Why do so many people have a hard time believing in Reincarnation?

Question

Please think about your answer before you post it and if your going to say it's stupid or something then please give a reason why it's stupid.

Answer 1

because it come into conflict with their religious beliefs,i know that reincarnation is the logical progression in the evolution of the soul .if there is a real debate concerning reincarnation and non reincarnation those who would argue against if they listen to the philosophy of reincarnation would agree it a natural link in life.we don't remember a previous incarnation because it would interfere with our current lives,evolution of the soul is not evolution of the mind

Answer 2

People have a hard time in believing Reincarnation due to their prejudice minds.There have been so many true stories shown on Star channel during the last two months of children remembering their past lives. I think they should go to www.brahmakumaris.com which can make them soft in understanding.

Answer 3

Because people choose not to believe what they cannot explain or see or measure with the tools at hand. YES the Bible DOES speak of reincarnation in a few places (for those who say it doesn't).

It doesn't matter what anyone believes, when we die, I guess we will find out the truth, won't we?

Answer 4

i would have to say that in view of the other "ideas" out there, why would i want to believe that once i am dead i am coming right back here to a world where the ones that inhabit it cant get along at all really... there is so much pain and suffering here...sure, there are wonderful moments in life, but this is a fallen world where all we do is go to war...in my search, i would rather believe in God and i believe based on personal experiences with God, the maker of this universe....

i have reviewed many different "ideas".... have you? and what is the basis for your belief in the idea that you will come back here to do this all over again in another body... and who is it that determines which body you will get the next time.... again, that could mean war if it is not a sovereign being...

Answer 5

It isnt that I dont understand the concept or the idea. I can see why people believe it, I however have the biggest problem in which form reincarnationists believe. Some believe we come back as animals, and then come back as humans again, some believe we live the "karma" of the previous life, some believe we come back until we get it right and so on.

Answer 6

It undermines the authority of the church and bible scholars.

By the early fourth century, strong Christian factions were vying with each other for influence and power, while at the same time the Roman Empire was beginning to fall apart. In A.D. 325, in a move to renew the unity of the empire, the absolute dictator Emperor Constantine convened the leaders of the feuding Christian factions at the Council of Nicaea. He offered to throw his imperial power behind the Christians if they would settle their differences and agree on a single creed. Decisions made at this first council set the foundation for the Roman Catholic Church. (Soon after, the books of the Bible were fixed too.) For the sake of unity, all beliefs that conflicted with the new creed were banished; in the process the factions and writings that supported reincarnation were thrown out.

Then, with the applause and support of the Christian leaders, Constantine moved to eliminate competing religions, and to make his personal grip on the Empire even more absolute. The result of the marriage between church and imperial state was a new Church made in the image of the autocratic Roman Empire. This is why, according to some historians, the Church exalts unquestioned central authority, imposes a singular dogmatic creed on its followers, and works so hard to stamp out divergent ideas. This is important, because reincarnation fell outside the official creed.

Apparently some Christians continued to believe in reincarnation even after the Council of Nicaea, because in A.D. 553 the Church found the need to single out reincarnation and condemn it explicitly. At the Second Council of Constantinople the concept of reincarnation, bundled together with other ideas under the term "pre-existence of the soul", was decreed to be a crime worthy of excommunication and damnation ("anathema"):

If anyone assert the fabulous pre-existence of souls, and shall assert the monstrous restoration which follows from it: let him be anathema.

Why would the Church go to such lengths to discredit reincarnation? The implicit psychology of reincarnation may be the best explanation. A person who believes in reincarnation assumes responsibility for his own spiritual evolution through rebirth. He does not need priests, confessionals, and rituals to ward off damnation (all ideas, incidentally, that were not part of Jesus' teachings). He needs only to heed his own acts to himself and others. A belief in reincarnation eliminates the fear of eternal hell that the Church uses to discipline the flock. In other words, reincarnation directly undermines the authority and power of the dogmatic Church. No wonder reincarnation made the Defenders of the Faith so nervous.

Despite the decree of 553, belief in reincarnation persisted among the rank and file. It took another thousand years and much bloodshed to completely stamp out the idea. In the early thirteenth century, the Cathars, a devout and enlightened sect of Christians who believed in reincarnation, flourished in Italy and southern France. The pope launched a crusade to stop their heresy, a half million people were massacred whole villages at a time, and the Cathars were totally wiped out. This purging set the tone for the brutal Inquisition that began soon after. Not only was a belief in reincarnation cause for persecution, but so was belief in any metaphysical idea that fell outside the bounds of Church dogma.

The murderous efficiency of the Inquisition proved effective. The persecution by the institutional Church has scarred our collective psyche and surrounded us with an invisible fence dividing what is safe from what is dangerous to believe. Since then, people who harbor forbidden ideas have learned to keep their thoughts to themselves. Our cultural memory still carries the fear of reprisal for publicly associating with any occult practices, the use of psychic powers, or a belief in reincarnation.

Here it is, the source of the double standard. No wonder so many people today believe in reincarnation privately but are afraid that if they come out publicly, they will be attacked for being weird�the modern word for heresy. Maybe by understanding where this fear comes from we can negate its hold on us and turn off the invisible fence. So when our children speak of past lives, we can follow our hearts and not our fears�and believe them.

Answer 7

because this is God, if reincarnation exists, there would only 2 people in the world.. male and female because they keep coming back. So that proves reincarnation does not exist, only God does. He is the creator of all!

Answer 8

we live in a world were the bible and christians of all believes. have a true hold on the world. if it is not in the bible or was not a practice of ones believes than they throw it out as not real.
in some believes reincarnation is apart of there believes. it just depends on what we were told

Answer 9

Provide the evidence of Reincarnation. Reincarnation is a myth developed by religions who are scared of death.

Answer 10

Maybe it's their first life?

But seriously, when you get into metaphysical/religious beliefs, isn't it just simpler to ask why do people believe anything at all. Even if taught as a child, why do they continue to believe as adults? Why do some people switch belief systems or go from believer to non-believer or vice versa?

So many questions (so few lives?).

Shouldn't it be sufficient to be able to listen to each others beliefs, accept or reject as we believe appropriate and then move on to dessert?