Day 253- Reincarnation- An Anathema?
When I started to break away from church teachings about 15 years ago, I had no idea of the ride I was in for. I was told Christianity had “always” taught these things- a literal six day creation, eternal hell for non-believers, one life per person (no reincarnation), etc. etc. Step outside of those things and you were not following church teaching and Jesus would disavow you. Wow, the things I have learned since then. I titled my blog “The Beautiful Heresy” because of my belief in universalism and how it is counter to what most Christian churches now teach. That was just the tip of the iceberg.
Over the years I’ve come to the conclusion that we are reincarnated. Again, this goes against current church teaching, but before you pick up a rock to stone me or get my cross ready for crucifixion, do a little research. Google “church reincarnation pope” and learn when the church decided reincarnation was not part of orthodox Christianity. Would you be surprised to find out it was over 500 years after Jesus died?
History records that the early Christian church believed in Reincarnation and of the souls journey back to oneness with God. This all changed by Imperial decree some 500 plus years after the death of Christ.
Emperor Justinian in 545 A.D. was able to apply the full power of Rome and his authority to stop the belief in reincarnation. He forced the ruling cardinals to draft a papal decree stating that anyone who believes that souls come from God and return to God will be punished by death. The actual decree stated:“If anyone asserts the fabulous preexistence of souls, and shall assert the monstrous restoration which follows from it: let him be anathema. (The Anathemas against Origen), attached to the decrees of the Fifth Ecumenical Council, A.D. 545, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, 2d ser., 14: 318).”
And, BTW, if you just read that and thought “Pope…. that has nothing to do with me. I’m not Catholic. The Catholic church isn’t my church.” Well, your church, the protestant church, didn’t even exist at this time. If you were Christian, you were under the Pope. Your church wouldn’t exist for another 1,000 years.
The afterlife research seems to point overwhelmingly to the fact that most of us live not one or two lives, but many lives. There are some different theories on just how this is accomplished. Either our entire personality is reincarnated each time returning in different bodies and different times, or (the one I’m leaning towards), just as each of us is a part of the infinite, we each are an Over Soul or a Whole Self. For each incarnation, a piece of us comes to Earth (or wherever) while the Over Soul remains in the spiritual realm. The Over Soul has the sum of the experiences of each of our lives, while us as individuals return to the Spiritual Realms at the end of our bodily existence.
Either way, reincarnation makes a lot of sense out of things that don’t make sense otherwise. If you’re a Christian, it’s very likely your parents were Christians. Is it right that for the one and only true test of what will face you after death is whether or not you were a Christian and some are born into Christian families while most are not? Why are some born crippled, some born rich, some born poor, etc. etc.? Doesn’t it make more sense that we are all born in a myriad of circumstances, getting to experience the advantages and disadvantages of each? It does, but many can’t accept this because their religious dogma has told them it is anathema. It goes against the very teaching of your church. Well, if you had been born before 545 AD, you would have been right in line with the teachings of the church. So while I might be crazy and I might be a heretic, I’m not crazy simply because I believe in reincarnation. Most of the religions of the world have taught it in some form, including the religion I was born into just long before I was born into it.
