reincarnation? (Jesus Christ, punishment, reject, Earth, gospel)

[anders]

Some of my former views may sound disrespectful to other religions. I want, however, only to describe my train of thought, at the risk of staying OT, and as any Buddhist would be quick to point out, I am another person now.

In my Christian days, when I first read about the religions of India, I found Hindusim pretty crazy. Believing that Gods came down and walked on earth! Believing in reincarnation! How ridiculous!

Instead of just sitting still waiting for my disability pension to go through (I had a stroke), I began studying Comparative religion, and thinking for myself when I read the Bible. I asked myself, what do I believe? I believe that God's avatar Christ walked on the earth. I believe that there is another life after dying.

So I came to the conclusion, if I reject Hinduism because of those beliefs, I must also reject Christianity. And I did.

What still bothers me with reincarnation (I should perhaps write "reincarnation theories", because there seems to be as many as believers in them) is, that they make it possible to lead an evil life now, hoping to be reincarnated as an animal, which in all probability doesn't know why its life is so beastly, and after that period of atonement coming back as a human, still not knowing because of whom, but having the chance to get a better life.

A positive way of interpreting reincarnation/rebirth would be that we out of compassion for lives to be created should lead lives that don't cause unhappy beings, but I have yet to see that explanation even from Buddhists.

Even during my Christian life, I was very confused by the Christian afterlife. Christians believe in a bodily resurrection--but in which body? A baby dying just after birth, myself, and an old, infirm person dying of old age, in what bodies are we reborn? Will we age, what intellectual capacities will we have? Will we all be resurrected as healthy, intelligent permantly 25-year-olds? If yes, how will anybody be able to identífy that body with him/herself?

Summarising, I think that we only have one life, and that we have to follow nature's way (you may call it the Dao) and make the best out of it for ourselves and for our fellow beings (human or animal).

[Ardhanariswar]

"I believe that God's avatar Christ walked on the earth. I believe that there is another life after dying."

i believe in that. i believe that one of God's avatars is Christ. i also believe that there is life after death. and im hindu!

[Paraprakrti]

To a limited degree we can understand reincarnation as a fact.

For example, most anyone can understand that at one point they had the body of a child, then that body changed to become a youth, then became an adult, then to old age. Despite these changes, the self remained. "I" is always "I". Reincarnation means one changes bodies. The difficulty is whether that change occurs past the death of the body. But is is only logically consistent that one who remains attached to these changes will be subject to accepting a new body to again undergo the process of birth, childhood, youth, old age and death.

[anders]

Denying any "self" or "soul" co-existing with the molecules of my body and separate from them, I find nothing that can go on in a new existence after my death.

[jacobo goldstein]

I don't speak english. Someone speak spanish. I believe in reincarnation.

[Ardhanariswar]

hola! como estas. are u realy spanish?

[Ceridwen018]

Si! Hablo un poco pequeno de espanol tambien.

[anders]

Creo que comprendo español muy simple. Bienvenido!

[Sam Bloom]

Exactly what is the evidence that re-incarnation exists?

I've never heard of the speaking tongues under hypnosis. Sounds like just a story to me. Probably not factual.

I know that a study was done on "speaking in toungues" and found that it was just a lot of meaningless jibberish.

But I would be interested in knowing why, if there is no evidence, would you choose to believe that you may turn into a cricket after you die? As opposed to just decaying like everything else?

[mahayana]

Sam, it wasn't speaking tongues. It was speaking coherently in a foreign language unknown to the subject. This is why I asked if anyone knew of where the rumor started. It would be evidence for reincarnation, if the sessions were videotaped and documented. All the past life stuff, most of the psychic stuff, smacks of hoax. This one sounded plausible, but no one has offered a link to the source.