If it was found to be true that we have had past lives, would this affect the Catholic Faith?

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I don’t have any idea why God would or wouldn’t do something, unless he specifically states a reason.

I presume he has some feelings because He is capable of loving us and being angry at us. Those are emotions. Plus we are constantly reminded that we hurt and upset God when we sin and make God happy when we are good and loving to God and our neighbor. The Bible shows God acting on those sorts of emotions all the time. We are also told by the Jesuits (possibly others but Jesuits is where I read it) that God desires our friendship.

However, whether God would have a particular emotion or feeling in a particular circumstance and choose to act on it if he did, is up to him.
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
I don’t have any idea why God would or wouldn’t do something, unless he specifically states a reason.

I presume he has some feelings because He is capable of loving us and being angry at us. Those are emotions. Plus we are constantly reminded that we hurt and upset God when we sin and make God happy when we are good and loving to God and our neighbor. The Bible shows God acting on those sorts of emotions all the time. We are also told by the Jesuits (possibly others but Jesuits is where I read it) that God desires our friendship.

However, whether God would have a particular emotion or feeling in a particular circumstance and choose to act on it if he did, is up to him.
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I don’t think God is moved by human emotion, like a feeling. Rather love is what God is by nature. Being upset is the human expression designating a lack of something or our repulsion of undesirable or sinful things and we imagine God like this, but this is just an analogical representation of the fact that God’s nature is the complete opposite of sin. God does not lack anything.
 
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You are likely correct. Unless we are referring to Jesus in his human form, our descriptions of God or concepts of him or even the words that apparitions use to describe Godly emotions are likely not complete. They are simply a presentation in a way that we humans can understand.
 
People “find” things to their liking or hopeful thinking all the time.
Has nothing to do with TRUTH, which the Church is. We don’t bend and away by popular vote.
It wouldn’t impact the CHurch at all. It would only put you out side of it.
 
If reincarnation were found to be true as in established fact, it would be devestating to the Catholic Faith.
It is easier to believe in a universal subconscious than it would be to believe in reincarnation. Both are pretty against the Catholic Faith.

There are some who have tried to reconcile the idea of reincarnation with Christianity, but I have not gotten around to them. Seems difficult. Reincarnation makes sense if there is no personal judgement. However, we Catholics believe in such a thing.
 
pianistclare said:
People “find” things to their liking or hopeful thinking all the time.

Has nothing to do with TRUTH, which the Church is. We don’t bend and away by popular vote.

It wouldn’t impact the CHurch at all. It would only put you out side of it.
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If someone had lived a past life i don’t see how that would put a person outside of the church. It would just mean that person is privy to knowledge you don’t have. But if you think its impossible that’s another matter.
 
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The Church says it is impossible.
I don’t believe it anyway, you’re right about that.
We are born ONCE, with ONE soul…think about it. WHich life and body would be at the final judgment?
 
Nothing devastates Catholicism. God is faithful to the Church He created.
When people convert they make this statement before the assembly:

I believe and profess all that the holy Catholic Church believes, teaches, and proclaims to be revealed by God.

I guess the Profession of Faith needs to be a sticky.
 
IWantGod said:
I agree. But i don’t think that there cannot possibly be a special situation where God decides that someone should live again.
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Maybe that’s what near-death experiences are about. Some people see heaven or hell, or both, and when they come back, they start a new life.
 
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Kei said:
If reincarnation were found to be true as in established fact, it would be devestating to the Catholic Faith.
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I don’t think someone living more than once would be an affirmation of reincarnation. Religions that believe in this see it as the normal way of things. While it is true that such religions are incompatible i think that a special circumstance might allow somebody to relieve their lives or another life. I am not arguing that this is the case however. I just don’t think it is impossible that God would do that or that God is bound by some legality or law that would prevent him.
 
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Precisely why if it were, it would be devestating to Catholicism, as the one true faith would then be incorrect and not the one true Faith.

Thankfully we shouldn’t have to worry about it.
 
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Kei said:
Precisely why if it were, it would be devestating to Catholicism, as the one true faith would then be incorrect.

Thankfully we shouldn’t have to worry about it.
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If God granted someone another lifetime, i don’t think that God would be contradicting himself as this would just be a special case; in other-words it would be a miracle. It’s not an affirmation of religious teachings on reincarnation where this is just a natural event.
 
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The biggest problem with this concept as you appear to identify second lives is identifying this world as primary when Heaven, the spiritual reality is closer to the reality of God’s creation. Actually, the two “worlds” are united in the suffering of Christ. Jesus is the True High Priest and redeemed the world from sin. As God is outside of time this was from the beginning of time, the start of creation. Nonsense views of reality not consistent with the reality of virtues and the transcendent nature of God play silly games with this fact. They hold no real substance as God is not only truth, love and beauty, itself, He is essence. That is what makes God, God.
Materialist arguments for multiverse and holes in the fabric of creation do not provide a means to avoid the nature of the human person, as body and soul, an integral whole. Second lives can not exist within the love of God for each individual. The Community of Christ, the church is The Mystical Body of Christ and it is one and whole. Each part is not a transmutable element. We do have the need to effect metanoia within our lives, not as another individual. That is, we put on the new man, but this does not change the integral whole of body and soul to another thing, it brings us the wholeness that God intends for our life. Not for our mutiple bodies and dissected souls. Group souls are the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of plants and animals. Although we take part in these aspects as human persons, God formed us in His image and likeness.
Multiple lives would then imply that the Three Persons are not One in Unity, consubstantial. This would be heresy. http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/roman-missal/consubstantial-with-the-father.cfm
 
Perhaps, but it would be a bit odd as in Catholic theology the soul is specially connected with the body, so much so that we believe in a BODILY Resurrection.
 
Yes but we believe that we will have new bodies do we not? Is physical appearance really that integral to the soul?

Perhaps you are right, i am just not sure why being made in God’s image has anything to do with physical appearances.
 
The only thing i can see that would prevent God from giving someone another life is that it might not reflect the dignity of that person. For example Imagine living another life as a women after living as a man. This would not be good i think.
 
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