Is Reincarnation Really Incompatible with the Bible?
Apologists of the Christian Bible use one verse in the Bible to “prove” that reincarnation is incompatible with the Bible. Hebrews 9:27, which says: “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:“, and then ignore or misinterpret all the rest of the verses that plainly show that Jesus actually did speak of reincarnation. But seeing that so many verses in the Bible have been changed and corrupted, and there are no original manuscripts to verify that the original passages actually were the same, there is no way of knowing what a given passage actually did say. Did it really say, “…it is appointed unto men once to die…?”
The Reality of Reincarnation
Though reincarnation is very commonly believed by millions of people around the world, Christianity is one religion that denies its reality despite the huge amount of evidence uncovered by many researchers over decades of studies in many countries. It has been said said that there is not enough scientific evidence to be able to say it’s “scientifically proven”. However, how can you get tangible evidence about something that isn’t tangible? or rather, apparently intangible. As Jesus said,
And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. (Matthew 13:14-16)
The basic premise of Reincarnation is that the spirit of a person, at a certain time enters into the body of an embryo or a fetus in the mother’s womb. When that baby is born the spirit that inhabited another body has a brand new body and brain. Since there is a completely different brain than the one previously used by the spirit now inhabiting a new body, it has little or no memory of a past life. The spirit also has memory, but this memory is to a great extent, blocked so that the spirit will have a completely new experience, largely unhindered by memories of past lives.
The Evidence
However, there is lots of evidence that has been verified scientifically, despite all the religious efforts to claim that it doesn’t exist just because the “Bible says so”. There are some children that up unto a certain age are able to retain memories of a past life. Many children spontaneously give the names of parents, siblings and friends and even addresses where they lived. They sometimes will know many details about the lives of others that would have been impossible for them to know, especially since the person they claimed to be had been dead for several years.
Many times they would know the names of friends who they had known in previous lifetimes. Not everything could be corroborated, but there was such a significant amount of information that could be verified, and seeing it would be almost impossible for a child of such a young age to have known so many details, this has made the reality of Reincarnation very credible. In fact, thousands of stories have been researched and studied over the span of decades, by people who are educated and experts in their fields.
Besides all that, thousands of people have had what is known as Near Death Experiences, and have met with loved ones and friends on the other side and were revived and returned to tell their bodies to tell what they saw and learned on the other side. Their stories are all different, but most all have a lot in common. Almost all the experiencers expressed that the trip to the other side after separating from their bodies that their lives were changed.
Many of them learned a lot of things that showed them that they had been wrong about and that their schools and churches had taught them lies. One thing that many of the had in common was that they referred to former lives and people (who had passed away) that they had known previously. Even some near death experiencers who didn’t believe in Reincarnation began to believe in it. Many of these who made references to their former lives, spoke as though it was a common everyday occurrence; as if it were a general law of nature which they take for granted, not even giving it a second thought. Several have said that much that they learned in church was wrong.
Reincarnation in the First 500 years of Christianity
Despite the Church declaring that Reincarnation is incompatible with the bible, it was an important teaching in Christian doctrine for the first 500 years of Christianity. Besides the early Christians, the church fathers of that era were firm believers in Reincarnation. To name just a few there was Origen, one of the greatest church fathers ever, St. Jerome, Clement of of Alexandria — all well known church fathers. One of Paul’s most faithful disciples, Clement of of Alexandria, said that one of the teachings Jesus imparted to Paul was the doctrine of Reincarnation.
Jesus: “They who have suffered and have overcome will be made pillars of the temple of my God, and they will go out no more. I say to you, except you be born again of water and of fire, you cannot see the kingdom of God.” (Gospel of the Nazirenes 37.3)
“The light shines from the East even to the West; out of the darkness. The sun rises and sets into darkness again; so is it with man, from the ages to the ages.”
“When it cometh from the darkness, it is that he has lived before, and when it goes down again into darkness, it is that he may rest for a little, and there after again exist.” (Gospel of the Nazirenes 37.6-7)
Why They Wanted to Remove Reincarnation
The Bible, over the centuries, has been changed and has lost many important teachings, one being Reincarnation. It may not appear so obvious why this doctrine was removed from Christian teaching, but but seeing that it is so important that the Church have control over the minds and hearts of the people it becomes evident that an informed people is an independent people — people who are not dependent on the Church are a problem. Fear and ignorance are weapons the Church has always used to control and manipulate people. If the people believed in reincarnation, then they had full control and accountability over their own destinies and their own “salvation”.
Thus the people would eventually realize they no longer needed the Church and its leadership to be the mediators between them and their God. When people begin to realize that the fate of their destinies and their own “salvation” actually lies in their own hands and not the hands of others, it becomes clear to them there is no need for mediators. It has always been clear that religion is largely just a money-making organization, using fear and lies to get people to part from their money and properties, etc.