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S. Michael Houdmann
Supporter
While the Bible never addresses reincarnation specifically, it is clear that the biblical model of life, death, and afterlife is incompatible with any form of reincarnation as posited in religions ...
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Lynn Willis
Supporter
I can only add my own personal views on this, being somewhat like my sister Helena above in that "Before I became a born-again Christian I was speaking in a manner that indicated that I belonged to God, even though I was not living a righteous life or acknowledging truly that I believe." I did a lot of talking the talk about God, but I did not walk the walk, until just under 2 years ago when I personally met Christ/the Holy Spirit and began a relationship with Him. I am SO blessed to have finally heard His call after so many years and to FINALLY live in truth = something I searched for ALL MY LIFE! Example, since childhood I had a very strong draw to Egyptology - it just felt 'familiar' - which led me to eventually believe in reincarnation. I couldn't explain it except to say I 'felt' I had lived in that time before. In my life I came to believe in ALL possibilities, from metaphysics, to reincarnation, to ghosts, to aliens, to the big bang theory as well as science to explain the whys of nature, who we are, what we are, the world, etc. In my search for 'truth'. NOW that I actually DO live in truth in Christ, I see things a LOT differently, but remain in a place of endless possibility! Firstly, our little minds are far inferior to that of our great God. Secondly, HE gave us enough to know Him, find Him, live in this broken world safely and courageously for Him, but not be of it, but to live in truth with HIM. But He didn't tell us ALL. Even Jesus said of the parables from the boat in Mark 4:11: And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: So how I see it is this... If Christ lives in US... and Christ is God, and God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, and we are of the body of Christ, it is only logical to me that there will be energies shared, exchanged but ultimately mysterious to us. Yes, God may be sending us information - we just don't know what to do with it without asking Him for His direction in prayer. Science has always ALWAYS reinforced the existence of God for me... never once denied or destroyed my belief in God. If life has an energy force, and the law of physics (which God knows ALL about because He created all the laws of science discovered AND undiscovered) that 'energy once created can never be taken away, only transformed into another form of energy', then hugging a tree as a living thing created by the force of God isn't such a weird idea after all, is it? And if Jesus is the same today as yesterday and tomorrow, which He IS, was there with Isaiah and Jeremiah and Noah and Moses and Elijah and... then our linear thinking of timelines and experiences really try to put our Almighty God into a box so that our little minds can understand it and Him, which is a ridiculous thing to even think about doing because it simply can NOT be done. In summary, it is not reincarnation or past lives that these people are recounting through hypnosis or otherwise. That is a lie that Satan has perpetuated in order to draw people away from God. I know this now with all clarity thanks to the good Lord. Do not underestimate Satan... for that is what he wants humans to do. God is in control and ALL we have to do is trust in Him with all our heart and all our mind and all our strength and all our soul, for with God ALL things are possible. I trust that if He said He would give us many lives instead of one everlasting life, He would have breathed THAT truth into scripture. But He didn't because it simply is not true. I hope that helps a bit. Blessings, in HIM, Lynn
Wayne Sanders
Supporter
Can past life experiences be explained by demonic activity? Because demons are spirits which have lived through the ages, they are aware of things that happened hundreds even thousands of years ago. Could not a demonic spirit deceive a person into believing they lived long ago as someone else because they have real information about events which happened to that historic person? I am NOT saying that the person who believes they lived as someone else in a past life is demon possessed, but are they being influenced by demonic activity. The slave girl in Acts 16 was influenced by a spirit of divination whereby she received information and could speak about Paul and Silas being servants of God. What she spoke was true, but I believe it was intended to interject some falsehood later. Paul recognized the source of her information as being demonic and dealt with the demon setting the girl free by the power of Christ. Just a thought.
Grant Abbott
Supporter
What this question is really asking is: I should believe that reincarnation is true because some people claim to remember their past lives. What the real question we need to ask is: What evidence should I find convincing that any religious belief is true? God asserts through the bible that he created us and we have only one life to live. Because of our sin we are going to face his judgement. We don't get a second chance. Therefore, before we die we need the penalty for our sin paid for. Jesus agreed to take our place and suffer the punishment we deserve. He died on a cross to pay that penalty and then rose again three days later as proof that his sacrifice was enough. When we accept Jesus as our personal saviour God forgives all our sin and gives us his gift of eternal life. Just like Jesus was raised from the dead,we too will one day be resurrected to eternal life with him. What Jesus has done for us is well documented in the bible. Many people were eyewitnesses to his death, resurrection and ascension back to heaven. These eyewitness testimonies form the basis for the gospel books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. These eyewitness testimonies from numerous sources are very strong and convincing evidence that we have been saved from God's judgement by the finished work of Christ on the cross and eternal life is our reward. We don't need to live multiple lives to become a God pleasing person in order to spend eternity in God's perfect world. Jesus lived the life we could never live and fulfilled God's plan to save us.
Helena Jones
Supporter
I have not read any text within the bible, that I can recall, that address reincarnation. However, based on some of my own personal experiences, and my limited knowledge in Christ. I have an understanding that God will give us visions, not all times we will understand them immediately, but often later the meaning will come about. Also, God choose the ones he sends to the earth realm, but we come through the birth canal of our parents. With this fact also comes the fact that we are not just a part of the Creator, but of a people, and we are linked to those people just as we are to God. Before I became a born-again Christian I was speaking in a manner that indicated that I belonged to God, even though I was not living a righteous life or acknowledging truly that I believe.
Shanna Duck
Supporter
In no way does the Bible support reincarnation; Brother Houdmann has already established this fact. The Bible seems to teach that our souls/spirits, once out of the deceased body, go either to be with Christ or to a temporary "hell" to await the final judgement. They are not re-born in another body, neither human nor animal. Yet there are some interesting areas that scientists are only now beginning to recognize and explore. For instance, people who have received transplanted organs sometimes have personality changes or strange experiences relating to the deceased organ-donor. Other people, like myself, may find that they know a skill (mine was spinning thread) or have knowledge of something that they never learned, but that an ancestor knew. I'm not advocating cellular memory here; it's still considered a pseudoscience, but in the future we may find that DNA carries far more information than we ever dreamed. Of course, in some cases these "memories" are simply delusions, dreams, remembering elements of fiction, being "led" by a hypnotist, or even demonic suggestion. I'm just saying there may be other ways to explain "past life memories" than reincarnation.
Thomas Riccardi
Supporter
Hebrews 9:27 states this clearly. “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:” By this we know there is no coming back or reincarnation. I hope you will go to this chapter and verse and allow the Holy Spirit to enlighten you!
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