Reincarnation – an original Christian doctrine

26 “Bear in mind that good spirits only assist those that serve God full of humility and unselfishness, but are not interested in those that suspect that terrestrial things represent a springboard on the way to heaven. They distance themselves from those that are too proud and too ambitious. Pride and ambition will always form a partition between man and God, this is the veil that covers the clarity of heaven and God cannot use the blind to help others see the light.” 37 The problem, whether the doctrine conforms to the truth therefore depends on the loyalty of the contactee. Those that want to test the truth contained within contradictory messages from the hereafter must therefore assess the ethical-moral, that is to say, the perfection of the human mediator and then select the more credible one. The depictions of others will remain a subjective question of faith for all of those that have not developed their own supernatural perception capabilities, because the spiritual does not abide by the rules of evidence of the materialistically orientated sciences. This faith can however turn into solid knowledge through one’s own spontaneous thought processes and visionary experiences that transcend all refutations. This is why all those that want to gain their own assuredness should tread the path to the inner sanctum of their soul. Outside observers, lacking their own inner experiences, have a dilemma of choice about whether they should believe the supporters of the reincarnation concept that, full of inner convictions, assert that they partially remember details of a past life 38 or whether they should accept the opinion of scientific researchers 39 that affirm that evidence of reincarnation can be explained through clairvoyance, telepathy or influences from deceased people. b) Prophecy The doctrine of reincarnation and karma also appears in prophecy. As prophecy is depicted as “the direct spiritual connection between God and human beings” it also belongs to the spirit orientation called spiritualism . The New Testament advises people to make contact with the world of spirit in order to receive instructions from there. 1 Corinthians 12 calls these “extra-sensory abilities” “gifts from the Holy Spirit” or “spiritual gifts” . What is often denigrated as “lowly spiritism” these days is called “speaking in tongues” by Paul . This expression describes what takes place: The tongue of the speaker produces words and sounds, often even in a foreign language, that do not spring from the mind of the speaker, because he or she is in a trance. Paul does not condemn the speaking in tongues, but relegates it behind the prophetic word: 1 Corinthian 14, 5: “I would like for all of you to speak in strange tongues, but I would rather that you had the gift of proclaiming God’s message. For the person who proclaims God’s message is of greater value than the one who speaks in strange tongues – unless there is someone present who can explain what he says so that the whole Church may be helped.” 1 Corinthian 14, 39-40: “So then my brothers, set your heart on proclaiming God’s message, but do not forbid the speaking in strange tongues. Everything must be done in a proper and orderly way.” The psychic ability of those that speak in tongues is somewhat developed. If they recognise a meaningful gift therein, they can turn to the spiritual more and more, develop themselves higher and mature enough for higher discourses . The ranking order of prophets is right behind the apostles: 37 Adler, see P. 122 38 See evidence provided by Stevenson, Banerjee, Bernstein, Morey, Dethlefsen. 39 See Adler, see P.114 and 179