Reincarnation – an original Christian doctrine

19 Philippians 3, 10ff: “All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death, in the hope that I myself will be raised from death to life . I do not claim that I have already succeeded with it or have already become perfect.” This grammatically correct translation does not make sense within the Church’s general faith: Why does Paul , who was alive when he wrote this letter, humbly admit that he has not achieved the “resurrection of the dead”? He certainly didn’t mean the resurrection in the flesh, something that he is going to experience on Judgment Day according to the Church’s current interpretation. He can only have meant the same the preceding inquiries have furnished, namely that he will fully participate in Christ’s life or put in another way, that he already achieved his last resuscitation or re-embodiment. Further down he writes: Philippians 3, 20ff: “We however are citizens of heaven and we eagerly wait for our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from heaven. He will change our weak mortal bodies and make them like his own glorious body…” This formulation does not really oppose the concept of the possibility of a life in various terrestrial bodies. One further argument by the Christian opponents of the doctrine of reincarnation is their idea that it is supposed to contradict the Christian doctrine of salvation. 6. The Church’s religion of salvation The Christian Churches regard Christ’s stature as saviour as their focal point. He, as God’s Son, took on the assignment to redeem mankind. Numerous written accounts 24 in regards to this redemption assignment are summarised as follows by the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (381 A.D.): “…he who descended from heaven and incarnated because of us and our redemption…” (DS 150) According to the Church’s interpretation, the act of salvation is: “…through Christ’s teaching and guiding activity, but excellently fulfilled through Christ’s representative atonement and his martyrdom on the Cross. The sin of the inflicted affront against God was offset by the atonement and God’s injured glory was restored.” (Ludwig Ott P. 214) The meaning of the historical salvation of Christ’s lectureship is explained by the Church via the fact that through sin and the seduction by the devil, mankind became religiously ignorant and that Christ’s lecturing took away people’s spiritual darkness and restored the light of true insights to them. (See Ludwig Ott P. 217) “ Christ’s stewardship has the task of showing the people that have lost their way through sinning the correct path to their supernatural ultimate goal… It includes all legislative, judgmental and chastising powers.” (Ludwig Ott P. 218) Christ, in his role as a priest, effected “the objective re-reconcilement of the fallen with God” (Ludwig Ott P. 220), 24 Matthew 1, 21; Luke 2, 11; 19, 19; John 3, 17; Passages cited by Ludwig Ott see P.21ff.