Christian Scriptures that Support Reincarnation

Many of these basic core aspects about life, death and life-after death; centered directly on the practice idea that human being's soul is either reincarnated or resurrected, depending on which faith you believe in, as a probable outcome for a dearly departed person on faith. It is my understanding that in Buddhism, nearly every Dalai Lama (since its the beginning) has thought to have been the reincarnated soul of all the past deities. According to his Holiness' own biography;

When I consider my experience during this present life, and given my Buddhist beliefs, I have no difficulty accepting that I am spiritually connected both to the thirteen previous Dalai Lamas, to Chenrezig and to the Buddha himself”.

However, in Christianity it is not a concept that we are taught at all. It is not believed that the Pope is the reincarnated soul of Jesus Christ or John Baptist. He is supposed to be the embodiment of their teachings but, the souls of Jesus or John, do not dwell in the spirit of the Pope's soul. Rather, reincarnation goes completely unexplained through more denial. Popes, Bishops, Priests, Reverends, etc..., do not believe that they are the reincarnated souls of past Popes, Bishops, Priests, Reverends, etc..., Furthermore, Christians are taught to believe in the concept of resurrection. While most Christians are also taught to read the bible with an understanding, that what is written is the word of God. According to the leaders and teachings of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity- your soul is given one chance to get it right so, do not mess it up. If you do right by God, when you die your soul is believed to be resurrected and taken up to heaven.

In every good bible study, a scripture is given and a lesson is openly debated amongst those attending the bible study. In the hopes of further study, I ask everyone to turn to their Bibles for sources addressing reincarnation. For a New Testament scripture on reincarnation, I suggest reading John 3:4-8, discuss it and challenge some of the ideas and questions I have provided below.

• Why are some Christians better adapted at keeping their minds open to new found knowledge and ideas?
• What do you think would happen to Christianity if Jesus was reincarnated instead of resurrected?
• Why do Christian find the notion of reincarnation to be strange, but the idea of resurrection simple truth?
• Would Jesus Christ approve of free thinking ideas concerning reincarnation, and how do you think this would change the faith?

This scripture and bible lesson would definitely make a great Sunday school or bible study for young adults. These types of questions not only challenges young believers beliefs, it also helps them to realize why it is they believe a certain way. If their way of thinking happens to be narrow minded or full of shortcomings- hosting debates on hot topics, usually will help those individuals develop more patience, just by forcing them to peer on flipside of what they might consider truth.

Is the reincarnation concept really that foreign to Christians? The concept of reincarnation is not a foreign idea to most people. I would estimate that the majority of people in the Western hemisphere knows a little something about reincarnation, regardless of their personal background or upbringing. It is however, a more common spiritual belief in Eastern religions than it is in Christianity. The two most common spiritual lifestyles and belief systems, which are those who celebrate reincarnation as a common aspect of death, are Hinduism and Buddhism.

I do not believe that Christians go about reading the bible, with the intent to ignore scriptures on reincarnation. Really, the answer to the question, "Why do Christians Ignore Scriptures On Reincarnation," is three-fold.

1. Christians do not know the scriptures exist in the bible, and rely solely on oral traditions, passed down many generations.
2. Secondly, because many Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, etc..., are taught that verb phrases such as; 'to awake', 'to raise up', 'to rise', 'to cure' are manifestations of the victory of life over death. While intransitive verbs such as 'to appear', 'to get up', 'to show' are regarded as acts of God's holy power.
3. Lastly, scriptures about reincarnation get lost in translation. Generally there are two types of biblical perceptions to what is occurring, at any given time, in the bible. There are the free thinking perceptions of "New Age" Christians who often have a loose translation of the word of God. And..., then there are those who stick to the literal translations of certain passages, found in the bible, and hold firmly to the actual meaning of the words.