This question relates to the idea of reincarnation. This notion has become popular today because of the rise of New Age thought in our culture, but its origins go back to eastern mysticism.
Reincarnation is the belief that the individual soul survives and is reincarnated into another body upon death. The good and bad deeds that we do add or subtract from our accumulated record, our karma. At the end of our life, we are rewarded or punished according to our karma by being reincarnated into either a painful or good new life. This process continues until the soul has fulfilled its destiny, learned its lessons, and become sufficiently enlightened so that it might revert to its divine status or is absorbed into (or realizes its timeless identity with) the Divine All.
The reincarnationist accepts four primary presuppositions:
#1: The problem facing man is imperfect discernment -
The idea behind reincarnation is that people need to discover the divinity within through "enlightenment," "attunement," "self actualisation" - whatever it may be called. This occurs through a shift in consciousness and when our consciousness is enlightened then we can escape the lie of our finiteness and realize our "oneness with the divine." Of course, this takes time for a person to figure out. Hence the need for reincarnation.
Also complicating matters is something the reincarnationist refers to as "karma." "Bad karma" refers to the things we did wrong in our past lives for which we are being punished in the present. "Good karma" refers to the things we did right in our previous lives for which we are being rewarded in the present. Since everyone is having to pay for previous mistakes from the past, that complicates, making it even more difficult to progress toward "enlightenment."
To add insult to injury, your next body could be an animal, vegetable or human depending on whether you were good or bad. Your past behavior catches up with you in your present life due to the law of karma. You could in your next reincarnation end up a clam, a carrot, a bush or a human being. Because of this, reincarnation is necessary because it provides one with an infinite number of lives through which they can figure things out.
So the idea is that a person is condemned to pass through one life-time after another until they achieve "enlightenment." Following this achievement, then, upon death, the process stops, and the person is absorbed into the "Divine All."
This whole idea does not make sense! The idea that we are reincarnated in order to learn lessons we failed to learn in a past earthly life is contrary to both common sense and basic educational psychology. I cannot learn something if there is no continuity of memory. I can only learn from my mistakes if I remember them. Additionally, how is it going to help me figure anything out if, because of "bad karma," I come back as bird, or a dog, or a cow?
Now, the reason this does not make sense is because reincarnation has its source in man’s imagination rather than God’s revelation.
If you are a Christian who has toyed with the idea of reincarnation or if you are not a believer and have assumed that the notion of reincarnation can somehow fit with Christianity, think again. As we consider the revelation give to us by God through the Bible, we find that the idea of an individual living multiple life-times is categorically rejected. Life is a one-way trip. Our Bible makes this abundantly clear: "Man is destined to die ONCE," (Hebrews 9:27).
Reincarnation also assumes that . . .
#2: The key to enlightenment is introspective discovery -
As previously mentioned, the idea of reincarnation assumes that the problem with people is a lack of awareness of their divinity. Therefore, through various means, one needs to alter their state of consciousness. This can be done in a variety of ways, including meditation, Yoga, chanting, drugs, visualization, and the like. These practices are intended to supposedly reconnect us with the "divine" in each of us. The Bible reveals, however, that there is nothing divine in us.
In fact, this is the lie that Satan believed when he rebelled against God ("I will be like the most high" ~ Isaiah 14:14b). It is the lie that Satan sold to Adam and Eve, which brought about the fall of mankind into sin ("You shall be like God" ~ Genesis 3:4-5).
It is also the lie that a rebellious mankind will believe as they follow the anti-Christ in the last days prior to our Lord’s return. "For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe THE LIE." ~ 2 Thessalonians 2:11
The Bible tells us that Satan is, "is a liar and the father of it (the lie that we can be our own god)," (John 8:44). Through the propagation of "the lie" Satan keeps people in darkness and blinded to the truth. "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." ~ 2 Corinthians 4:4
The Scripture teaches that people need enlightenment all right, but it is not to found in introspective discovery. Rather, the enlightenment that people need has come about through the initiative of deity. God, in the person of Jesus Christ, the light of the world, came to this dark world to bring men the enlightenment they needed to connect with God. Through Him, we discover:
A. Man’s true state - Man is under condemnation because of sin. Sin is simply man choosing to go his way as opposed to God’s way. The consequence of which is eternal death "There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is the way of death." ~ Proverbs 14:12 "The wages of sin is death . . ." ~ Romans 6:23a
To make matters worse, the Bible says the good things that we try to do are repulsive to God.
"For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment," ~ Isaiah 64:6
That’s the bad news. That’s what we must understand first. Now for the Good News. God has a way a solution to our sin problem.
B. Man’s true salvation - Man’s true salvation is possible because of the sacrifice made by God through the person of Christ for our sins. At the cross, He paid the penalty for our sin in our place, satisfying the need for sin to be judged (Hebrews 9:28a). Having satisfied the need for justice, He now offers eternal life and salvation as a free gift to all who would receive Him (John 1:12, 3:18; Romans 6:23b).
#3: The God of the universe is an impersonal deity -
Reincarnationists confuse the Creator with His creation and think that God is part of creation, not separate from it. This view is referred to as "monism," the idea that "all is One." But also associated with reincarnation is pantheism, the belief that all is God. God is viewed as an impersonal life force, a consciousness, or energy, like in "Star Wars," rather than a Person.
The God of the Bible, however, is a personal Being with whom we can establish a personal relationship.
He has made Himself known to us in the person of Jesus Christ. He offered Himself for our sin, so that we might have a personal relationship with Him. Those who, by faith, enter into a personal relationship with Him can look forward to spending eternity with Him.
The Bible teaches that God is a personal deity who longs to have a relationship with man so much that He took care of the problem we could never take care of on our own.
#4: Mankind is evolving toward an inevitable destiny -
Reincarnationists believe we live in an unbalanced state which prevents us from having a harmonious and direct relationship with the divine force, nature, and each other. But as mankind evolves, and advances toward enlightenment, inevitably, they insist, an age of peace and love will emerge.
The Bible speaks of such a day of bliss. But it will not come about as a result of mankind attaining to "cosmic consciousness," but as a result of Jesus Christ coming again. That wonderful day is reserved only for those who have accepted God’s free gift of eternal life through faith in Christ (Hebrews 9:28b). When Jesus returns, all will be judged.
Jesus said, "Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out--those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned." ~ John 5:28-29
What does it mean to "do good?" Jesus tells us in a verse just preceding this, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." ~ John 5:24
Make the most of the one life you’ve got by choosing to trust Christ as your personal Savior!
