Recently, two women tried to persuade me that a Christian could believe in reincarnation.
But they were dead wrong (no pun intended).
Reincarnation is the belief that we live many lives until we reach perfection.
But reincarnation and Christianity are completely incompatible:
1. Hebrews 9:27-28 says, "Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him."
2. The Bible teaches that no one can achieve perfection here on earth, so it wouldn't matter how many lives we live (1 John 1:8-10).
3. Jesus died to save sinners, and the Bible makes it clear that only those saved sinners will be in heaven (John 3:16).
We have only one life, but we live it in two places. Our beliefs in our earthly life determine our destination for our eternal life.
I encourage you to read "Have You Met a Perfect Person?" It contains a great question that a friend of mine asked a reincarnation advocate. And since we're talking about Hindu beliefs, check out this 1-minute devotion: Hindu Karma Isn't Biblical.
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Reincarnation is a very common belief in Brazil, where Kardecist spiritism has a large number of followers, many of them identifying themselves as Catholics. It is interesting to note that, were reincarnation true, the world would be getting better and better, as people improve from one life to the other. What one sees is the opposite, and the Bible says things will get worse as the end times approach. Reincarnation is nothing but a way to salvation based on works. Christ's death then was merely an example of someone who died for doing good, never for the sake of others, never as a substitute for sinners.
ReplyDeleteThanks, João, for your insights. Yes, it is so true that reincarnation should lead to an ever improving world, which is definitely not happening.
DeleteI hadn't heard of Kardecist spiritism, but I looked it up. It is interesting how many of these cultic beliefs use Jesus and the Bible, defining both in different terms.
One of the women who debated reincarnation with me claimed to be a Christian, but during the course of our discussion, she admitted that she didn't think all Scripture could be trusted. That always seems to be a bottom line. We either believe the Gospel as presented in Scripture or make up one of our own.
Thanks again for your insights.
Gail
I feel as long as your aware the gospel is the truth. And you accept all of you within the choices you make.
ReplyDeleteThank You God that I have never been tempted to even consider reincarnation. I appreciate your post on this topic which is perfectly clear to me even though I am not perfect!
ReplyDeleteWhich is perfectly clear to me!!!
God bless you Gail.