Reincarnation

Reincarnation and Christianity

It is wrong to claim that reincarnation cannot have anything to do with Christianity, but it is very much correct, that the reincarnation idea cannot be accepted in a Christian context without this having consequences for the theological apprehensions. In the following we will show that in a number of areas quotations from the Bible and Christian arguments speak for the reincarnation idea's compatibility with the Christian teaching and culture. Let us begin with the quotations.

In the Gospel according to St John, beginning of chapter 9, it is said about Jesus: "And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying: "Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?". How could you be able to sin before birth if you are created by God by conception and have not experienced anything but the uterus' protecting surroundings? Theologians may answer that it is a matter of original sin, but the Holy Writ does not use this expression. Jesus never talks about original sin. It is a technical term used by the theology.

Jesus answers his disciples that the man's blindness is neither due to a sin (bad karma ) from himself nor his parents, but that he has been born blind so he can experience the miracle of recovering his eyesight as a grown up. The answer is therefore surprising, but it also implies that the man may have sinned before birth and thereby, through bad acts in a past life, have brought blindness upon himself in this life.

In the Gospel of Matthew, 17:11, the disciples ask about Elias from the Old Testament, and Jesus answers: "Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, that Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them." Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist." It is difficult to conclude other than John the Baptist actually being the Prophet Elias, who has returned, i.e. reincarnated. That John the Baptist denies it (John 1:21) does not explain away the words from Jesus. It is not unusual that persons cannot remember their reincarnations, and it is commonly accepted among Christians that the words of Jesus carry greater weight than the words of others. Theologians may here object that this is to be interpreted in a figurative way. John the Baptist comes "like Elias", he "reminds of" Elias and "acts as Elias", an enthusiastic servant of God. You may refer to the Gospel of St Luke, chapter 1:14-18, where the angel proclaims the birth of John the Baptist for Zechariah, and where it is said: And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias." Elias is - according to this argumentation - congenial with, or simply blesses, John the Baptist. But such a conclusion seems hasty, because as early as in the Old Testament there are prophecies in Malachi's book about the arrival of Elias (Malachi 4:5-6): "Behold, I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord." In the previously mentioned Gospel of Matthew Jesus says: "And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." (Matthew 11:14). Jesus emphasizes the importance with the words: "If you are willing to accept it" and "he who has ears, let him hear", just as he does not say "look like Elias", but specifically maintains that he "is Elias", that he "has arrived, just as Malachi predicted. That there was a common expectation that Elijah and the others of the old Prophets might appear, is verified by the following quotation from Matthew: "When Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Phillipi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: Some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets." (Matthew 16:13).