Reincarnation – an original Christian doctrine

45 • Moving from land to land into the distance (an image of repeated re-embodiments in various environments, ergo reincarnation .) • The advancing deeper entanglement with physical matter and the resulting difficulties derived from that ( Law of Karma – cause and effect). • The eventual arising of self-realisation and regret and the positive endeavour for purification (the path within , thoughts and yearnings for God, the realisation of being a Son of God). • The arduous journey home and the expectant delight of the Father at one’s return (the restoration of the way things were, ergo apokatastasis ). Who would dare to call the interpretation of this parable false and absurd? John 9, 1-3: “As Jesus was walking along he saw a man who had been born blind. His disciples asked him: “Teacher, whose sin caused him to be blind? Was it his own or his parents’ sin?” Jesus answered: His blindness has nothing to do with his sins or his parents’ sins. He is blind so that God’s power might be seen at work in him.” The question for the cause of congenital blindness show that the disciples thought it possible that this evil might have been the result of a past life. The negative answer given by Jesus does not contradict the doctrine of reincarnation, but mentions in this case that: God’s omniscience was going to be revealed through Christ’s healing of the affliction . James 3, 6: “And the tongue is like a fire. It is a world of wrong, occupying its place in our bodies and spreading evil through our whole being. It set on fire the whole course of existence with the fire that comes to it from hell itself.” The last part in the Greek/Latin translation of the text states: It enflamed the wheel of birth (Greek: ton trochon tes geneseos; Latin: rotam nativitatis). Whilst the German translation veils the true meaning of this passage, the Greek/Latin text allows the clear recognition of its meaning: The “wheel of (re)-birth” is often put into operation through the evil workings of the tongue, like lies, aspersions and idle talk . The soul that performs such hellish deeds remains tied to the wheel of rebirth until everything has been atoned for. This passage reveals an impressive picture of the Law of Karma keeping the wheel of rebirth in motion. d) Biblical evidence of the law of cause and effect (Law of Karma) Proverbs 22, 8-9: “If you plant the seed of injustice, disaster will spring up and your oppression of others will end. Be generous and share your food with the poor. You will be blessed for it.” Ezekiel 9, 10: “But I will not have pity on them; I will do to them what they have done to others.” Ezekiel 18, 4: “The life of every person belongs to me, the life of the parent as well as that of the child. The person who sins is the one who will die.” Ezekiel 18, 20: “It is the one who sins who will die. A son will not suffer because of his father’s sins, nor a father because of the sins of his son’s. A good man will be rewarded for doing good and an evil man will suffer for the evil he does.”