Do you believe in Reincarnation within Christianity?

Question

I've pondered this question for awhile.
I believe that there is such a thing as reincarnation... but I am Christian so I know it doe not fit in within the religion, so I am at odds here.
I have met those whom are old souls. Those that are young but seem to have lived many lives to achieve the maturity and knowledge that they obtained.

I'll finish with this. Those who do not reach enlightenment are doomed to repeat it until they do. Whether it is reached in one way or the other, I believe you need to reach enlightenment or you have to repeat it until then.

Lol... I very well could possibly be crazy, as some of you put it.

I was saved last year, so I am relatively new at all of this.
Being raised in a family that didn't instill religion on me, I've found God by myself.
I've started reading the Bible recently but this I have wondered about for a long time.
I didn't come here to say that it IS what I am saying it is. I am asking a single question here about it. I'm not here to preach, nor to say that I am right. I enjoy hearing others opinions about it, but please don't call others crazy for asking a question.

Don, I appreciate your answer. It was quick and easy.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/;_ylt=AiQhvenP6j4VWO67j6_n5N8jzKIX?qid=20060617230901AAmWfQu

This is an good one, one that I was looking for to add to my question.

Answer 1

I would attribute the "old soul" affliction with someone being wise before their time. God works in mysterious ways and may have blessed people with grand wisdom. Remember God offers wisdom to anyone that asks for it.

I do not conform to the reincarnation factor. I don't think that I will be born again as a child and live another life (spirit or otherwise). Your theory is sound about enlightenment, but unfortunately we only get one shot at accepting Jesus as our Personal Saviour and walking in the Word of God. That is spelled out clearly in several places in the Bible. Revelation also makes it very clear as to what is going to happen in the end. Nowhere does it speak of reincarnation.

Answer 2

Christianity bases itself in the Bible. While there are many passages which illustrate the finality of life, Hebrews 9:27 is perhaps the most explicit ("It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment")

I for one am glad for this because it means that rather than having to live over and over again in an imperfect world, I can look forward to God's restoration of the way things should be after this life.

To speak on the "old souls" that even I have met, wisdom is not necessarily acquired through age but through experience and sometimes simply God's grace.

Answer 3

Nope!!! No way!! If you are Christian, you should know the bible says that it is appointed to man ONCE to die, and then the judgement. Reincarnation just puts God out of the picture and says you have to get it right by coming back as different beings or animals or whatever it may be and gives no credit to God for any power at all. Jesus showed that you can get it right the first time around if you but trust and have a close relationship with God. You get one time around and you either get it right or not. There is no reason for anyone not to get it right if they will but study the bible to see what truth is. Lest we forget, God said we have but ONE time to die, not many till we can do it right. That would mean we can get to Heaven without God so we would be gods ourselves. There is only ONE God, ONE DEATH, ONE Baptism and ONE mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.

Answer 4

I've never seen anything to contradict reincarnation in the Christian bible. Jesus refers to an everlasting soul, and I've never seen a reference that indicates that the soul can't reside in more than one "mortal bond". Jesus himself was an incarnation of a soul into a human. Other Christian dogma supports the spiritual inhabitation of human bodies by saints, devils, and the "Holy Spirit". And more than one reference to the "chosen People" in the old testament can be interpreted as referring to their souls, not their progeny. All supporting the possiblity that the body is merely a temporary container for something far more permanent. And then there's the odd references to "rebirth". That reference is usually interpreted as a catharsis of the soul, but nothing says a more literal meaning is not possible. Even more recent Catholic dogma concerning purgatory (not in the bible) hints at reincarnation.

The bible refers to living on this earth but once, but that is referring to the inhabitation of your soul on this earth, not of your body. Jesus showed through the raising of lazarus that it is the soul, not the mortal body that defines life and death for a Christian (unless Jesus was defying God's law that "you shall live on this earth but once"),

So, why not?

Answer 5

I know there is a branch of Judaism that believes in reincarnation, and I think it makes sense on several fronts. For instance, what happens to ppl who never heard the Gospel? I suspect that Christianity is about getting YOU saved THIS time. So that little detail is glossed over.

But I also believe that once you make a decision about Christ - one way or the other - you don't get any more shots.

Answer 6

Only the Lord has the power to reincarnate a spirit, and he only does this for a special purpose. Elijah was reincarnated as John the Baptist. (John denies he is Elijah in the flesh but Jesus later affirms that John is the incarnation of Elijahs spirit.)

Matthew 11:13-14: "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John . And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come."

Answer 7

you seem optimistic... if reincarnation really existed, why would it be to reach enlightement? maybe it's the contrary... you keep living again and again untill you stop reaching enlightment, and then go to hell... That scenario is as possible as yours. But you chose the optimistic one, didn't you?

well, people don't necessarily need more than a few years to achieve "enlightment", only a moment is really necessary. So why would you need several lifetimes to get there?

by the way, jesus reincarnated, didn't he? so why normal people couldn't do it? is this another example of religious nonsense?


yeah, I didn't really answer, but after all, this is the religious section : questions are answers and answers are questions.

Answer 8

You are deceived, you are being seduced by a false doctrine. Christians can fall prey to false teaching if they are in a place where they are not communing with God as they should. I know from experience. I was recently duped/seduced by the Bible Codes. To make a long story short, the codes are being used for divination (which God condemns) so they cannot be of God. In the least, they are being misused.
You only have one chance in your walk with God. Have you accepted Him as your Lord and Savior? If you have, you may need to rededicate your life to Him and ask Him for discernment. God forbid you be part of the apostasy (the great falling away) which takes place before His imminent return. I will pray for you.

Answer 9

The Bible says that it is appointed once for man to die, then the judgment (sorry I can not give you the scripture reference, I am not good at remembering those).
That means that we only live once and then are judged as to where we will go; Heaven or Hell.
People who can remember things from other lives are listening to demons (they can tell things that are verifiable, because they have been around for thousands of years.

Answer 10

Without mentioning it specifically, Christianity actually claims to have done away with reincarnation. The idea is that Jesus took upon himself all the sins of the world and died with them, then rose up, such that all those who cast themselves upon him and his sacrifice would go directly to heaven, without having to be constantly reincarnated until they got it right. A kind of karmic shortcut.