Are you aware of any OLDER documents

[deborah]

I have been coming across quite a few lately and its' amazing how many of them there are. Articles, documents and older books. There is one case about the work of Ian Stevenson in the 1960's and the case was about an adults memories of the 17th century. I will share later today a few I found - but I am wondering if any of you have come across articles, documents or books written about reincarnation mid 1850 through mid 1900's????

 

[deborah]

OK -- I looked up the case mentioned above. Ian Stevenson spent several years researching this case. Edward Ryall eventually wrote a book about his experiences titled Born Twice-Total Recall of a Seventeenth-Century Life -the American addition. It was published in London by the title Second Time Around - 1974.


He chronicled his life as John Fletcher, a yeoman farmer born in 1645 in the countryside of Polden Hills, Somerset England. His memories started at age eight (but was interviewed as an adult by Ian) and Ian Stevenson said that his account was astonishingly complete and accurate, including obscure details that only rare studies of the period mention. He even hoped that historians would sit up and take note.


I am particularly drawn to cases that are older, written in a time before the New Age movement. Anyone else care to offer an older article or book for research?

 

[Jose]

An old case is cited by Lafcadio Hearn in Chapter X ("The rebirth of Katsugoro") of his "Gleanings in Buddha Fields"(Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1897). You can find the text here:


http://sacred-texts.com/bud/gbf/gbf11.htm


European cases are described by Gabriel Delanne in "Documents pour servir à l´étude de la Réincarnation" (1924).


Jose

 

[deborah]

Thank You Jose,


I have not had a chance to read through them yet - but at first glance - they look very interesting!

 

[deborah]

Here is one I thought people might enjoy. Francis Bowen who lived from 1811-1890 and was an American Philosopher -- taught philosophy at Harvard. He wrote an article titled "Christian Metempsychosis" In it he stated the following:

Why should it be thought incredible that the same soul should inhabit in succession an indefinite number of mortal bodies.....? Even during this one life our bodies are perpetually changing, though by a process of decay and restoration which is so gradual that it escapes our notice. Every human being thus dwells successively in many bodies, even during one short life. May 1881.

 

[Charles Stuart]

Hi Deborah,

but I am wondering if any of you have come across articles, documents or books written about reincarnation mid 1850 through mid 1900's????

There are Allan Kardec's books compiled in France in the 1850s, of course: "The Spirits' Book", "The Gospel According to Spiritism", "The Mediums' Book", "Heaven and Hell" and "The Genesis". :thumbsup:

 

[deborah]

I came across another interesting person who wrote about pre-existence. Chevalier Ramsay, a Scottish author who lived 1686 - 1743. He wrote Philosophical Principles ; an excerpt is below:

.....St Paul seems to confirm this when he says: For the children being not yet born, having neither done good or evil, it was said unto Rebecca, "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." {Romans 9:13} God's love and hatred depend upon the moral dispositions of the creature. Since God says that he loved Jacob and hated Esau ere they were born, and before they had done good or evil in this mortal life, it follows clearly that they must have pre-existed in another state.
If it be said that these texts are obscure; that pre-existence is only drawn from them by induction, and that this opinion is not revealed in Scripture by express words, I answer, that the doctrines of the immortality of the soul are nowhere revealed expressly in the sacred oracles of the Old or New Testament, but because all their morals and doctrines are founded upon these great truths. We may say the same of pre-existence. The doctrine is nowhere expressly revealed, but it is evidently supposed, as without it original sin becomes not only inexplicable, but absurd, repugnant, and impossible.

Remember - the term reincarnation was not used until the 1800's.

 

[Charles Stuart]

VERY interesting, Deborah. In particular as to how the concepts were so vague without there being the light of reincarnation to understand the process... :thumbsup: :cool

 

[deborah]

An interesting resource for those looking for older documents. If you know of any - please post them here.