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Spirituality: Reincarnation

"The soul has neither beginning nor end… [They] come into this world strengthened by the victories or weakened by the defeats of their previous lives" - Origen

It is known that the Egyptians believed in reincarnation or the transmigration of the soul. They thought the soul transmigrated from body to body and this was a reason why they embalmed the body in order to preserve it so that it could journey along with ka, an animating force that was believed to be counterpart of the body, which would accompany it in the next world or life. Ka might be considered equivalent to the term of soul. This establishes the dating of the concept of reincarnation back to the ancient Egyptian religion but many think it dates beyond antiquity.

About the first definition of soul transmigration came from Pythagoras, who taught that the soul was immortal and merely resides in the body; it goes through a series of rebirths. Between death and rebirth the soul rests and is purified in the Underworld. After the soul has completed this series of rebirths is becomes so purified that it can leave the transmigration or reincarnation cycle.

Plato, shared similar views as Pythagoras in that the soul of man was eternal, pre-existence, and wholly spiritual. In Plato's view of the transmigration of the soul from body to body, however, there is a difference. Plato claimed the soul tends to become impure during these bodily inhabitations although a minimal former life knowledge remains. However, if through its transmigrations the soul continues doing good and eliminates the bodily impurities it will eventually return to its pre-existence state. But, if the soul continually deteriorates through its bodily inhabitations it will end up in Tartarus, a place of eternal damnation. This appears to be an origination of both the concept of karma and the Christian concept of hell.

It was around the first century AD that both the Greek and Roman writers were surprised by the fact that the Druids, a priestly caste of the Celts (see Druidism), believed in reincarnation. The Greek writer Diordus Siculus (c. 60 BC - 30 AD) noted that the Druids believed "the souls of men are immortal, and that after a definite number of years they live a second life when the soul passes to another body." The Greek philosopher Strabo (c. 63 BC - 21 AD) observed the Druids believed that "men's souls and the universe are indestructible, although at times fire and water may prevail."

Even Julius Caesar wrote of the Celts "They wish to inculcate this as one of their leading tenets, that souls do not become extinct, but pass after death from one body to another, and they think that men by this tenet are in a great degree stimulated to valor, the fear of death being disregarded." Elsewhere Caesar complained the Druids were a troublesome people and difficult to destroy.

There is little evidence of reincarnation among the early Hebrew people but it later became a part of the Kabbalistic teaching. The teaching occurred among the early Christians, especially the Gnostics, Manichaeans, and the Carthari, but was later repudiated by orthodox Christian theologians. When asked by college students why Christianity does not teach reincarnation Patricia Crowther, a witch, answered, "...The early Christians taught it (reincarnation), and this can be proved by the words of Saint Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa:

'It is absolutely necessary that the soul shall be healed and purified, and if it doesn't take place in one life on earth, it must be accomplished in future earthly lives.'

The Christian Gnostics believed in reincarnation and the preexistence of the soul. They refused to believe in a resurrection of corpses at the end of time. The Church of Rome of the second century A.D., on the other hand, declared that those who deny a Last Day resurrection of corpses are heretics and as the organized Church gained political control of the Roman Empire, the Christian Gnostics were persecuted by the organized Church and many were martyred.

Later, in AD 533, reincarnation was declared a heresy by the Council of Constantinople.

The reason reincarnation was repudiated was because of the eschatological teachings of death and judgment which were established as orthodox Christian doctrine. In simplicity this doctrine states man has just one life in which to merit his eternal reward or damnation. Such a doctrine also strengthened the Church. However, many Christians still believe in reincarnation because they think it was taught by Christ.

In an interview the author Jess Stern asked a lady who had previously seen the late American mystic Edgar Cayce "Why do you now find it so important to believe in reincarnation -- wouldn't just being a good Christian, believing in the message of God through Christ be sufficient to get you into Heaven?"

She answered plainly, "Don't you know that Christianity embraced reincarnation for three hundred years, until the Roman influence expunged it after the Enmperor Constantine recognized the Church? What do you think the early Christians were thinking when they asked Christ whether he was Elijah, who had come before? They were thinking reincarnation, that's what."

She continued, "If you thought of reincarnation as rebirth, I think you could understand it better. Just as the earth has a constant rebirth, so does the spirit. Don't you remember Christ saying, 'Unless man is reborn, he cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven?'"

Stern told her he thought the was a reference to baptism. She replied, "Christ was not interested in show, but substance, that was at the heart of everything he said or did."

The Christian lady speaking with Stern referred to reincarnation as a learning experience. Each reincarnation not only purifies the soul more, but this purification comes through opportunities to learn more in life if the soul is willing. Here is a division of thought concerning reincarnation. Eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism teach each reincarnation may be different, that is, man may return as a lower life form such as a plant, tree, or animal, and this is more accurately known as "transmigration."