Christianity is probably the most adamant opponent of reincarnation or preexistence of any type, which will be addressed in the chapter "What You Believe". Much of Christianity believes in salvation by grace, basically that by the grace of God you are saved and your soul goes to an eternal reward. It is not something you can earn, and you only have one chance or lifetime in which to obtain the grace in question (different denominations debate the exact format and process necessary to achieve salvation, but this is the basic tenet.)

There are some interesting things to consider when looking at reincarnation vs. salvation by grace:

Opponents of the concept of reincarnation suggest that reincarnation would require each person to work out his own salvation. When he finally did he would simply cease to exist as an individual. They say that Jesus already paid for all of our evil deeds; all we have to do is accept the salvation He offers as a free gift.

What many people don't realize is that most theories of rebirth or reincarnation include within them the consideration that at any time you can stop going through the cycle of life/death/rebirth by releasing their attachment to the physical and emotional universe and connect to God. They believe that when Jesus said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" he was instructing us to not let any of the attachments of this world come between us and God. In this way we could release ourselves from the physical universe and simply step into the grace of God, withdrawing from the endless cycles of rebirth. Most people don't do this, however, and even if they leave this world or universe for a time the desires and interests of the physical realm continue to draw them back into another physical existence. They can, however, release their attachment to the physical and emotional universe and connect to God.

This does not mean that they "cease to exist". Simply that they connect to a larger self. A finger does not cease to be a finger, nor does a brain cell cease to be a brain cell because it is connected to a larger body.

The other great commandment is to "Love your neighbor as yourself". The accepted meaning of this for those who believe in any type of karma or similar theory is that if one does unto others as he would have them do unto him, he will not gather any future punishment or reason to have to suffer through another lifetime of earthly frustration and grief.

Also, the belief that Jesus offers salvation as a free gift would fall under the reincarnation theory to the degree that people can accept Christ, stop playing this repetitive game of living and learning and suffering and role-playing, and simply accept his offer of eternal life. Repent for the wrongdoings of one's life, accept forgiveness of one's offenses, and simply leave the physical universe to those attached to it and exist in heaven with the Creator God. This, however, is understood to be easier said than done. Most souls are not sufficiently advanced enough to be happy in a perfect existence for eternity, and their need for interesting drama eventually draws them back to this physical realm to learn and experience more.

These are just a few of the different viewpoints on reincarnation or rebirth around the world. Obviously, the belief in reincarnation has at its roots very real experiences, even if they are experiences we do not completely understand currently. I have personally watched people go through what seemed like a past life in great detail.

I have listened to people start speaking languages that are not their own, languages that they understand and speak perfectly while regressed in session, and needed to have them translate to English so that I could continue while understanding what was going on. After session they would remember speaking the language and remember what the words meant.

These are normal, common people who before session would swear that they spoke only one language, and had no knowledge of being aware of any other. This phenomenon, known as 'Xenoglossy', will be defined and discussed later in the book in more depth.

I have personally been regressed and 'relived' incidents that are as real to me as any memory I have. Although the origination and cause behind these experiences may remain to be seen, to invalidate them is to go into denial. The truth behind this will not be found by ignoring it. It can only be found by looking at it objectively and trying to resolve it with ALL the considerations possible.

Continue Reading: REINCARNATION: Page 3