Is there such a thing as reincarnation?

First, what is reincarnation?

Reincarnation doctrine teaches that when a person dies their soul moves from one body to another body, on an almost endless cycle of lives. Reincarnation also involves the concept of karma, wherein we are taught that upon taking a new life your are blessed or cursed for the actions of your previous existence.

There are two reasons why biblical Christians should not believe in reincarnation.

1. The bible completely rejects the idea of reincarnation.

Contrary to popular belief, reincarnation was never held by any of the members of the original Christian church, only fringe groups and what we call cults today ever held the view and they rightfully were labeled “heretical.” The only groups that hold to such a view today are new agers, Buddhists, and most sub-groups of Hinduism. Christianity shares nothing in common with any of these groups. Buddhism is inherently atheistic (don't believe in any god), while new agers and most Hindus are either deists or polytheistic (believe in multiple gods). This god is a power source, not a loving personal creator.

Hebrews 9:27 teaches, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”
We see here that man is to die only once, not to suffer the cycle of repeating our lives over and over again. Christians also reject it, because it gives non-believers a false hope of a hypothetical second chance. Reincarnation holds that we have as many times as possible to “get it right.” When faced with the reality that after death comes “the judgment” we can see that this lie was espoused by the enemy as a false hope, which enables many of us to put the responsibility of “doing the right thing” and following God on our next life. The fact of the matter is that we get one shot at this thing we call “life” and we need to “repent for the kingdom of God is at hand!”

2. Logic and Reason reject reincarnation.

Reincarnation holds that every soul is the recycled life of the past dead, but this begs the question...where do these reincarnated souls come from? According to reincarnation we are simply seeing the death and rebirth of a set number of individuals, how does one explain the population explosion and the creation of “new” souls? Also, considering that reincarnation requires karma, who guides its blessings and curses? According to most proponents of reincarnation, there isn't even a God, how is it that our souls are placed in a particular body and know to suffer in the next life?

Consider the practical implications of such a view. Can anyone name a Buddhist health organization similar to the Red Cross or the Red Crescent (Muslim)? No. Why not? The reason is that according to reincarnation doctrine and the laws of Karma we should allow the sick child who is lying in the gutter to suffer their fate. The homeless mother with three children also must have done something horrible in her past life to deserve her current fate and punishment. Christianity rejects this view. We understand that we are to help the poor and the sick. Christ told us that if we give a glass of water to the least of his children we are basically giving water to him. We see that there is no notion whatsoever of a current worldly punishment for a past mundane existence.

We as Christians understand that we are here to serve God, serve others, and bring people to a saving faith in Christ. It is an urgent call because this is the only chance we have...that is why our great commission is so important. We need to preach Christ crucified, because every soul that accepts God's gift of salvation is a soul saved from hell and hell is a real place. There is no next life, no second chance, we need to reach out and help our friends and family while we can.

Submitted by: Josh Tilley