Reincarnation - How do I refute this?

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hermit:
There are millions of Hindus who believe in reincarnation. Are they wrong? Just because our beliefs differ from theirs, does that make us right?

The arrogance of beliefs never ceases to amaze me.
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Just because they believe it doesn’t make it true. People witnessed Christ’s Resurrection. No one has witnessed a reincarnation.
God Bless You! And may Mary pray for your conversion.
Donna
 
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RobedWithLight:
Indeed. But the person who started this thread was asking a question on how to refute Reincarnation, and we assume he wants to do this from a Christian perspective, and when viewing at it from a Christian perspective, which this forum is, we believe it isn’t right, which is why we offer reasons why we say so from Scripture, Tradition and from philosophic considerations. The plain and simple fact is, reincarnation simply doesn’t fit in Christianity, and forcing it in would be like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

Gerry
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Thank you! Hopefully, those who responded with such nonsence will be filled with the Grace of God and converted after reading all of the great stuff in here!
God Bless!
Donna
 
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thechrismyster:
…the field of Mathematics is filled with truths. thereby proving truths exist.
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See “Presuppositions–A Paradox of Moral Theory” by Hazel Roe.
examinedlifejournal.com/articles/template.php?shorttitle=presuppostitions&authorid=37
“In order to accept the truth (or perhaps authority) of any system, be it in logic, mathematics, science, or morality, one must necessarily accept certain presuppositions.”

Mathematics does not prove truths. Instead, it proves theorems which are logically constructed upon a standardized set of presuppositions which are generally accepted by mathematicians. Even so, theoretical mathematicians sometimes try to study how mathematics could change if other sets of presuppositions were held. For example, Euclidean Geometry or non-Euclidean Geometry.
 
Actually, reincarnation was one of the early heresies in Christian history - one of the greatest early theologians, Origen, almost certainly taught reincarnation (for which position his teaching was posthumously condemned). The church has clearly condemned the idea, as others have shown via the CCC. So we Catholics can take it as proven on the authority of the church. Those who deny the church’s authority must still struggle with the subject, and I know for a fact there are Protestant groups out there that teach reincarnation - just as one can find pretty much every ancient heresy resurrected somewhere in Protestantism today. “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching earsthey will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings” 2 Tim 4:3
 
to hermit:
“**There are millions of Hindus who believe in reincarnation. Are they wrong? Just because our beliefs differ from theirs, does that make us right?
The arrogance of beliefs never ceases to amaze me.”

First, our beliefs are not arrogant. We don’t say that “Life after death” is true because we believe in it; rather, we believe in it BECAUSE it is true and we have the proof. Over 500 people witnessed Christ after His Resurrection. And technically speaking, one does not believe “in” reincarnation; it is not a being, it is a theory. One can believe it or disbelieve it. To believe IN someone means to have faith in that Person, and faith is a two-way thing.
There is absolutely no proof for reincarnation; so-called cases of “past lives” “discovered” through hypnosis have always turned out to be hoaxes.

Secondly: we are dealing here with Absolute Truth. If one of these positions is true, the other is false by default. One position automatically rules out the other. they cannot BOTH be true.

Third, IF reincarnation were to be true, then think of this: according to the law of Karma, souls keep returning to a life on earth until they reach a state of perfection. Not only that, it is believed that the soul unconsciously chooses its experiences in each life according to the lessons to be learned. IF that were true, then India must necessarily be a land of saints or near-saints. After all, it is a very old country… and the people must have “lived 100’s of lives”. So there should be no prisons left, no poverty, no misery, no corruption, no persecution, no violence… it should, by definition, be the holiest country on earth since the majority of the world’s HIndus are in India. (BTW - I LOVE India, it is my native land!) But - is that the reality in India?

Finally, I too have a problem with the maths.🙂 Today there are well over 1 BILLION people in India. In the year 1900 there were “just” 271 million. So, a five-fold increase in the number of souls.
How do you explain that? If this theory were true, the world population should have remained FAIRLY CONSTANT down through the ages, since it is believed that upon death, a soul soon enters a “body” being born. But the world population in 1900 was 1.7 billion; now it is near 8 blllion !!!
 
RobedWithLight - "Reincarnation simply says that after death, we come back by being born in a new body, which is basically some form of cosmic recycling.

This doctrine is very attractive and soothing to many people because it satisfies and ensures the basic human longing for immortality while avoiding judgment and an eternal hell."
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It is pretty common to talk authoritatively about another religion’s paradigm when you need to refute it to bolster your own. I consider it dishonest unless you clarify with a disclaimer that you are talking down the competition, and, don’t mean it to be taken literally.

Reincarnation is not a source of “comfort”. It is a condition of being trapped in the cycle of Birth and Death. The world of opposites. Being subject to the illusion that the body/mind that dies is ourself. Knowing only a life of attachments, for or against, this or that. Ones experience determined by the cause and effect of karma.

Living in ignorance of the undivided, infinite, eternal singularity that is the True Reality.The True Self.

In general Christian terms it equates (IMO) to exile from the Garden. Having eaten from the fruit of the tree of “Good and Evil”. The need to wear a fig leaf.

This condition is something to evolve out of, through spiritual practice. Then by arriving at enlightenment, regaining the original, undivided relationship with God (Buddhists call it realizing Buddha nature or Nirvana). Thus gaining release from the delusion of otherness. True Freedom.

This is a very general description of my take on it. But it is offered in an honest attempt to inform. I would ask others to also be fair.
 
Apologia100 - That may be because we as Catholics believe in an **absolute Truth and Moral standard. ** Truth does not vary from one cultural context to the next, although our perception of that truth may be different. God did not create one set of rules for us as Christians, another set for Jews, another for Muslims, and yet another for Hindus (not to mention Buddist, Siehks, American Indians, Pagans, atheists, and so on and so forth). God gave us a single moral standard, and we either comply or don’t, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” and "If you are not with me, you are against me."
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The beauty of the kharma/reincarnation paradigm is that it integrates the “Judgement” aspect of fate, into the immediate Here and Now. The individual “Soul” creates his or her own destiny through awareness and choice. If actions of thought and deed are undertaken in ignorance of God, you get “sin”. If you are inspired by knowledge of the Truth to align with the infinite God, your actions serve your redemption. Preparing the way for enlightenment and ultimate “Salvation”, Moksha, Nirvana, Heaven.

You are right in saying that God has not created a different Truth for different cultures. We may emphasize different things and use different terminology, but the Truth simply is. It is born from infinite potentiality. The primordial “I Am”. The eternal Now.
 
This is a 9 year old dormant thread which should not be resurrected. Forum rules say a new thread should be started.
 
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