Do you believe in past lives?

Soulful said:
What is the relationship between monotheism and reincarnation?
Surely, reincarnation could be the case under one God and is not inherently synonymous with polytheism, were it to exist.
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Please forgive me in advance if this reply gets lengthy. I want to do justice to your very interesting and great question. To answer your initial question regarding what is the relationship between monotheism and reincarnation - there isn't one (a relationship). I will explain further why that is as I continue. No monotheistic religions adopt or accept the belief of reincarnation. There will always be branches of beliefs, that use the mainstream name but "twist" the teachings to suit their own ideas. I am a Christian. Unfortunately, many have given Christianity a bad name because they used the "label" of Christian but their actions showed otherwise (hatred, etc). One thing that must be said here is that God in the Bible actually rebuked religion for not being of Him. Religion is man-made. Christianity is not religion, but rather a relationship and a way of living in love as a result. It is the only monotheistic belief that is not a religion, unless individuals choose to make it into what it wasn't intended to be. Religion is about rules, rituals, condemnation if "XYZ" isn't done, on and on.

Even though my point of view is coming from that of a Christian belief, I do have a good deal of knowledge concerning other monotheistic religions. So my explanation will be Christian, but the same principles apply to the other belief systems that are monotheistic when it comes to reincarnation, only substituting Jesus Christ with Allah, etc. So with that being said, the reason reincarnation and monotheistic beliefs are not compatible is because of the very foundation of what reincarnation believes. Reincarnation at its true core is all about needing to go through these cycles of life "graduating each time" until "you get it right" and at that point, earn the right of salvation/God. Whereas in monotheistic beliefs, "God is the savior." Now - this is where another difference between Christianity and other monotheistic faiths are extremely different. In Christianity, it is not about works that we do to achieve a status with "God." Christianity is the only belief where it specifically says there are no amount of good works you could possibly do to reach salvation. That's why Jesus, sinless and blameless, offered Himself up a living sacrifice on the cross to take our place for our sins, so that we could be seen as holy, spotless before God. It was a gift given freely to us, with no qualification needed, except to say "Yes, I receive." It is/was redemption by God that loves us each unconditionally. It also begs the question: Which is best? To accept a freely given gift of salvation already completed for us? Or living a countless number of lives until you reach a certain level? To back this up (also related to the subject of reincarnation), is when Jesus said: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (Jesus)." So if it were indeed possible to live a cycle of lives to eventually achieve salvation, this would have been said rather than what was quoted. There is also one regarding "good deeds" (which is reincarnation - keep going until you are "good enough") that says: And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith –and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.For we are God’s handiwork, work of art, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (after salvation - to extend that love to others)." On the cross, Jesus said, "It is finished" meaning our sins have been atoned for, which is the polar opposite of what reincarnation stands for.

The idea of reincarnation, that people must go through a series of lives to atone for their sins, is a denial of the work of Christ, accomplished on the cross. Salvation has been made complete by Christ's sacrifice. There is nothing (no works) any of us can do to add or subtract from it. Consequently, there is no need for a series of births to accomplish what Christ has already completed. In other monotheistic beliefs, this is the same basic truth but "good works," rituals or some type of acts are necessary to achieve salvation, versus good works being a product of a loving heart after receiving salvation. So in a nutshell, any belief system that is monotheistic, believing and praying to one God, trusts/knows their salvation comes from their God - rather than many lives, almost like "Groundhog Day" spent trying to reach that "status."

I do want to emphasize that I don't judge anyone for having free will to choose what they believe. This is simply what I believe and live and have seen unbelievable miracles happen right in front of my eyes. But I certainly respect everyone and don't ever want anything I say to be perceived otherwise. Hope this answers the question and makes sense :smile:
 
When dreaming of places I've never been, with people I've never met, doing things I've never experienced, I often wonder... Especially the vivid ones from my child hood that I still remember. Dreams where I was an adult, doing things I don't fully understand. The weirder part is, they involve death at the end: either me or the people I'm with.

I would like to think the soul reincarnates, however. As a different form in different times.
 
@Dr. Holly I always saw eternal life as not necessarily mattering if it is in one vessel or not. as long as there is life, there is god. taking the view that you're not your body (or your khakis), eternal life means that your consciousness could potentially use an infinite amounts of vessels. the reincarnation aspect, or eternal life, would be purely for pleasure and interaction with god here on earth.
 
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While I like to believe we have had past lives, recently while pondering it I came to the realization that since there are now some 7 billion people on Earth today, more than ever before, how can there be enough past lives to be reincarnated into today's population? Or are there new souls constantly being created to fill that void?
Or, does this then reinforce the idea that each time we come back, we come back as a different species?
 
It's a romantic notion, but not in any real sense.
 
No. Reason being is that every time Ive heard of someones 'reading' they've always been some famous character. You never get to be a lowly peasant or a failed criminal who spent his years in prison.

I'm open to there being a legitimate past life "thing" going on that people have been perverting for fame and/or profit. But I dont htink it affects my life in a meaningful way.
 
Reincarnation at its true core is all about needing to go through these cycles of life "graduating each time" until "you get it right" and at that point, earn the right of salvation/God. Whereas in monotheistic beliefs, "God is the savior." Now - this is where another difference between Christianity and other monotheistic faiths are extremely different. In Christianity, it is not about works that we do to achieve a status with "God." Christianity is the only belief where it specifically says there are no amount of good works you could possibly do to reach salvation.
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I am certainly not a trained scholar of religion and may well be wrong in this assertion but in many Hindu, Taoist and Buddhist sects the way out of the birth-death cycle is though an attainment of a spiritually higher state of being human not thru good deeds or alms but thru a pysical and mental discipline which brings out one's innate "divinity"

So much of the dogma of Christianity, the idea that souls born before the Christ had no opportunity of salvation, the whole notion of repairing the original sin with the sacrifice on the cross, seems (to me) poorly supported by the Gospels.

But when one talks about their religious experience of being saved by Jesus, I believe that that is a very real thing, and if indeed there is reincarnation that can be transcended then that salvation would be a viable path.
 
Anythings possible, but it's not something I believe in currently...

...there are times when I feel like I've been here a really long time - or I get a "deja vuish" feeling in new settings.
 
I would hope there are past lives as my head doesn't erase well and I make a great deal of errors, so a "do over" is necessary. :)
 
MindYourHead said:
While I like to believe we have had past lives, recently while pondering it I came to the realization that since there are now some 7 billion people on Earth today, more than ever before, how can there be enough past lives to be reincarnated into today's population? Or are there new souls constantly being created to fill that void?
Or, does this then reinforce the idea that each time we come back, we come back as a different species?
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Maybe I watch too much Dr.Who and my concepts of time have now been forever damaged, but who is to say that time works in such a linear fashion for things beyond our understanding? Couldn't it be possible for multiple versions to exist and interact with each other at the same time?

I guess I'm also influenced by my belief in the collective unconscious. And the notion of everything being energy (which, in, my happiest little worlds is also just a manifestation of love). I think that my belief sometimes tends to be that we are all the same thing/person/soul/energy, just experiencing life at a different time/under different circumstances. And I think part of that could be the desire to know/experience/do everything, but maybe it is also just the nature of the universe to travel in every possible direction (hence the need for so many manifestations of "life").

I also think those kinds of beliefs are what lead me to value the lives of others so greatly sometime--we're all sharing the same energy/life, so we should really take care of it. My experience is no more important than another experience.

I feel myself tripping into a long ponder and I'm typing on my phone, so I'll just drop it there for now.
 
porcelinapunk said:
Maybe I watch too much Dr.Who and my concepts of time have now been forever damaged, but who is to say that time works in such a linear fashion for things beyond our understanding? Couldn't it be possible for multiple versions to exist and interact with each other at the same time?

I guess I'm also influenced by my belief in the collective unconscious. And the notion of everything being energy (which, in, my happiest little worlds is also just a manifestation of love). I think that my belief sometimes tends to be that we are all the same thing/person/soul/energy, just experiencing life at a different time/under different circumstances. And I think part of that could be the desire to know/experience/do everything, but maybe it is also just the nature of the universe to travel in every possible direction (hence the need for so many manifestations of "life").

I also think those kinds of beliefs are what lead me to value the lives of others so greatly sometime--we're all sharing the same energy/life, so we should really take care of it. My experience is no more important than another experience.

I feel myself tripping into a long ponder and I'm typing on my phone, so I'll just drop it there for now.
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There is research in astrophysics about parallel universes that exist simultaneously. I remember a theory that while we may die in this universe it is quite possible that we still exist in some of the other parallels. Could this not be a form of reincarnation highway? As we make mistakes on one universal level, we still exist on another and can improve upon past failures.
 
Kmal said:
@Dr. Holly I always saw eternal life as not necessarily mattering if it is in one vessel or not. as long as there is life, there is god. taking the view that you're not your body (or your khakis), eternal life means that your consciousness could potentially use an infinite amounts of vessels. the reincarnation aspect, or eternal life, would be purely for pleasure and interaction with god here on earth.
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Hi [MENTION=2259]Kmal[/MENTION] :smile:

Please forgive me for my delayed response. Life definitely got in the way and I was wanting to have time to properly respond to a great post. I can see where you are coming from. I hope that I am understanding your point of view correctly and am responding in the right way. If not, please let me know so that I can better understand and correct my response to match what I misunderstood you saying.

I just want to be sure again that nothing I say comes across as judgment or debate about someone else's point of view because I would never want that and certainly don't mean for it to. I respect everyone's way of looking at these matters.

So, with that being said - It is my belief that we are a tri-part being. Coming from the Bible, man/woman was created in the image of God who is a Spirit. So the Bible explains that we are a spirit, we have a soul (mind, will, personality, emotions) and we live in a temporary earthly body.

Depending on the different translations, it is said in one way or another that "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. (if one has chosen to believe in salvation through Christ) " 2 Corinthians 5: New Bodies
"For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. [SUP]2 [/SUP]We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. [SUP]3 [/SUP]For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. [SUP]4 [/SUP]While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. [SUP]5 [/SUP]God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.[SUP]6 [/SUP]So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. [SUP]7 [/SUP]For we live by believing and not by seeing. [SUP]8 [/SUP]Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord." Also - Philippians 3:21[SUP]: "[/SUP]He (God) will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control." Last one...1 Corinthians 15:42-44[SUP]: 42 [/SUP]It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. [SUP]43 [/SUP]Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. [SUP]44 [/SUP]They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.

So, if I am understanding you correctly (I hope that I am), my point of view is that when Christ was dead and was resurrected on the 3rd day, He did not inhabit another body but came back as the same Jesus with nail scarred hands, etc. Also, the way I think of it is: Our glorified Heavenly bodies will be remade into what we were originally created as before the fall of Adam and Eve. We will be without sickness, without pain of any kind... it will literally be a glorified body to inhabit for all of eternity when our body is reunited with our spirit and soul in Heaven. So it's just my personal feeling that since these will be the bodies we were always meant to have that are truly perfect (not in the superficial or vain sense), why have a need to inhabit others for pleasure when we have the ultimate pleasure in our original God designed Heavenly bodies?

I sincerely hope this doesn't get misunderstood or come across the wrong way. I also hope that I answered your great question with a proper reply. It's just my point of view :smile:
 
Stu said:
I am certainly not a trained scholar of religion and may well be wrong in this assertion but in many Hindu, Taoist and Buddhist sects the way out of the birth-death cycle is though an attainment of a spiritually higher state of being human not thru good deeds or alms but thru a pysical and mental discipline which brings out one's innate "divinity"

So much of the dogma of Christianity, the idea that souls born before the Christ had no opportunity of salvation, the whole notion of repairing the original sin with the sacrifice on the cross, seems (to me) poorly supported by the Gospels.

But when one talks about their religious experience of being saved by Jesus, I believe that that is a very real thing, and if indeed there is reincarnation that can be transcended then that salvation would be a viable path.
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Hi [MENTION=1939]Stu[/MENTION]

I am certainly no trained scholar in religion either, so no worries there...I am only a "believer student." :smile: Thanks for this really excellent question/comment because I too at one time wondered about this very issue regarding the Old Testament in the Bible. Hopefully I can do justice to your great post.

Starting with the polytheists who believe in reincarnation as part of their faith, to my knowledge, from all that I have researched over the years and spoken to those who believe in these faiths, the Hindus do have a "branch" or sect that believe in exactly what you said - that re-birth or reincarnation is not necessary to attain that "nirvana" or salvation. I could also be wrong but in my experience, the other faiths do not believe it can be attained in one lifetime cycle. Even most Hindus believe the same from my understanding, other than some believers feeling otherwise. I would imagine that just as there are sadly very poor representations of Christianity that have turned it into religion (which God rebukes in the Bible), where there is condemnation and supposed anger/wrath from God (etc), that is not what the Bible teaches and I am very sure this is found in other faiths such as extremists. So there will always be some who branch off and believe differently for one reason or another still under the "title" of that faith. The new covenant through Christ Jesus is that we love others as we love ourselves and it is relationship - NOT religion. So perhaps it could be those few "variants" that believe as such which you described?

I was at one time confused regarding how salvation worked before Christ came to redeem us all for those that had passed on before this event. When I really began to study this, I found example after example of how they were saved. After Christ, we are saved through His blood by grace through faith we receive. In the Old Testament, they sacrificed the blood of a lamb to atone for their sins, because they were under "the law" or what was/is the 10 commandments, versus the grace and no longer "the laws" that covers us today. (This is why Jesus is referred to as "the blood of The Lamb," because He was the last sacrifice ever needed due to Him taking ALL of sin and anger of God from that sin for us all so that now we can receive love & goodness from God instead.) In the Old Testament, they simply had to believe God. God knew they could not follow "the law" and be perfect because He created humankind. But in that day, they asked for some kind of law. So when they were unable to keep a commandment (not being covered by grace), they did the Holy Sacrifice unto God. This is exactly why God knew that since man could never keep a perfect "record" within themselves and be sinless, He had to make the ultimate sacrifice. Abraham is a good example in the Bible. So basically, any time an OT believer is represented, they pleased God and therefore God called them "righteous in His sight" because they loved God and tried to live the best life they could in faith, before seeing the Messiah come. I do have many Scriptures that explain this further if you'd like for me to share those with you, but I thought I'd give you the choice. :smile: Since the Bible is not in chronological order, it can appear to be poorly supported but then you find scriptures throughout the Bible that speak of how before Christ became man believers were made right in the eyes of God. Hopefully this makes sense because my thoughts were feeling a bit disjointed, coming so quickly, so I apologize about that.

I genuinely thank you for this great comment and can only pray that I did some justice to it. If I didn't make sense, please let me know! As I mentioned in my last post, I definitely don't judge so I hope again that nothing I say gets misunderstood as such. That's definitely in no way my intention. :)
 
I was Napoleon's swine herder

Dr. Holly said:
So perhaps it could be those few "variants" that believe as such which you described?
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My understanding of Eastern religions is based on readings of Zen Buddhist writers who all emphasize (at least as they are represented in English) the importance of this life, this time, this instant, this breath. I have also done a bit of reading and listening about Chinese Alchemy (and Taoism) as it relates to Western alchemy from the perspective of Jungian thought. What I understand of Hinduism is derived from the Buddhists who recognize it as the wellspring of Buddhism. I find it fascinating and overwhelming, but often its distilled philosophy fits uncannily with modern particle physics world view.



My knowledge of Christian dogma comes from weekly Sunday mass in my youth, a few years of catechism leading to my Confirmation in the Roman Catholic Church (I took the name Maximilian) and two years in a Catholic preparatory high school (which I flunked out of).


From what I understand reincarnation does not jive with Christianity, that is not to say that there are no Christians who believe in it.

Interestingly, according to W.Y. Evans-Wentz ( http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/ffcc/index.htm ) there is evidence that the per-christian Celts believed in reincarnation and passed a folk belief of it on to their decedents of which only remnants could be discerned when he did his interviews in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

As far as reincarnation goes, I don't know what to believe, and don't really see its relevance. I am not interested in recalling my past lives and am more interested in attempting experiencing the moment I am in.
 
Stu said:
My understanding of Eastern religions is based on readings of Zen Buddhist writers who all emphasize (at least as they are represented in English) the importance of this life, this time, this instant, this breath. I have also done a bit of reading and listening about Chinese Alchemy (and Taoism) as it relates to Western alchemy from the perspective of Jungian thought. What I understand of Hinduism is derived from the Buddhists who recognize it as the wellspring of Buddhism. I find it fascinating and overwhelming, but often its distilled philosophy fits uncannily with modern particle physics world view.



My knowledge of Christian dogma comes from weekly Sunday mass in my youth, a few years of catechism leading to my Confirmation in the Roman Catholic Church (I took the name Maximilian) and two years in a Catholic preparatory high school (which I flunked out of).


From what I understand reincarnation does not jive with Christianity, that is not to say that there are no Christians who believe in it.

Interestingly, according to W.Y. Evans-Wentz ( http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/ffcc/index.htm ) there is evidence that the per-christian Celts believed in reincarnation and passed a folk belief of it on to their decedents of which only remnants could be discerned when he did his interviews in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

As far as reincarnation goes, I don't know what to believe, and don't really see its relevance. I am not interested in recalling my past lives and am more interested in attempting experiencing the moment I am in.
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Hi again Stu,

Thanks for your fascinating reply! I genuinely enjoyed reading every bit of it. I am very interested and will look more into what you have mentioned, as I love to learn too. :smile:

As for your Catholic experience during youth, I understand. My viewpoints respectfully differ, but that's just me. I don't believe in religion. I personally, for me, don't like the condemnation, judgment, rules, etc. I mean no offense to anyone by that so I really hope that is okay to say.

You are absolutely correct about this:
Interestingly, according to W.Y. Evans-Wentz ( http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/ffcc/index.htm ) there is evidence that the per-christian Celts believed in reincarnation and passed a folk belief of it on to their decedents of which only remnants could be discerned when he did his interviews in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
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I actually meant to include this in my last post but my thoughts were becoming so disjointed so I apologize. There are indeed certain "sub-cultures" of "Christian" believers that do indeed believe in reincarnation. I was speaking to one such believer in my profession not too terribly long ago. Reincarnation belief within Christianity is very rare today but it absolutely does exist - there is no denying that. As my thoughts became scattered (and still are - I apologize, "I'm under the weather"), I see these branches off of each mainstream belief - be it monotheistic or polytheistic. There is great diversity and I find it very interesting. :smile: My brain as an INFJ, as you well know, is always curious and wanting to learn and listen to other's experiences, etc. So I really do thank you for posting such a great reply. I'll be doing some more study into these things you mention regarding polytheism for sure to gain even more understanding.
 
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oceanbreeze said:
Out of curosity (not argument), what would count as evidence?
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Something quantifiable. For example speaking in a language you never studied, or knowing information about the past, as in where some lost artifact is located without ever setting foot there or studying it. It would have to of course be scrutinized intensely. And even then, I would only be curious as to how this information was received. I know there are all sorts of stories of this kind of stuff happening, but to my knowledge it was all hoaxes, like UFOs.
 
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