The formula for reincarnation: The rebirth equation

Interesting topic. The book has lots of twists and that made it lovely. I hope to see it as a movie.

The spiritual powers, which I guess you refer to, are believed to be recieved when a born again Christian accepts Christ as their Lord and Savior, in faith, and recieves the Holy Spirit. The "powers" are the gifts of discernment, faith, hope, patience, goodness, kindness, mercy, etc. This is the message. The ultimate gift is eternal salvation; an eternity with Christ. The "gifts of the spirit" that are mentioned in the bible are all the miracles Jesus performed. The bible says, "in the last times the gifts will begin to circulate in the world, again." Most Christians believe those miracles such as healing, resurrection of the dead, etc are not yet active in the world again. Rather, all healings are gifts from God in answer to prayer from Christians. Many Christian denominations preach the message of "no mediator". The preacher simply delivers messages from the bible and leads the congregation in praise and celebration of Christ. Each member of the congregation is taught, and expected, to read the bible, pray, fast, and commune in Christ on their own. If they are true Christians, they develop a personal spiritual relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The effects of the Holy Spirit are "the fruits of the spirit" and are evident in them. I have met a few true Christians and they have a presence of spiritual well-being that is often staggering. That being said, I believe there are very few true Christians out there. I think there are very many people who fit the "Christian profile" of going to church, reading the bible, and claiming to believe. But if they are not acting on those beliefs, professing the word of God, spreading the Gospel message, and following the example Christ set for us to follow, they are not true Christians. Rather, they are like (in only one way) to Lucifer. You see, even Lucifer believes in God. But he is not going to Heaven because his actions reveal his hatred for God. The bible is clear about this. You are either for Christ or against Him. This is why Christians claim Wiccans and all Pagan religions are Satanic. These parties say, "We are not satanic. We dont even believe satan exists." Christians believe that acknowledging satan exists is not a prerequisite for serving him. In their eyes, if you are not serving God, you are serving satan. If you are serving yourself, you are serving satan. If you are worshipping another god, you are serving satan. This is because satan's only goal is to lead people away from God by any means possible and he is a master of disguise, a master manipulator, and most often portrays himself in beautiful, intriguing, alluring ways. There are many churches that preach "no mediator". Within Christianity, it is taught that the sole reason for the "Protestant Reformation" was to break away from Catholic Rule and the main thing they didnt like about Catholic Rule was the idea of a "mediator". Catholics didnt read the bible they trusted the priests to "read from the bible." Catholics claimed a priest was necessary for confession, forgiveness, and mediation. The bible says otherwise. The Roman Catholic church taught that the pope was "God on earth." Protestants saw this as blasphemy and still do. In fact, the bible prophesied the Catholic Church, the rulers within, and how it would be used by satan to lead people astray. Most protestant Christians dont consider Roman Catholicism to be Christianity at all. The churches include any bible believing church that believes these things. Any church that preaches that the bible is the sole source of God's Word, that it is completely true, that Jesus is the only way to salvation, and does not preach from any source other than the bible while never promoting any sort of mediation is included. To name a few, Southern Baptist, Christian Church, Church of Christ, Methodist, and more. It is noteworthy to say that most Christians believe denominations like Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists, and similar organizations are part of the occult, unintentionally or unwillingly, because they practice things the bible preaches against. I will go read the hub you speak of now.

True. Many Christians do not use pastors and priests as links between them and God but rather shun the practice. In fact, there are many Christians who believe God has called them out of the Great Babylon, or church. There can be no mediator. Each person must connect with God on their own. Non-hierarchical churches within Christianity are the only churches that adhere to this truth. As far as Gnostics go, they don't earn my attention because the bible tells us to beware of false prophets who claim to have hidden, or privileged knowledge. Nothing is hidden; there is nothing new under the sun. Christians call the New Age movement the Old Lie.

David, what do you think of Christian Mysticism/metaphysics? Any insights? Any experiences?

Very interesting article, David. I have never had a past-life experience but I do believe reincarnation is possible. As you know, I am biblically-inclined, but do not discriminate. In the bible, Jesus told the Pharisees that they had been looking for the return of Elijah but they were blind because Elijah had already returned, as John the Baptist, and they had killed him. In my suspicion, this may be the presence of reincarnation in the Bible. All in all, I still don't think it is a proven phenomenon. I mean, the only way to "prove" it would involve a test in which someone died and was reborn in another body, in a science lab. I think we are light years away from that technology and will probably never achieve it. Regardless of religious viewpoint, scientifically, some time in the next billion years, the sun is going to explode in a super-nova that destroys the entire solar system; including planet earth. I do believe in mystical phenomenon, I just think this particular one is not proven. Rather, a scientific speculation of it is proven.