Reincarnation & Christianity

John 3:1-7; Matthew 11:11-15

As we continue in our summer preaching series, we look at Reincarnation and Christianity today. Are they compatible? Does scripture talk about reincarnation? Can two very different understandings about what happens after death be compatible? Let’s dive into this topic to try to answer these questions.

What exactly IS reincarnation? Theologian Father Thomas Ryan, who directs the Paulist North American Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations in Washington, D.C., and is a regular contributor for America Jesuit Review, wrote an article about Christianity and Reincarnation. He writes in part, “The word “reincarnation” derives from Latin and literally means “entering the flesh again.” The conviction is that an imperishable principle (soul) exists in every human being and comes back to this earth after death in a new form. The fate of every person in this life and in future lives is determined by the consequences of good or bad actions in the past or present (karma).”

It is interesting to note that, according to data released by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life (2009 survey), not only do a quarter of Americans believe in reincarnation, but 24 percent of American Christians expressed a belief in reincarnation. Why does this belief seem to be so popular among Christians in America?

I think it partly has to do with how North Americans have enhanced the basic ideas surrounding reincarnation as a fresh opportunity for self-improvement. So the prospect of being able to come back to the table of life without limit is a positive one. From this understanding of reincarnation, one can see its attractiveness. The goal is self-improvement.

An example that comes to mind is the movie Groundhog Day. Groundhog Day is a 1993 American fantasy comedy film directed by Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, and Chris Elliott. Murray portrays Phil Connors, a cynical, self-absorbed television weatherman covering the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, who becomes trapped in a time loop, forcing him to relive February 2nd repeatedly. Phil begins a long road of self-improvement- from self-absorbed prima donna weatherman to well-rounded, loving, and caring human being, eventually leading him to land TV reporter Andie Mac Dowell. It echoes the positives of the reincarnation life cycle. Ultimately, if we keep trying to live life over and over, we will get better- be more caring, loving, empathetic, etc. Self-improvement sounds like a worthy goal.

However, in Hinduism, the cycle of rebirth is generally a fearful thing referred to as the “wheel of karma.” The wheel is tied to notions of guilt and punishment and evokes fright; it’s something people want to be liberated from as soon as possible. Let’s take a closer look at the Hindu faith and see how the concept of reincarnation functions in that system.

Hinduism Key Concepts

1. Brahman - God in 3 primary forms - Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, Shiva the Destroyer, all with female consorts who have their own powers. (There are 1000’s of deities in the Hindu religion.)
2. Caste System - May have developed early to stabilize society (Priest-Warrior-Artisan-Laborer-Dalit)
3. Karma - The law by which one’s record is kept of one’s conduct in life. (You get what you deserve)
4. This is connected to Dharma - the concept of what is right in both ritual and daily living. Depending on one’s everyday dharma, which affects your karma, you end up as a higher or lower life form through…
5. Reincarnation - Cycle of lives you live, or samskara. The ultimate goal is to free yourself from the wheel of karma, attaining…
6. Moksha - Deliverance from rebirth, full of self-knowledge, and embracing Atman or God in us. This isn’t easy to do.
7. Worship - little corporate, primarily personal in the home with gods and shrine to the gods.
8. The world around us is a playful creation of Brahman. But it is…
9. Maya - Illusion. This world is not real. The only real thing is our connection to Brahman.
10. Brahman in us is called - Atman
11. Yoga - The purpose is to clear away the Maya and allow Atman to come to the surface.

This is, at best, an incomplete sketch of Hinduism. It does show us the original intent of reincarnation, however. I think we who are not Hindu must be careful not to uproot nor alter the concepts of this 3000-year-old religion of what happens in life after death.

Some have suggested that reincarnation is scriptural and that early Christian theologians rooted out most of it as the Christian movement grew. They argue some elements still point to reincarnation in the New Testament. Let’s look at some of them.

One passage often quoted by those who see reincarnation within the Christian doctrine is John 3:1-7, which was read this morning. John 3:1-7. In many translations, we hear Jesus saying that no one can see the kindom of God without being born again and that the Pharisee must be born again. Is this about reincarnation?

In this case, the Greek word “anothen.” Anothen means “anew or from above,” NOT again, and is connected to water and Spirit. Here in John’s gospel, Jesus is talking about Nicodemus and baptism. Renewal and a sense of God above come through this act.

Another passage that some believe suggests past lives is found in John’s gospel as well, John 9:1-4 ¹“ As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” ³ Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. ⁴ We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. ⁵ As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Here is where people try to read reincarnation into the passage. The disciples ask whether or not the man was born blind because of his parent’s sin or his own. They argue that the only way the man could have sinned before his birth was for him to have lived a previous life in another body, thus reincarnation.

However, the passage has more to do with the sins of up to the 4^th Generation following and causing harm or suffering. Exodus 20:4-5- ⁴ “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; ⁵ you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,” This is what the disciples believed and why they asked Jesus the question.

Behind this question was the assumption that suffering and affliction result from personal guilt. If someone became ill, was maimed in an accident, or lost their property in a storm, people assumed that God was punishing that person for some sin in their life or sin from an ancestor. When life gets bad, people must deserve it. There is some similarity to the idea of karma here. Yet Jesus said it doesn’t work that way.

Then perhaps the most quoted section for those who claim reincarnation is Biblical: John the Baptist was reincarnated, and Jesus said so himself! “¹³ For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John came, ¹⁴ and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. ¹⁵ Let anyone with ears listen!”

At first glance, it seems that Jesus is saying John is a reincarnated Elijah. Context is important here, however. This is the end of Jesus’s teaching about John the Baptist. Jesus tells the crowds gathered around him that John is a prophet, but more than a prophet. The people were waiting for Elijah to return from heaven- he who rose to heaven in a fiery chariot. According to the prophet Malachi, Elijah would return before Messiah would come(Malachi 4:5). Here, Jesus tells the crowd, “If you are willing to accept it, John is Elijah.” Jesus was the Messiah. The kindom of God was on earth.

There are two other issues with the idea of John being the reincarnated form of Elijah. First, one’s body had to die to allow the soul to join another body then. Elijah didn’t die. He rose to heaven. Second, in John’s gospel (John 1:21), some priests and Levites asked him, “Are you Elijah?” John’s response - No. He said he was a prophet, a voice crying out in the wilderness to make straight the path of God.

Therefore, when Jesus referred to John as Elijah, He was referring to his life, Spirit, power, and work that was similar to Elijah’s, not the reincarnated form of Elijah. John was the one who ushered in the coming kindom rather than Elijah. His hope was that the crowds would believe and follow if they were willing to accept it.

In addition, let me say that I do not think reincarnation and the understandings of who Jesus is are compatible. Reincarnation suggests salvation through works. The more dharma in your life equals better karma and a better outcome in your life. The more dharma one does, the better your chances of eventually reaching moksa, fulfillment, and freedom from the cycle.

The idea of working on getting off the wheel stands in contrast to Paul and his understanding of Jesus. Paul affirms that we are justified not by our works but through faith in Jesus (Rom. 3:20-28; Gal. 2:16). “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works….” (Eph. 2:8).

If we are saved through faith in Christ and grace, there is no need to come back and try it all over again, but better next time. The gospel’s central message is that we find fulfillment and closeness to God not through our own doing or as a result of our efforts but only through God’s grace. Salvation comes to us in grace through Jesus, not through our own efforts to live a better life.

At the end of his article, Ryan says, “Many people in the Christian tradition who more or less accept reincarnation may never have really thought through its implications for other aspects of their faith. What should be recognized, however, is that one cannot claim to believe in reincarnation without compromising key tenets of Christian faith, most notably the atoning role of Jesus’ life and death….”

In closing, I do not see reincarnation as compatible with the Christian faith. I do not believe we can take aspects from another religious system that seem attractive to us and add them to the Christian faith. I see Hinduism and Christianity as two distinct faiths, and mixing them together is confusing. It would be like taking two sports- say, Baseball and Hockey, and trying to play them as one. They aren’t meant to be played together and should be distinct.

I have a personal hope in heaven - that, as the song says, “Some glad morning when this life is o’er, I’ll fly away to a home on God’s celestial shore.” I’ll see those I still love and have lost when I am home. I do not expect to bump into them while still alive here.

 My preference is to live this one life given to me by God, to try to be a better human with that single life; with one eye on heaven and one on the earth under my feet; to be more and more Christlike each day with grace in hand for the many times I am not; until the day I breathe my last breath and go home. Closing song - I’ll Fly Away. Alleluia. Amen.