• Thank you to Carol and Steve Bowman, the forum owners, for our new upgrade!

Challenge - former believer

V

Victoria32

New Member
I used to believe in reincarnation, but now I no longer do (I was then, and still am a Christian).
So, the challenge is - tell me why I should continue to believe in reincarnation? I have known beyond any shadow of a doubt since I was younger than 3 years old, that there is an afterlife, that we continue to live... Since then, my parents and my brothers have all died, all young - the most recent, just 6 years ago.
I don't need to believe in reincarnation, and frankly don't want to. Can you convince me?
Vicky
 
Welcome to the forum Vicky32.


Why do you want to be convinced that reincarnation is true? What would cause you to seek out this forum to ask that question?


I would say that you should follow the spiritual path that makes you happy in this life, if you can find it. Perhaps life is a journey of self-discovery, the discovery of our own relationship with our Creator, the discovery of our own role in the unfolding of the universe.


I too am a Christian, but what does that really have to do with the question of the validity of reincarnation unless you labor under a dogma that spoon feeds you "truth" and does not allow you to question the reality of existence. Pray and meditate about your questions and seek understanding in that way. If so inclined, read everything that you can get your hands on about philosophy, physics and the different spiritual beliefs in the world. You were created to experience the world and life, to search for the meaning of your own existence. If you don't accept any of that, then choose dogma and remain closed to your real nature - it won't change the reality of what is.
 
Hi Victoria, welcome to the forum :)


First of all, I'm sorry that you lost your family at such a young age, and the way I read your question suggests that this has some bearing on why you no longer believe in reincarnation. I don't know how much you know about how it all works, I guess none of us know for definate, but some new members join the forum with a fairly good understanding, while others are completely new to the concept, so please don't think that I'm trying to patronize you in any way.


Maybe you could elaborate a bit more for us, I assume that you believe that life goes on after death in another reality, or dimension, or Heaven, however you choose to define it, therefore leaving no reason to reincarnate?


Many 'skeptics' in my experience, seem to think that believers in reincarnation are so terrified of death being the end of everything that we know, that we need some sort of 'belief' to cling on to in order to deny the inevitable. This is clearly not the case, certainly not for me anyway, and I'm sure everybody else who have their own past life experiences will agree. For me, it's not about 'believing', it just is, I never made a choice to believe in reincarnation, it was just something that has always been present in my life for as far back as I can remember, even before I'd ever heard the word 'reincarnation', or what that word meant.


Again, I don't know you, or the details of your beliefs, but my opinion on us only having one shot at life, and to be judged on that one life, just doesn't make any sense to me at all. If there is a God, then why would he give one person an easy, priveleged life where they never have to want or struggle for anything, while giving another person a life full of difficulty, ill health and poverty? And if he can send our souls down to Earth to live one physical life, then why can't he send us down to do it again, and again, until we've each seen life from every angle? That makes far more sense to me.


Remember also, time has no meaning on the other side, so a hundred lives here on Earth could pass in an instant on the other side. Your family are still in that 'in between' stage where 50 years could pass here on Earth before they decide to come back in their next life, where from their perspective, they've only just arrived there.


In my opinion, I can't understand how anyone can believe in an afterlife yet dismiss the concept of reincarnation. It's like seeing the big picture, yet only believing that half of it is there. But at the end of the day, like everyone else has said before me, you are perfectly entitled to your belief, and you have to make your own choices. I'm just curious to know why you used to believe in reincarnation, but now you don't?


I sincerely hope that others here will be able to help to convince you, there is plenty of evidence available, a lot of it right here in the forum, but it's ultimately up to you to make your own mind up. I hope you find the answers that you're looking for, and I hope that you enjoy your time here.


Chris :)
 
Like Chris, I've always just seemed to know that we reincarnate. It wasn't until my son was 3 years old that verified it for me. At three years old, he told me that I was "much nicer than his other Mommy" and he talked a lot about his other life as a fighter pilot. Children have vivid imaginations but nothing could convince me that at that age, he could possibly imagine the details he shared. Also, I cannot imagine that a child at that age would even mention another parent when the one they have should be all they know.


The most convincing evidence to me is the descriptions given by children ages 2-7. Most children between those ages bring up their memories of other parents and past lives. There is tons of evidence that has been documented.


I'm sorry for your lost Victoria. It's never easy to loose a loved one. Do you have children? If not, when you do, listen carefully to what they have to say. Evidence shows that many children reincarnated into the same family. This may someday be the evidence you seek. It was mine.
 
Victoria32 said:
I don't need to believe in reincarnation, and frankly don't want to. Can you convince me?
Click to expand...
Hello Vicky. I respect your beliefs, but quite honestly your request puzzles me. If you don't want to believe in reincarnation, why do you want to be convinced?
 
Hi Vicky,


Regarding your request to convince you, I cannot. However I will share a new experience I just had which simply increases the truth of reincarnation for me...and this is simply one of many I receive on a regular basis.


My family and I drove the two hours to my sister's house to spend a relaxed weekend with each other. Our children are all of the same basic age and all get along well together.


My sister and I were assembling dinner in her wonderful kitchen and I got a tremendous feeling of having been there before...not in her kitchen and cooking, but being with my sister, close, happy and working together.


We had several minutes before dinner was actually to be served and I took a few minutes to "chill out" and went to meditate. What I got was clean and pure and from this lifetime...I was taken to when she was born and I was 19 months old and a big, little guy. (My memories from this lifetime begin at about two years, but this came through extremely clearly) I knew her and had nothing but happiness that she was coming as my sister...all my feelings were that she was completely familiar, a friend and someone it was going to be easy to live with, and she was and is...while she was my brother in the life before in which I had died in WWII and she/he had also, she is usually female although extremely powerful. Funny, her husband is an easy guy, another frequent soulmate, who has repeatedly told me he has really had to work to keep up with her!


Anyway, short of convincing anyone that reincarnation is real, all I can do is tell you why I think it is...any convincing is for you to figure out, if you don't feel it you don't, and I hope you find what you are looking for.
 
Deborah said:
Hi Vicky,
Why did you use to believe? What changed?
Click to expand...
The death of a close relative is what did it. I found I had to pare down what I believed to the very basics, and there was no room for reincarnation. Yet recently, things have been much worse than they were then (2004) and this has started to look like a world in which reincarnation is true - that is to say,


injustices are mounting up, and the only feasible explanation for any of it, is that I karmically deserve it. (Although one of my problems is that if that is the case, I have no memories and therefore no clue as to why any of it has happened! That very much doesn't help me be patient..)


Funnily enough, I have been reading threads here, which have reminded me of the things my son used to say - he had an imaginary friend who was his sister (I can't remember the name now - it might have been Helen or maybe it began with 'R', maybe Robyn, not a name from his generation - he was born in 1987.) He has actually not got any sisters at all...


Then one day when he was 3 or so, I apologised for sitting on her (as I had to do all the time) and he informed me that she was 'gone'. I asked where she had gone, and he informed me in a very blase tone that she had died of cancer some time in the 1950s... (I just thought "oh, he's bored with her now he's at kindy".


He's always been a little feminist, and his alter egos have all been girls! Now he's grown (23 years old) he is very off any and all religion, and when he was still a child, hated any mention of reincarnation, it seriously freaked him out..


If he has had memories, why haven't I? I am the one who needs them, because they would make sense of a very bad situation.


Vicky32
 
Victoria32 said:
If he has had memories, why haven't I? I am the one who needs them, because they would make sense of a very bad situation.


Vicky32
Click to expand...
Hi Vicky! I clearly understand what you are driving at, because I've lost my share of family, friends, faith, trust, and patience. We all have. And, we have all tried to make some sense out of it. None of us can tell you how to think. All we can do is to tell you how each of us, individually, came to terms with the inevitable losses. But, we can all assure you that karma has nothing to do with the cause for your suffering. We like to believe that we chose our present lives, because we thought we could grow in wisdom from the experience. Sometimes, however, we can be wrong and bite off more than we can chew.


Like you, most of us came to this place from a materialist world, encased in Christian dogma and Newtonian Science. We were unable to realize the memories we already had of some past life experiences. But, we eventually discovered that they were right there underneath the surface. All we needed to do was to understand our spiritual nature, and the reality that, what we can physically sense is only the tip of a very large iceberg. I should add that some of us probably came here with a bushel of anger and a peck of resentment that we were allowed to stumble through life without the memories that others seemed to possess.


As others have said, only you can do the convincing by diving into the vast repository of information that can prove the existence of reincarnation and other paranormal phenomenon. This is a very good place to start. And, you have already seen how willing everyone is to help you in your search. You need not go it alone.
 
Hi Vicky,


I don't think the death of persons close to you has necesarily to do with karma. Maybe there are some other events too that makes you go back into believing or further questioning reincarnation.


If I look at my own situation, there's no doubt I had many problems due to karmic events in a recent past life. That's why reincarnation is so obvious to me. I didn't really have memories on my own, only some feelings of "Hey, it's like I have experienced these situations already" with some persons that came or were into my life. I could lay the puzzle for myself. This was reinforced by finding some written evidence from what has happened back then.


If you really feel there is something going on around you you can't explain, start questioning things (which you done already otherwise you wouldn't be here, so congrats!) and try to further inform you. This site got lots of theoretic information and real life cases that confirm reincarnation exists, so have a look...


There are also lots of qualified people that can help you going back to the past if there really was a problem there hindering your current life. The better you get informed the better you can find the right people if needed.


I can only say reincarnation is a fact from what I experienced.


Good luck!
 
Victoria32 said:
The death of a close relative is what did it. I found I had to pare down what I believed to the very basics, and there was no room for reincarnation. Yet recently, things have been much worse than they were then (2004) and this has started to look like a world in which reincarnation is true - that is to say,
injustices are mounting up, and the only feasible explanation for any of it, is that I karmically deserve it. (Although one of my problems is that if that is the case, I have no memories and therefore no clue as to why any of it has happened! That very much doesn't help me be patient..)


Funnily enough, I have been reading threads here, which have reminded me of the things my son used to say - he had an imaginary friend who was his sister (I can't remember the name now - it might have been Helen or maybe it began with 'R', maybe Robyn, not a name from his generation - he was born in 1987.) He has actually not got any sisters at all...


Then one day when he was 3 or so, I apologised for sitting on her (as I had to do all the time) and he informed me that she was 'gone'. I asked where she had gone, and he informed me in a very blase tone that she had died of cancer some time in the 1950s... (I just thought "oh, he's bored with her now he's at kindy".


He's always been a little feminist, and his alter egos have all been girls! Now he's grown (23 years old) he is very off any and all religion, and when he was still a child, hated any mention of reincarnation, it seriously freaked him out..


If he has had memories, why haven't I? I am the one who needs them, because they would make sense of a very bad situation.


Vicky32
Click to expand...
1. I dont understand how your son's imaginary friend equates into past life memories? If this is paranormal, why would this not be a ghost and have to do with reincarnation?


2. I do believe in a personal God, so do you if you are Christian. To think that the creator who of eternal origins or no origins has unlimited bounds and has created our universe.....yet does not have the capability to send mere mortals back down to Earth for another life is severely lacking in reason and logic. Now whether he chooses to let folks reincarnate is a different story. That is up to your faith and beliefs.


3. Whether or not all individuals have the potential to remember the past is up to your beliefs. Perhaps only certain individuals have this potential (the heirarchy card). Perhaps nobody has this potential and all stories are imagined even though it occurs. Perahaps it only happens rarely.


4. If you do believe in a personal God. Free will exists. Things will happen to humans that God has no control over. Otherwise, this would violate free will. We are living in a world where the free will of society can have drastic negative effects on random individuals.


5. I do not dismiss the possability of reincarnation. In fact, I believe it is more likely than not to occur at a substantial rate. I am skeptical of many stories and am extremely extremely extremely skeptical of the methods people use to remember the past. Intuitively, this cannot be forced. Further, the imagination is powerful.


6. I am more open to believing the stories involving children. I am open to people having a "popped in my mind not from me" moment. I do not believe this thing can be forced.
 
xTheFormlessOne said:
1. I dont understand how your son's imaginary friend equates into past life memories? If this is paranormal, why would this not be a ghost and have to do with reincarnation?
Click to expand...
I am honestly not sure now, as it was all back when he was 3-4 years old, in the early 1990s... I did wonder merely because he seemed to 'identify' more as a girl, though now he's grown up, he's completely straight and male! That it may have been a ghost is quite scary really, as I can't figure who she might have been!

xTheFormlessOne said:
2. I do believe in a personal God, so do you if you are Christian. To think that the creator who of eternal origins or no origins has unlimited bounds and has created our universe.....yet does not have the capability to send mere mortals back down to Earth for another life is severely lacking in reason and logic. Now whether he chooses to let folks reincarnate is a different story. That is up to your faith and beliefs.
Click to expand...
That's really the whole issue! I did used to think so, but now I am just not sure... (I am a Christian Universalist, so I am open to the idea that lives on earth are/may be purgatorial in nature, as my idea of universalism means people may have to develop more first...

xTheFormlessOne said:
4. If you do believe in a personal God. Free will exists. Things will happen to humans that God has no control over. Otherwise, this would violate free will. We are living in a world where the free will of society can have drastic negative effects on random individuals.
Click to expand...
That's indisputably true!

xTheFormlessOne said:
6. I am more open to believing the stories involving children. I am open to people having a "popped in my mind not from me" moment. I do not believe this thing can be forced.
Click to expand...
I agree with you here!
 
Victoria32 said:
That's really the whole issue! I did used to think so, but now I am just not sure... (I am a Christian Universalist, so I am open to the idea that lives on earth are/may be purgatorial in nature, as my idea of universalism means people may have to develop more first...
Click to expand...
Here is what I ask myself. If God exists, what is our purpose on Earth? The answer to me seems; grow spiritually. Otherwise, why not just remain in heaven permenantly. If our purpose in life is to grow spiritually, and we only get one shot at it, that is not exactly fair. Because of free will and randomness, some people will get cheated out of this oppertunity for spiritual growth. Should people exposed to trauma and violence as a child be held responsible for what they will become even though the root of things is completely our of there hands?


I was raised Catholic myself. One possible reason the church may be against reincarnation probably has something to do with: not being held accountable for what you do in this life.


Other than that, I think the "possability" of reincarnation is a reasonable and rational belief. Its when an exchange of cash for methods to produce memories that I am skeptical. Imagination is another reason to be skeptical as well.
 
The problem I have about being accountable through being reincarnated, is, about memories or the lack thereof... If someone is back to learn particular lessons, I think it's necessary that they are aware of what particular "exams" they need to "re-sit"...


Vicky
 
hypothetically, perhaps the soul grew through the previous life and the time in between. Lessons learned could perhaps be engrained in the soul, so that in new situations, learned lessons can be applied to new decisions to be made. Perhaps the awareness you are after would take away from the whole experience. Perhaps not being aware of what you are after would be a more true test. For this reason, perhaps it is not necessary for people to remember the past. Perhaps some do not have the potential because it is not in their cards. Perhaps their are scams out there. Perhaps only those with the potential are high in the heirarchy.
 
xTheFormlessOne said:
I was raised Catholic myself. One possible reason the church may be against reincarnation probably has something to do with: not being held accountable for what you do in this life.
Click to expand...
Think the reason that reincarnation was suppressed in the Church was because, number one, the very idea of reincarnation negates the threat of Hell for the sake of obedience. And number two, the Catholics spent centuries killing everyone who didn't agree with them. If people believed that if they were executed by the Church they would just be reincarnated, a death sentence would hold no real meaning.
The problem I have about being accountable through being reincarnated, is, about memories or the lack thereof... If someone is back to learn particular lessons, I think it's necessary that they are aware of what particular "exams" they need to "re-sit"...
Click to expand...
That would be the preference. However, lets say if someone spent a lifetime abusing women and they reincarnated with the intent of being on the receiveing end to find out what it's like. If they came back fully remembering the previous life while incarnate, I would think it may alter their course of action and may reduce the full emotional effect of the lesson in the current life.
 
Victoria, this is a little different take as concerning Reincarnation - Past Lives. As for myself, this thought of reincarnation and past lives, gives myself a great amount of comfort. For with me, I see Life itself as being so exceedingly wonderful and soooo filled up with soooo many delightful things. In that just how wonderful to me is it just such a blessing to be able to live and experience life! Then so the thought of being able to come back and just enjoy another life again does give me great pleasure.


Now for myself, it would be such a bummer if this one life was all that was wrote and then who knows. Yes Life can be so hard, extremely hard, with throwing how many curve balls. But just how much on a everyday basis are we surrounded by so many beautiful and wonderful things. And how much of the time can it be the most simple things that can give the greatest pleasures.


But do also seriously think that it is meant on purpose that in each life here we don't remember the previous lives for that we as individuals face fully this life and hand that has been dealt to us personally. And we are in each of our lives, basically the same person we are withen. It is just this outer shell so to speak that changes.


There has been times this present life of mine hasn't been easy. But after how long personally wandering in the wilds and seeing so many of the wonderful and simple things in life, has it now made me 'High on Life' so to speak. And so I say Yes to the thought of Reincarnation because all I see now is just how much there is in life. And as for myself, just one life is not enough personally speaking.


Just my two cents worth.
 
xTheFormlessOne said:
hypothetically, perhaps the soul grew through the previous life and the time in between. Lessons learned could perhaps be engrained in the soul, so that in new situations, learned lessons can be applied to new decisions to be made. Perhaps the awareness you are after would take away from the whole experience. Perhaps not being aware of what you are after would be a more true test. For this reason, perhaps it is not necessary for people to remember the past. Perhaps some do not have the potential because it is not in their cards. Perhaps their are scams out there. Perhaps only those with the potential are high in the heirarchy.
Click to expand...
Very good points! Thank you..


Vicky:thumbsup:
 
kmatjhwy said:
For with me, I see Life itself as being so exceedingly wonderful and soooo filled up with soooo many delightful things. In that just how wonderful to me is it just such a blessing to be able to live and experience life! Then so the thought of being able to come back and just enjoy another life again does give me great pleasure.
Now for myself, it would be such a bummer if this one life was all that was wrote and then who knows.


Just my two cents worth.
Click to expand...
I get you, I really do! I think a good part of my problem is that my life has been truly merda, as is the case for my family really.. I know my parents were both glad to be out of it relatively young - so, coming back to an embodied life on earth is no incentive for me. However, I believe in an afterlife! (Not much idea what it will be like, but another life of struggling with the capitalist system seriously does not appeal... I have often thought that (a) if reincarnation is true and (b) the person gets to choose as one book I read insists, then I shall choose to be beautiful not clever and to be born to a fairly wealthy family. That would enable me to concentrate on things other than mere survival!


But reincarnation as purgatory, which I see as much more likely, goes against choice.
 
kmatjhwy said:
Victoria, this is a little different take as concerning Reincarnation - Past Lives. As for myself, this thought of reincarnation and past lives, gives myself a great amount of comfort. For with me, I see Life itself as being so exceedingly wonderful and soooo filled up with soooo many delightful things. In that just how wonderful to me is it just such a blessing to be able to live and experience life! Then so the thought of being able to come back and just enjoy another life again does give me great pleasure.
Now for myself, it would be such a bummer if this one life was all that was wrote and then who knows. Yes Life can be so hard, extremely hard, with throwing how many curve balls. But just how much on a everyday basis are we surrounded by so many beautiful and wonderful things. And how much of the time can it be the most simple things that can give the greatest pleasures.


But do also seriously think that it is meant on purpose that in each life here we don't remember the previous lives for that we as individuals face fully this life and hand that has been dealt to us personally. And we are in each of our lives, basically the same person we are withen. It is just this outer shell so to speak that changes.


There has been times this present life of mine hasn't been easy. But after how long personally wandering in the wilds and seeing so many of the wonderful and simple things in life, has it now made me 'High on Life' so to speak. And so I say Yes to the thought of Reincarnation because all I see now is just how much there is in life. And as for myself, just one life is not enough personally speaking.


Just my two cents worth.
Click to expand...
Would you want to risk being born in the middle east where you have no freedoms, are brainwashed, and live in fear every day?


On that thought, why do you have the life you do, and why do the people in the middle east have the life they do? What would be the point of being born in the middle east?
 
xTheFormlessOne said:
5. I do not dismiss the possability of reincarnation. In fact, I believe it is more likely than not to occur at a substantial rate. I am skeptical of many stories and am extremely extremely extremely skeptical of the methods people use to remember the past. Intuitively, this cannot be forced. Further, the imagination is powerful.
Click to expand...
I also used to be sceptical of a lot of stories until I read more books on the topic. One book in particular (I cannot remember the name off the top of my head because I'm at work at the moment) had cases presented by a Jungian psychologist who regressed people and healed them of various conditions and ailments. To my mind, something like this is far beyond "mere" imagination.


This healing aspect of past life recall also debunks the christian argument that past life memories are just false memories planted into people's heads by sinister lying spirits, but that's another story.

I was raised Catholic myself. One possible reason the church may be against reincarnation probably has something to do with: not being held accountable for what you do in this life.
Click to expand...
I think Truthseeker hit the nail on the head with this one. The Church is against reincarnation because it undermines their doctrine of hell and eternal damnation. It also argues that it somehow makes people less inclined to be spiritual or "moral" which shows how little the church understands reincarnation as a concept. And besides, their One-Shot-Then-Heaven-Or-Hell doctrine hasn't exactly worked toward making the world a more moral place, either. It has mostly resulted in fear and guilt on the part of its followers.

victoria32 said:
The problem I have about being accountable through being reincarnated, is, about memories or the lack thereof... If someone is back to learn particular lessons, I think it's necessary that they are aware of what particular "exams" they need to "re-sit"...
Click to expand...
I am of the understanding that we come back with everything we need to "pass the exam" as you put it, though owing to free will, that doesn't necessarily mean that we will learn what we need to learn, just that we're better equipped to do so.


With regard to the memories, I believe we ALL carry past life memories, whether we remember them consciously or not. Either way, they exist in our subconscious and are part of our overall "self" whether we know it or not. Regression and recall just draws them out.


I also think that remembering all our previous incarnations perfectly would not really be beneficial, thus we remember and recall only what we need at the time. Say for instance you were abused as a child in a previous life, to remember such a trauma in your present life would only burden your present life self and would rob you of the opportunity of starting afresh.

victoria32 said:
I get you, I really do! I think a good part of my problem is that my life has been truly merda, as is the case for my family really.. I know my parents were both glad to be out of it relatively young - so, coming back to an embodied life on earth is no incentive for me. However, I believe in an afterlife! (Not much idea what it will be like, but another life of struggling with the capitalist system seriously does not appeal... I have often thought that (a) if reincarnation is true and (b) the person gets to choose as one book I read insists, then I shall choose to be beautiful not clever and to be born to a fairly wealthy family. That would enable me to concentrate on things other than mere survival!
Click to expand...
If I may venture, the important thing is not so much your circumstances (if you get my meaning), but what you have learnt from them. That, to me is what makes our incarnations significant.


We'd all like to be rich and wealthy and never have to worry about anything, but this may not be what our souls need for growth (in some cases, it may even impede growth). Thus, I like to think we incarnate into lifetimes that give us what we need for growth, however painful they are.


If you incarnate as a wealthy person, but spend a lifetime indulging yourself and take nothing from it, then in the grand eternal scheme of things, what have you really gained?


But anyway, Victoria, like others on here, I am sorry to hear about your loss, but again, as others have said, nobody can tell you what to believe, you have to look within yourself to find those answers. However, I would also suggest reading about near death experiences as they provide many insights that relate very closely to reincarnation and "the afterlife".


Good luck!
 
Inphanta said:
It also argues that it somehow makes people less inclined to be spiritual or "moral" which shows how little the church understands reincarnation as a concept. And besides, their One-Shot-Then-Heaven-Or-Hell doctrine hasn't exactly worked toward making the world a more moral place, either.
Click to expand...
How many people live their life with the attitude of "it doesn't matter because I'll be dead anyway." The concept of reincarnation changes everything. Wouldn't people be more inclined to make things right with the people in their lives knowing they will have to reincarnate with those souls again? Wouldn't they want to make sure we leave the world a better place for future generations knowing they will be apart of those future generations?
 
Although I can, sometimes, appear like an angry ex-Catholic railing against the evil control-motivated dogmas of a corrupt church; conversely, I can also, sometimes, understand how difficult it is to give up control over the life of a loved one. Looking at the issue as a loving parent, I have felt myself in much the same position of fear, that some unknown influence will steal the minds and hearts of my sons. I can't say that I have been, in any way, virtuous for standing aside and trusting that my children would exercise sufficient self control; because, after all, there is not much else that I could do as a modern and powerless Western parent of two very wild and independent sons.


However, had I been a "Church Father" of the dark ages, I would probably have had as much fear as the next pastor that the devil or some other unknown influence would, as the Pied Piper, march off with all of our children. It is likely that I would have felt as threatened by Reincarnation and other Gnostic ideas as anyone could possibly be.


I suppose that we find it much easier to accept the benefits of Reincarnation in this world because we have had the assistance of science to explain what our ancestors used to blame on the devil. And we have the advantage of so much more emotional support than our ancestors had.


However, it still boggles my mind that some modern religionists continue to hold on to such outdated fears as our ancestors, when all of us are surrounded by so many informative resources.
 
xTheFormlessOne said:
Would you want to risk being born in the middle east where you have no freedoms, are brainwashed, and live in fear every day?
On that thought, why do you have the life you do, and why do the people in the middle east have the life they do? What would be the point of being born in the middle east?
Click to expand...
Frankly, being born in the Middle East wouldn't bother me very much - I am an ESOL teacher, I have students from Saudi Arabia, and friends from Libya, and it's not all like you think it is! For people born in the Middle East, there's plenty of point - it's not a place of dust, camels and ignorance at all, but some very sophisticated urban environments. I can think of much worse places to be!


Vicky:D
 
Truthseeker said:
The concept of reincarnation changes everything. Wouldn't people be more inclined to make things right with the people in their lives knowing they will have to reincarnate with those souls again? Wouldn't they want to make sure we leave the world a better place for future generations knowing they will be apart of those future generations?
Click to expand...
That more responsible attitude can, and in many cases does co-exist with 'standard' Christianity as well! It's not as the only options are reincarnation/nothing...


Vicky
 
Victoria32 said:
That more responsible attitude can, and in many cases does co-exist with 'standard' Christianity as well! It's not as the only options are reincarnation/nothing...
Vicky
Click to expand...
I'm sorry if I was misunderstood. I wasn't implying that Christians are irresponsible. And I know there are a lot of people who want to make the world a better place for generations to come. I was saying that society as a whole would take the future of this planet much more seriously if they knew they couldn't escape it. I have heard people say things to the effect of "What do I care, I'll be dead anyway." I was also getting at even if reincarnation means getting do-overs at life, it doesn't mean that you don't face the consiquences of irresponsibility.
 
I understand your point, Truthseeker - I have met people who have said exactly that, sadly, that they don't care... it's not going to be their problem...


Vicky
 
Victoria32 said:
Frankly, being born in the Middle East wouldn't bother me very much - I am an ESOL teacher, I have students from Saudi Arabia, and friends from Libya, and it's not all like you think it is! For people born in the Middle East, there's plenty of point - it's not a place of dust, camels and ignorance at all, but some very sophisticated urban environments. I can think of much worse places to be!
Vicky:D
Click to expand...
I am refering to those much worse places.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top