 | Rev. Patrick Notley is the Associate Pastor of First Presbyterian Church located at 525 N. Broadway in downtown Wichita. Reverend Notley received an MA in Divinity at San Francisco Theological Seminary and a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, VA. Born in Denver, CO and raised on the East Coast, Reverend Notley along with his wife, relocated to Wichita in 1997 to join the church, where he is responsible for Evangelism Educational programs. You can reach Reverend Notley at (316) 263-0248 ext. 22 or by email at pwnotley@firstpresbywichita.org |
Religion
2005-08-01 08:54:00
Is there such a thing as ‘rebirth’ or reincarnation?
: Is there such a thing as rebirth, or what some call (reincarnation)?
ANSWER: "There are two ways," begins the Didache, a second century A.D. document dedicated to Christian Doctrine, "one of life and one of death; and great is the difference between the two ways." While related to the moral life and an explication of how the Christian is to live, and not related to reincarnation this second century document may help to illuminate the issue of reincarnation, at least from a Christian perspective.As I understand the idea of reincarnation - and to say understand is only to say that of the very limited knowledge I have, I have interpreted reincarnation in a particular way - the basic idea is that one's present life in some way or another determines how one will return and in what sort of temporal body that return will take place in. Thus, as I understand it one's performance in this life will determine how and how often one will have to return before earning the privilege of moving on to the next level. From a Christian perspective, the human person can not earn salvation rather it is a gift freely given by God through the life, death and resurrection of God's Son Jesus the Christ. I mentioned the Didache at the beginning of this response because the two ways is an early explication of this idea of earning salvation. It suggested that if one worked hard enough and was faithful enough one was saved. Conversely if one did not do so one was damned. It goes on to suggest that one can get a "real time" understanding of their status by what is happening to them in their life. If they are reaping the benefits of a good life - comfortable living, plenty of food, good job, etc. - one was on the way to salvation; but if one is suffering from loss of job, loss of freedom, etc. one was not working hard enough and was therefore being punished for bad deeds. Early Christian Theologians, rightly, tossed out this thought process in favor of a more accurate understanding of God's graciousness toward humanity which results in the free and unearned gift of salvation. Therefore from a Christian perspective, reincarnation does not make sense. We are called to live in response to a gift freely given not work toward earning enough points to gain salvation. Thus it does not make sense for a Christian to hold to the idea of reincarnation which operates to some extent on the same principle.
