![]() ![]() The annotator of the Poetic Edda wrote that people formerly used to believe in it, but that it was in his (Christian) time considered "old wife's folly." Reincarnation also appears in Norse mythology in the Poetic Edda. In the Hermetica, a Graeco-Egyptian series of writings on cosmology and spirituality attributed to Hermes Trismegistus/ Thoth, the doctrine of reincarnation is also central.īelief in reincarnation was probably commonplace among the Vikings. For them, reincarnation was a negative concept: Gnostics believed that the material body was evil, and that they would be better off if they could eventually avoid having their 'good' souls reincarnated in 'evil' bodies. Many Gnostic groups such as the Sethians and followers of Valentinus apparently believed in reincarnation. At the end of his life, Socrates said, "I am confident that there truly is such a thing as living again, and that the living spring from the dead." Pythagoras claimed he could remember his past lives, and Plato presented detailed accounts of reincarnation in his major works. Among the ancient Greeks, Socrates, Pythagoras, and Plato may be numbered among those who made reincarnation an integral part of their teachings. The idea was also entertained by some Ancient Greek philosophers. 800 B.C.E.), which are philosophical and religious texts composed in Sanskrit. In India the concept of reincarnation is first recorded in the Upanishads (c. It thus provides the same benefit as reincarnation, although it is a purely spiritual process. The process, though understood within the Christian framework bodily resurrection, provides a second chance for these spirits to grow and surmount challenges that the failed to master during their earthly lives. Such relationships, according to Christian theologian John Hick, may provide the spirits with opportunities for spiritual growth beyond the grave. Sensitive earthly people can receive detailed knowledge about those spirits' earthly lives and, if they believe in reincarnation, construe it as memories of their own past lives. Skeptics remain critical of his work and reincarnation in general.įor those who reject reincarnation on theological grounds, an alternative way of explaining alleged memories of past lives is to attribute them to the influence of spirits. Researchers such as Ian Stevenson have explored the issue of reincarnation in a scientific way and published suggestive evidence. Some hypnotherapists have utilized techniques to call forth early childhood memories in order to plumb memories of past lives, and find recalling such memories helpful in therapy. The strongest evidence for reincarnation comes from those who allegedly remember details of their past lives. Among contemporary spiritualists, opinions on reincarnation are divided, with some accepting it as real and others regarding it as a harmful belief leading to cases of spirit possession. The Christian thinker Geddes MacGregor adopted reincarnation in order to do justice to the love of God, who would give a second chance for the deceased wicked to be saved. However, a Hassidic Jewish doctrine called gilgul resembles reincarnation. They teach that each human being is given only one earthly life. The monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam generally do not accept reincarnation. ![]() Reincarnation is a central tenet of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and many theosophical and New Age groups. This reincarnated self carries with it some essence or identity of the past life into the next life, although it is usually not aware of it. ![]() Reincarnation (from Latin meaning "to be made flesh again") in religion and philosophy refers to the belief that a part of a living being survives death to be reborn in a new body. ![]()
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