Christian belief question?

Question

I'm a Christian, Catholic to be more specific, and I'm always wondered if Christians only believe that you only have one life and once you live it you go up to heaven for enternity. Because I more believe that you have "past lives" like what Syliva Brown talks about and she talks about God a lot so she doesn't beleive in like reincarnation. I believe that you have like have more than one life and your spirit still lives on and lives another life after you die. And so I was wondering if thats ok to believe that and what the bible says about it. I've tried to read the bible but its too confussing for me to understand, at least right now. So sorry if this is confusing but I just really wanted to know. And I've tried asking my bible school teacher but I didn't get the answer that I wanted because I didn't exactly ask the question right so yea. Thanks for reading this and for all your help people

Answer 1

You say you didn't get the answer you wanted from your teacher. Are you wanting to know the truth or are you wanting someone to validate your belief by telling you what you want to hear?

In the Christian faith there are essentials that must be believed and to wander into areas that are in conflict with those essentials is to wander from what it means to be a Christian. Christianity is not so much about beliefs in philosophical terms so much as it is a statement about a relationship you have with God through Jesus Christ.

Reincarnation is not a Christian doctrine. If you think about it you will notice that there are more people living and alive today in the world than the total number of people that have lived and died in the past. This means that there are not enough people from the past to accomodate the possibility of reincarnation due to the fact that the present number of conscious beings out number the ones who have died. How then could the number of those living now have been someone from the past? This is numerically and logically not possible.
Every person who exits the womb is a brand new creation and a miracle of life. The bible says that it is appointed unto men ONCE to die and then comes the judgement. This life is all you have to get it right. Everyone will live forever in eternity. You can look to the Lord and trust Him with your immortal soul and say "Thy will be done," or you can reject the RELATIONSHIP He offers you and hear Him say sadly and finally "Thy will be done."

Please don't confuse Christianity with religion. Religion is mans attempt to reach God. Christianty is Gods finished work of reaching out to man. You must be born again. Your spirit is dead to communion with your creator and it is only by recieving the free gift of forgiveness of sin and trusting God with your whole being that your spirit can be renewed by the indwelling of His Spirit. Your spirit regains the communion that was intended before the fall in the Garden and you become a new creature in Christ.
It might help if when you read your bible, begin with prayer for God to make it come alive for you. Don't try to take too muich of it in at one time. Join a bible study group where believers can help you to grow in the Lord and have a genuine interest in your spiritual maturity.

God Bless You.

Answer 2

The only thing I know about past lives being in the Bible is that there was a high priest in Genesis called Melchizedek who was said to have had no family, no lineage and no beginning of days. This man was described just like Jesus Christ. This Melchizedek must have been Jesus so it seems he had a past life on earth. There are some people especially children that clearly remember life in heaven or a past life on earth with all the little details so I guess it's possible. If this is all true then I'm sure it's hidden in the Bible somewhere.

Answer 3

You are talking about reincarnation, a basic Hindu tenet.

Contrary to popular Christian beliefs, the Bible clearly states that when someone dies, it's as if he is asleep, until the resurrention which occurs when Jesus returns in power. It's a very involved topic.

If you REALLY want details, I recommend that you view the following 30-minute video presentation on the topic: (you can also print out the transcript and then check out the Biblical evidence for the view expressed on this program).

http://www.itiswritten.com/tvprogram/episode/the-house-that-was-never-finished-on-location-winchester-mystery-house

Answer 4

1 Timothy 4:1
"But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons."

Be careful what you believe. The Bible teaches that we die once and then our spirit is judged to go to heaven, purgatory, or hell. Reincarnation does not fit with Christian belief, because it avoids God's judgement by living countless lifes. Try to find a Bible that is easier to understand. Don't know your age, but you can try a teenagers study bible. peace.

Answer 5

Hi Stacie,

Good question. Christianity does not accept the idea of past lives. Everyone will live for eternity. After our bodies die (only once) our spirit will either live in heaven or hell depending upon our faith in Jesus or lack thereof. The Bible does not support past lives at all.
Although Sylvia Brown mentions God, you need to always reconcile what people say against what the Bible says.

Answer 6

This question is a great example of why there is no god and religion is ridiculous. You have just made up your own religion, to fit your own beliefs as to how you think things should work. You don't have any evidence or justification beyond what you have imagined. So, your concept of life and death are totally without substance. You will keep picking and choosing religions until you find one that agrees with your own concepts.

This is the problem with believing in things without evidence, you can justify anything. You should investigate the origins of religion and belief in god, you will soon see that it is all imaginary.

Answer 7

If everyone is recarnated than why are there less people on earth than one thousand years ago? Also what happens to the babies that are aborted do the just get re conseived? The bible clearly says that man will die once and then go straight to the judgment

Answer 8

Let me get this straight. You're a Christian but you believe in PAST LIVES? That's reincarnation. The Bible teaches NOTHING about reincarnation. What answer DID you want from your Bible school teacher? Ask it simply: DOES THE BIBLE TEACH REINCARNATION? or IS REINCARNATION REAL?

Answer 9

What is “a living soul”? Genesis 2:7 Dust and breath, that is what we are dust and breath. Please turn to Genesis 3:19 Dust you are and to dust you return. Let’s look at a controversial text. The book of Ecclesiastes chapter twelve and verse seven, (read it) dust to the ground, spirit to God who gave it. So one might ask what is the spirit if not what we commonly call a ghost? First we’ll turn to James it’s a little book right after Hebrews. We’ll read in chapter two verse twenty-six. This chapter is mostly talking about faith without deeds being dead, but here in verse twenty-six it states, “The body without the ‘spirit’ is dead.” Not much, we didn’t already know, but what is this spirit? The book of Job sheds some light on the fact in chapter 27 verse three; Job is talking to his friends about God. He states that as long as he has life in him the breath of God in his nostrils he will not…deny his integrity. It goes back to dust and breath again. So what does happen to a person when they die? Ezekiel 18:20 states that the soul that sins, it shall die. In first Timothy chapter six verses 15 and 16 Paul is talking to Timothy and says (read) God is the only one who is immortal. Let’s see if we can find out where the dead are. What is it like for those that have died? Does the Bible give us any indication? Ps 115:17 “The dead praise not the Lord neither any that go down into silence.” And again in Ecc 9:5, 6 & 10 “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in anything that is done under the sun.” “Whatsoever thy hand finds to do, do it with all thy might for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” God says the dead know not anything. In the gospels, John chapter 11, when it talks about Lazarus death, in verse eleven Jesus calls death sleep. How many of you, when you get a good nights sleep realize anything that goes on around you between the time you fall asleep and when you wake up? That is what it is like to be dead. Look up at the light. shut those off for one moment? Okay where did the light go? Where did it go? It doesn’t go anywhere. It takes two things to create light, the bulb and electricity. Without both things, there is no light. You can turn them back on now. When a person ceases to breathe the breath goes out of the body (take a deep breath and blow it out) and the body; it goes where we bury it to await the resurrection.
Are we really sure that our loved ones are not in heaven now? Let’s close with reading a couple more texts. The first text is found in Acts 2 (read); Peter is talking to the crowd about Jesus resurrection. The part of the dialogue I want us to concentrate on begins in verse twenty-two and ends in the first part of verse 34. David, the King David, is dead and buried and has not ascended to heaven. When will we expect to see our loved ones again? First Thessalonians chapter four verses 15 though 18 answers this question for us. One minute a person is alive and what will seem to them as the next minute God will call them from their graves. And finally, Revelation chapter twenty one verses one through five, we go to heaven together with our loved ones when Christ comes again and there will be no more death or crying. Won’t that be a glorious day? I can hardly wait. Won’t you wait with me today?

Answer 10

There is but one life to live. Period. The Bible mentions reincarnation only regarding Christ's second coming. Sylvia Brown is a nutter. If you want to trust somebody talk to your priest or even try meeting with your archbishop sometime (yes, it's not that hard to do).