarnation, cf. the Mormon view of the "beforelife" of the soul. In AD 553, more than three hundred years after Origen's death, the Emperor Justinian issued an edict against Origen, whose writings had by then become very divisive, and convened the Second Council of Constantinople. This Council issued "The Anathemas Against Origen". The first sentence reads, "If anyone asserts the fabulous pre-existence of souls, and shall assert the monstrous restoration which follows from it: let him be anathema." Origen Origen (Greek: Ōrigénēs, 185–ca. ...
// Overview Events 212: Constitutio Antoniniana grants citizenship to all free Roman men 212-216: Baths of Caracalla 230-232: Sassanid dynasty of Persia launches a war to reconquer lost lands in the Roman east 235-284: Crisis of the Third Century shakes Roman Empire 250-538: Kofun era, the first...
Greek philosophy focused on the role of reason and inquiry. ...
Book of Mormon, see Latter Day Saint movement. ...
Events The Ostrogoth Kingdom is conquered by the Byzantines after the Battle of Mons Lactarius. ...
Anathema (in Greek Ανάθεμα) meaning originally something lifted up as an offering to the gods; later, with evolving meanings, it came to mean: to be formally set apart, banished, exiled, excommunicated or denounced, sometimes accursed. ...
Some see the Anathemas Against Origen not only suppressing the early Christian teachings within the Church, but also any teaching supportive of views on the pre-existence of the soul. Anyone publicly espousing such beliefs could be reprimanded, and, if he persisted, excommunicated from the Church.
The decision of the Second Council of Constantinople regarding the pre-existence of souls has never been disputed since by traditional Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant theologians and mainstream denominations.
Quote from Origen:
- "It can be shown that an incorporeal and reasonable being has life in itself independently of the body... then it is beyond a doubt bodies are only of secondary importance and arise from time to time to meet the varying conditions of reasonable creatures. Those who require bodies are clothed with them, and contrariwise, when fallen souls have lifted themselves up to better things their bodies are once more annihilated. They are ever vanishing and ever reappearing."
It is strongly debated wether origen believed in reincarnation or not.
Another Quote from Origen:
"[Scripture says] ‘And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" and he said, "I am not"’ [John 1:21]. No one can fail to remember in this connection what Jesus says of John: ‘If you will receive it, this is Elijah, who is to come’ [Matt. 11:14]. How then does John come to say to those who ask him, ‘Are you Elijah?’—‘I am not’? . . . One might say that John did not know that he was Elijah. This will be the explanation of those who find in our passage a support for their doctrine of reincarnation, as if the soul clothed itself in a fresh body and did not quite remember its former lives. . . . [H]owever, a churchman, who repudiates the doctrine of reincarnation as a false one and does not admit that the soul of John was ever Elijah, may appeal to the above-quoted words of the angel, and point out that it is not the soul of Elijah that is spoken of at John’s birth, but the spirit and power of Elijah" (Commentary on John 6:7 [A.D. 229]).
History of Canonical and extra-biblical writings By exponents of New Age the theory has been voiced, that reincarnation is not incompatible with Christianity, but was suppressed by the church (or the pope or the emperor Constantine) in order to increase the power and influence of the church. According to this theory, the texts that offered the greatest acceptance of Roman Pagan doctrine were made part of biblical canon; those that tended to reduce the influence of the church and were offensive to Roman Pagans were declared as heresy. Doctrine, from Latin doctrina, (compare doctor), means a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system. ...
A biblical canon is an exclusive list of books written during the formative period of the Jewish or Christian faiths; the leaders of these communities believed these books to be inspired by God or to express the authoritative history of the relationship between God and his people (although there may...
Other arguments for this theory are that after Constantine's Edict of Milan in AD 313, which made Christianity a tolerated religion, Christianity became tainted with elements of Roman Paganism. Reincarnation was offensive to Roman Pagans, as were other early Christian concepts. The Roman church began to select acceptable doctrines based in part on what would cause the church (and its leaders) to have the greatest influence in society. If someone believed that they had multiple lifetimes to gain favor with God, they might not be as inclined to obey the church teachings, or to serve the church leaders. On the other hand, if people could be convinced that they had but one lifetime to "get it right", and that eternal punishment in hell awaited those who failed to heed the teachings of the church, they would be more inclined to do whatever the church leaders expected of them, including supporting the church financially. It therefore would not come as any surprise that a church that had strayed from the original teachings of Jesus would emphasize doctrines that increased the amount of control that the church had over its members. The Edict of Milan (313) was a letter that Said religious toleration in the Roman Empire. ...
Religion in ancient Rome combined several different cult practices and embraced more than a single set of beliefs. ...
For other uses, see Hell (disambiguation). ...
The majority of Christian and secular historian scholarship maintains that it is not historically justifiable that verses regarding reincarnation could have been removed from the Bible. The first universally acknowledged authorities in Christianity since the time of the apostles were the ecumenical councils, the first of which took place in 325. Various groups contended their decisions for most of the century. A single-handed decision of the bishop of Rome accepted by the whole of Christianity in the first centuries is not seen by apologists to be likely - even his addition to the Nicene creed (the Filioque) in the late first millennium, is fiercely contended by the Orthodox churches until today. Moreover, the findings of textual criticism and the many early fragments of the Bible that have surfaced during the last two centuries lead many to believe it extremely unlikely that anything of importance was ever removed from the Bible. Events May 20 - First Council of Nicaea - first Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church: The Nicene Creed is formulated, the date of Easter is discussed. ...
Icon depicting the Holy Fathers of the First Council of Nicaea holding the Nicene Creed. ...
In Christian theology the filioque clause or filioque controversy (filioque meaning and [from] the son in Latin) is a heavily disputed addition to the Nicene Creed, that forms a divisive difference in particular between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. ...
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Eastern Christianity. ...
Carmina Cantabrigiensia, Manuscript C, folio 436v, 11th century Textual criticism or lower criticism is a branch of philology or bibliography that is concerned with the identification and removal of errors from texts and manuscripts. ...
There are no known surviving references explicitly describing reincarnation or stating a belief in reincarnation in the Christian mainstream writings of the early church period. There also do not appear to be any surviving writings explicitly characterizing the belief in reincarnation as a heresy, or condemning such a belief, even in the voluminous writings against Gnosticism. Other beliefs that were contrary to the orthodox views of the church, such as Arianism, were condemned rather than ignored or censored. The absence of any surviving references to reincarnation causes some who question whether there was ever such a doctrine in Christianity to characterize the belief that there previously was as a conspiracy theory. This article is about theological views like those of Arius. ...
A conspiracy theory attempts to attribute the ultimate cause of an event or chain of events (usually political, social, or historical events), or the concealment of such causes from public knowledge, to a secret, and often deceptive plot by a covert alliance of powerful or influential people or organizations. ...
There exist non-canonical texts that do support reincarnation, especially Nag Hammadi library texts, among them the Gospel of Thomas, as well as the Dead Sea scrolls. The Nag Hammadi library is a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts discovered near the Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945. ...
The Gospel of Thomas is a New Testament-era apocryphon completely preserved in a papyrus Coptic manuscript discovered in 1945 at Nag Hammadi, Egypt. ...
Fragments of the scrolls on display at the Archeological Museum, Amman The Dead Sea scrolls (Hebrew: מגילות ×™× ×”×ž×œ×—) comprise roughly 825-872 documents, including texts from the Hebrew Bible, discovered between 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves in and around the Wadi Qumran (near the ruins of the ancient settlement of Khirbet...
These verses from non-cannonical Bible are supporting reincarnation:
51. His disciples said to him, "When will the rest for the dead take place, and when will the new world come?" The Gospel of Thomas is a New Testament-era apocryphon completely preserved in a papyrus Coptic manuscript discovered in 1945 at Nag Hammadi, Egypt. ...
He said to them, "What you are looking forward to has come, but you don't know it."
New Age views Some New Age writers in the '80s picked up the above theory that references to reincarnation had been removed from the Bible. Shirley MacLaine, e.g., quotes this teaching in her book "Out on a Limb" (1983): "; The theory of reincarnation is recorded in the Bible. But the proper interpretations were struck from it during an ecumenical council meeting of the Catholic Church in Constantinople sometime around A.D. 553, called the Council of Nicaea [sic]". New Age describes a broad movement characterized by alternative approaches to traditional Western culture. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty April 24, 1934) is an Academy Award-winning American film and theatre actress, well-known not only for her acting, but for her devotion to her belief in reincarnation. ...
Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ...
This theory cannot be confirmed by church history: There was no Council of Nicaea in the year 553 and neither the First Council of Nicaea in 325 nor the Second Council of Nicaea in 787 mention anything like reincarnation. Ä°znik (which derives from the former Greek name Îίκαια, Nicaea) is a city in Turkey which is known primarily as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea, the first and seventh Ecumenical councils in the early history of the Christian church, the Nicene Creed, and as the capital...
The First Council of Nicaea, held in Nicea in Bithynia (in present-day Turkey), convoked by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in 325, was the first ecumenical[1] conference of bishops of the Catholic Church, and most significantly resulted in the first uniform Christian doctrine, called the Nicene Creed. ...
The Second Council of Nicaea was the seventh ecumenical council of Christianity; it met in 787 AD in Nicaea (site of the First Council of Nicaea) to restore the honoring of icons (or, holy images), which had been suppressed by imperial edict inside the Byzantine Empire during the reign of...
This article is about the year 787. ...
The Second Council of Constantinople in 553 (which was not conducted by the Pope but by the emperor Justinian I) does not record mention of reincarnation either. The origin of the theory is the fact that this council rejected Origen's teachings on the pre-existence of the soul: "If anyone asserts the fabulous pre-existence of souls, and shall assert the monstrous restoration which follows from it: let him be anathema." This statement would appear to indicate that by 553 there was little or no support for any concept of reincarnation within the church. The Fifth Ecumenical Council (the Second Council of Constantinople) was a Christian Ecumenical Council that was held in 553. ...
Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box: The Pope (from Latin...
(Latin: Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus, Greek: Ιουστινιανός;) commonly known as Justinian I, or (among Eastern Orthodox Christians) as Saint Justinian the Great; c. ...
Ancient of Days by William Blake Apocatastasis (a-po-ca-TAH-sta-sis) is a Greek word meaning: 1) reconstitution or restitution [1] 2) restoration to the original or primordial condition [2] // [edit] Apocatastasis [edit] in Stoicism In Stoic philosophy, the cosmos is a physical expression of Zeus perfect thoughts...
Anathema (in Greek Ανάθεμα) meaning originally something lifted up as an offering to the gods; later, with evolving meanings, it came to mean: to be formally set apart, banished, exiled, excommunicated or denounced, sometimes accursed. ...
See also For other uses, see Karma (disambiguation). ...
Gilgulim neshamot (jewish concept of reincarnation) literally means circles of the souls (around lifes or incarnations to the body). ...
The afterlife, or life after death, is a generic term referring to a continuation of existence, typically spiritual, experiential, or ghost-like, beyond this world (eg. ...
Childbirth (also called labour, birth, partus or parturition) is the culmination of a human pregnancy with the emergence of a newborn infant/s from the mothers uterus. ...
This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...
For other uses, see Life (disambiguation). ...
Edgar Cayce (March 18, 1877 – January 3, 1945) (pronounced or like Casey) was an American psychic who claimed to channel answers to questions on subjects such as health, astrology, reincarnation, and Atlantis while in trance. ...
Esoteric Christianity refers to the occult study and the mystic living of the esoteric knowledge related to what adherents view as the inner teachings of early Christianity, seen as a Mystery religion. ...
Reference literature
Positive - Heindel, Max (1909). The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception or Mystic Christianity (Rebirth and the Law of Consequence). ISBN 0-911274-34-0
- Prophet, Elizabeth Clare, Erin L. Prophet (1997), Reincarnation: The Missing Link in Christianity. ISBN 0-922729-27-1
- Smith, Edward Reaugh (2003). The Soul's Long Journey: How the Bible Reveals Reincarnation. ISBN 0-88010-535-6
Max Heindel (1865-1919) Max Heindel - born Carl Louis von Grasshoff in Aarhus, Denmark on July 23, 1865 - was a Christian occultist, astrologer, and mystic. ...
The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception or Mystic Christianity is a Rosicrucian text, written by Max Heindel (ISBN 0-911274-34-0) // Western Wisdom Teachings The first edition was printed in November 1909, it has little changed since then and it is considered to be Max Heindels magnum opus. ...
Elizabeth Clare Prophet, 1984 Elizabeth Clare Prophet (born April 8, 1939) is an American who became the leader of the new religious movement The Summit Lighthouse, an organization encompassing the branches of Church Universal and Triumphant, Summit University, Summit University Press, and Montessori International, after her husband, Mark L. Prophet...
Critical
External links
Positive
Critical Footnotes: - ^ Translation from Amplified English Bible
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