Customer Reviews

Reincarnation for the Christian (A Quest Book)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Much of the book is given to explaining reincarnation to the beginner, and little to someone who has already studied the topic. There is a bit given to the early church fathers who believed in reincarnation, much to those who fought them, and only two instances, known by almost everyone by now, shown in the new testament. If you know the story of the man blind at birth and Jesus telling that Elijah had come again in the form of John the Baptist, then you would be better off trying another title, or better yet, the writtings of pre-Nicene Christians

This book has clarified some times in my own life of memories and instances of deja vu. I was always afraid to examine these instances as being from a past life, because of my Christian beliefs. This book has set my mind at ease and made the "big picture" clearer for me. I highly recommend this book.

This is a great book, that is easy to read and gives a good introduction to the teaching of reincarnatoin in Christianity. Such a topic is not easy to address, especially when we have to take into account that Origen had many levels of teachings. He kept reincarnation for those who had already understood the basic teachings of Christ, thus, some people, like one of the other reviews, might be confused when they come across seemingly contridictory writings in the works of the great Early Church Father, Origen.

I didn't think this was a strong work on the subject of reincarnation and Christianity. It uses the early Church Father, Origen, as a source of evidence that Christianity and reincarnation are compatible. The only problem with this argument is that Origen did not believe in reicarnation. He actually denounced the concept. Origen merely believed that the soul was created long before it incarnated. The book does have some good evidence that Origen at least toyed with the idea, which I was pleased to find.

Hebrews 9:27 (King James Version) says "it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this is judgment." This verse in Hebrews is never addressed. Since this is the only verse which seems to outright deny reincarnation in the Bible, by avoiding it, no strong argument for reincarnation being compatible with Christianity can be complete.

The book also spends a little too much time on Hindu theory, which served as unnecessary page filler. However, in defense of this book, it does explain why the concept of reincarnation is not heavily pronounced within the New Testament. It also shows verses which strongly hint at the possibility of reincarnation. It is the best book I can find on the subject of reincarnation and Christianity, but unfortunately, the best arguments on reincarnation and Christianity are on the Internet.

Overall, this was a good groundbreaking work, and if a new edition is ever released, with only a few extra pages tackling Hebrews 9:27, it will easily be the best book availible on Christianity and reincarnation and deserve 5 stars. The book does cover the development of Christianity's anti-reincarnation stance very effectively. There is a lot of good information in this book. Although it missed the mark on Hebrews 9:27, I would still call this book indispensible for a Christian entertaining the possibility of reincarnation.

Origen "strongly advocated the inclusion of reincarnation as a legitimate Christian concept"? This is what the back cover states. Is this the same Origen who wrote:

"In this place it does not appear to me that by Elijah the soul is spoken of, lest I should fall into the dogma of transmigration, which is foreign to the church of God, and not handed down by the Apostles, nor anywhere set forth in the Scriptures."
(Origen, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew - Book 13, Chapter 1.)

If you want a good treatment of Christianity vs. Reincarnation, read "When Skeptics Ask" by Norman Geisler.

A gem of a book. Clear and concise. A good overview of classics and philosophies underlying that puzzling question by a christian believing in the doctrine of reincarnation