It would seem that Christianity denies reincarnation. At the same time, the transmigration of souls is recognized in many religions of the world. When asked what religions believe in reincarnation, scholars recall the Eskimos, the Indians of North America, the Gnostics and the esoteric Christians. In addition, Buddhists, supporters of Taoism believe in this phenomenon. There is reincarnation in world religions. So, in Islam there are 3 types of it, and each of them has its own term. In Jewish tradition, it is called "ilgul." Remembering in which religion there was still reincarnation, it is worth considering the traditions of Ancient Greece. The best scientists of this country - Pythagoras, Plato, Socrates, accepted this idea. Neopagans, the New Age trend also recognize the transmigration of souls.
Denial of reincarnation
At the moment, it is known that the doctrine of reincarnation in Christianity is not. However, the idea of the transmigration of souls is not directly available in the Bible, but there is no denial either. At the same time, it is known that reincarnation was recognized in early Christianity. It was called the "pre-existence of human souls." Similar ideas were voiced by Origen Adamati, a Christian theologian, author of Hexala. The latter was written in the Old Testament.
At the same time, Origen, who expressed ideas about reincarnation in Christianity, was accused of heresy at the fifth Ecumenical Council. However, his teaching was popular for several centuries. Theologians all this time have denied reincarnation in Christianity and the Gospel.
The famous philosopher Philo also explored the ideas of rebirth of the soul. And modern Orthodoxy considers him a fairly significant figure.
Understanding whether there was a reincarnation in Christianity, it is worth taking into account the fact that the transmigration of souls was mentioned more than once in the Old Testament.
For example, Solomon himself said that sinners would be born to be damned. There are many references to reincarnation in Christianity, but Orthodoxy does not accept the idea of transmigration of souls. The main idea of this faith is that Jesus saved people from sins.
Those who believe in this are destined for eternal life in paradise or in hell, if a person is a sinner. The Orthodox Church gives forgiveness of sins to those who repent. And if the lost link, reincarnation in Christianity, is recognized - this action will lose all meaning. After all, the transmigration of souls means their gradual evolution. In this case, the souls themselves are responsible for their own actions, and they do not need any absolution. If reincarnation in Christianity is recognized, it will be accepted that the Father of Heaven gives people not one, but several chances.
Modern beliefs
It is noteworthy that, according to surveys, many Christians believe in the transmigration of souls. Moreover, they consider themselves Orthodox. The popularization of the ideas of reincarnation in Christianity is due to bright news related to the souls of sensations, the propaganda of ideas in films. A lot of people in a variety of shows describe memories of their past lives. Sessions of self-knowledge are popular, in which, during meditation, people are also invited to recall previous incarnations. There are many books and articles on this subject.
There are many official supporters of the transmigration of souls who answer positively to the question of whether there was reincarnation in Christianity. It's about Edgar Cayce, Gene Dixon.
General concept of soul migration
According to the theory of reincarnation, every living creature comes for the Earth in incarnations again and again. It is believed that every act in this life affects the embodiment in the subsequent. There is a belief that a person can be embodied in both an insect and an animal. For example, insatiable people can degenerate into a pig. And if a person has some kind of injustice in life since birth, this is a consequence of the action of karma. And no one can escape punishment.
Passing through incarnations, the soul is becoming more and more perfected, approaching the Absolute.
The theory of the transmigration of souls in Western culture manifested itself in Orphic mysticism. Reincarnation was recognized in Greek culture.
When Christianity appeared, it was not like the then dominant religions. However, certain ideas of the transmigration of souls simply changed in Western culture. In these times, it was believed that the human soul only migrates to people. Similar ideas sounded in Theosophy.
In favor of reincarnation
Proponents of the fact that reincarnation is a lost link in Christianity, argue that in essence the transmigration of souls can solve the problem of evil. Injustice is also explained when someone is born in poverty, with physical disabilities, and someone - in wealth and with a good appearance. It is the relocation of souls that explains the differences in the level of intelligence in different people.
In this case, there is an answer: this is a consequence of the previous incarnation.
At the same time, one cannot fail to notice that with the development of science it has become possible to prevent many congenital diseases of people that could not be cured before.
Often there is an opinion that it is not without reason that many people during meditations recall the events of a past life, speak languages that have never been taught before.
Why Christianity Does Not Recognize Reincarnation
Christianity also believes that a person is responsible for his own actions himself. However, it is believed that everyone has one life. Priests themselves argue that the theory of transmigration of souls means that good or evil in the world is intensifying. If a person stole, then they will steal from him, and so on. As with paradise, he earns his next life with good deeds. But in such conditions, in fact, God is not needed; there is no role for him. And this is worth considering, figuring out why Christianity rejects reincarnation. Resettlement of souls implies ultimately merging with the Absolute. But Christians do not recognize this.
Discussion of soul relocation
It is widely believed that reincarnation in Christianity was abolished. Just at some point, the theory began to conflict with other dogmas of this religion. After all, the issue of the resettlement of souls was the subject of discussion by many early Christian writers.
However, for the most part, the theory that reincarnation in Christianity was abolished was not recognized.
At the same time, for example, the occultist Blavatsky spreads the idea that Christians initially believed in the transmigration of souls. She claims that the original message of Christianity was intentionally distorted. This happened at the Fifth Ecumenical Council, held in 533.
Recognizing that the transmigration of souls was originally provided for in Christian traditions would mean that all the beliefs of mankind have much more common roots.
In the bible
The Bible itself describes incidents that seemingly indicate faith in reincarnation. So, once Jesus with his disciples met a blind man from birth. And they asked Jesus who was sinful - the man himself or his parents that he was born blind. And the fact of this issue indicates the faith of these people in the transmigration of souls. They meant that children could pay for the sins of their parents.
Indeed, otherwise the blind man could not be punished for any previous sins. So he was born. However, Jesus replied that he was born so that Jesus would heal him "by multiplying the glory of the Lord." However, supporters of the belief in the transmigration of souls indicate that Jesus did not say that the question was incorrect. And usually Christ pointed to this. And also Jesus did not explain the nature of these things. After all, there are many other people born with the same diagnosis.
Patriarch Kirill
After certain statements by Patriarch Kirill about reincarnation in Christianity, materials appeared on the net that he recognized the transmigration of souls. However, in fact, he claimed that the soul is immortal. And a person’s life affects a posthumous experience.
The Holy Fathers of Antiquity on the transfer of souls
Understanding the issue of reincarnation in Christianity, it makes sense to pay attention to the oldest scriptures of the holy fathers, which mentioned the transmigration of souls. They rated it quite definitely.
It is known that Pythagoras and Plato mentioned the theory of reincarnation, supporting it. And Saint Epiphanius of Cyprus also wrote about this in his work Panarion. Blessed Theodorite of Cyrus proclaimed the idea that Christianity does not recognize the transmigration of souls.
The Council of Constantinople in 1076 condemned the theory of transmigration of souls. An anathema to anyone who believed in reincarnation was proclaimed. Many arguments have been advanced against the transmigration of souls.
As for modern skeptics, they continue to refute the existence of soul transmissions. One of the arguments in favor of the existence of reincarnation is the cases of wonderful memories of past incarnations. For example, there are stories about how those who remembered their past lives came to that area, saying the names of those whom they could not know. Someone spoke in unfamiliar languages during meditations to restore memories of previous incarnations. It is firmly entrenched in culture and is found everywhere.
Reincarnation stories
One of these world-famous stories is about a boy from Oklahoma Ryan. At 4, he often woke up in tears. For months, he begged his mother to transport him back to his former home. He requested a return to his former vibrant life in Hollywood. He said that he could not live in such conditions, but wanted to “go home”, that his former house was much better. His mother, Cindy, claimed that he looked like a little old man who lived by memories.
Taking books about Hollywood, Cindy began to examine them with her son, paying attention to the pictures. And somehow Ryan stopped her in the photo of the episode from the film "Night after Night" of 1932. He pointed to one of the actors who starred in the episode. Ryan said it was him.
The boy’s parents did not believe in reincarnation, but they found specialists who examined the transmigration of souls.
Most often, children recall previous incarnations in their early childhood, at the moment when memories of the very first moments of life begin to fade. Often, after statements about memories of previous incarnations, checks are carried out to exclude fraud. They try to find real facts, drawing parallels between the life of a truly existing person and memories.
As a result, 20% of children have the same birthmarks, scars, trauma, as a person from the past. So, a child who remembered that he was shot in the previous incarnation had 2 moles located parallel to the eye and also behind the head, and this looked like traces of a through wound from a bullet.
The case of a burning airplane became known throughout the world. So, a 4-year-old boy named James Leininger recalled that he was a pilot during World War II. At 2 years old, as his parents recalled, he somehow woke up from a terrible dream with a cry: “The plane crashed! He is on fire! A man cannot get out! ” In addition, the boy knew the design of the aircraft, which he could not even imagine. So, when his mother said that there was a bomb on the belly of a toy airplane, James straightened it - it was a fuel tank.
The boy began to wake up often from nightmares about a plane crash. And his mother turned to specialists. Those advised her to support her son, agreeing that all this happened to him in another body. Subsequently, the boy’s nightmares ceased to bother.
The main problem of reincarnation research is the fact that the study of these cases begins only at the moment when the family believed that the child went through the resettlement of the soul and turned to specialists.
Skeptics cite the fact that James, at the age of 1.5, went to the Museum of the Second World War, where he was struck by airplanes of those times. At the same time, in the end, a man was found who, indeed, as a pilot in World War II, died in the area mentioned by James. The boy said that his name was also in the previous incarnation. And the pilot was also called James. And many facts known about the boy’s past life coincided with the biography of this once-dead pilot.
The boy’s father said that he was a skeptic by nature. However, all the facts gathered about his son were genuine. And he thinks the idea that his son at such an early age was inspired by insane memories. He says that to make a 2-year-old child feel something is impossible to live with.
The fact that reincarnation remains an unproven part of life is indisputable. Memories of previous incarnations are considered quite rare, especially when it comes to Western culture.
Rejection of the theory of reincarnation
A careful study of people's memories of past lives, as skeptics point out, reveals several important details. For example, most often people who remembered the previous incarnation find themselves in the past life in the first roles. So, there are many cases when a person proclaimed himself a priest, a Templar, a druid, an inquisitor, a noble courtesan. Often past lives take place in the greatest ancient civilizations. But less common are memories of ordinary life, despite the fact that most of these people at all times.
As a result, skeptics have a question, where does the majority of the human race go. There are really few peasants and housewives among those reincarnated anew. And even less common are people recalling mice, flies, and toads about their past lives. Skeptics claim that the memories of previous incarnations are due to the personal preferences and fantasies of these people.
The second remarkable fact is the fact that the memories never touch areas unknown to mankind in different eras. People do not remember that it is impossible to draw from books, films, and history.
If reincarnation were proven, it would be a storehouse of valuable information for historians about life, about the clothes of representatives of past eras. After all, there are many unexplored moments in different parts of the world. Many ancient languages remain unencrypted, there are many unsolved alphabets. And in cases where the memories of previous incarnations would really be real, scientists could restore all this from the stories of people as from native speakers of “dead” languages.
But detailed studies indicate that an extremely small number of memories fully corresponds to the real historical situation of the described places and eras. It is known that science does not receive information from such memories, but they are repelled by what science already knows.
All this allows us to make assumptions that the memories of previous incarnations are caused by human will, fantasies, dreams and attempts to take wishful thinking.
Early teachings
During the first centuries of the existence of Christianity, many sectarian associations flourished. And a number of them proclaimed the reincarnation of the real. And although later these beliefs were violently attacked by orthodox theologians, disputes about the transmigration of souls flared up until the VI century.
Some Christians claimed that they had a particularly secret knowledge from Jesus that was hidden from the masses. This was claimed by the Gnostics, and for the most part they united around certain leaders, not organizations like the church.
And this while the orthodox people preached the belief that only the church was saving. Thanks to this, they flourished for many years, setting themselves on a solid foundation. In 312, Emperor of Rome Constantine began to support Christianity. And then he took the side of the Orthodox. This was due to the desire to strengthen the state.
The most violent struggle unfolded around the issue of reincarnation between the church and the authorities in the III-VI centuries. It is known that in Italy there were Cathars who believed in the transmigration of souls. The church dealt with them only in the 13th century, starting a crusade against these people, and then destroying them in the fire of the Inquisition with torture and bonfires. Then the idea of the transmigration of souls continued to live secretly - this faith was kept by alchemists and Frank Masons up to the 19th century.
However, the ideas of reincarnation lived directly in the church environment. For example, in the 19th century, the Polish archbishop of Passavalia began to openly recognize the transmigration of souls. Thanks to his influence, a number of other Polish and Italian priests recognized the theory.
According to recent polls, 25% of Catholics in the United States believe in reincarnation. Someone recognizes the transmigration of souls, but is silent about it.
Many consider reincarnation a much better solution than hell.Indeed, in Christianity there are no definite answers to what happens to souls that are not good enough for paradise. But at the same time, not bad enough for hell.
It is easier for those who believe in the transmigration of souls to explain the outcome of many events. For example, it becomes clear what happens to those who have killed themselves or someone. According to the theory of reincarnation, in the next life they will become a victim of the one they killed. They will serve those who have been harmed so that they can fulfill their destiny.
In Christianity there are no answers to why babies, children die, why these lives are needed, if they are so short.
Often, when relatives are not satisfied with the answers of the church, such as that it is part of a divine plan, they prefer to find themselves in a spiritual limb between a belief in reincarnation and a church that refuses to take them into account.