Reincarnation: Fact or fiction? | |
Anonymous Coward (OP) User ID: 19212647 United States 07/12/2012 12:47 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | ARGUMENTS THAT THE TEXT OF THE BIBLE IS UNRELIABLE The final recourse of reincarnationists is to argue that the text of the Bible is unreliable. The argument takes two forms. Some have suggested that Jesus believed in reincarnation, but his disciples did not, and that what the disciples wrote does not reflect what Jesus really said or believed. The suggestion is pure speculation. I am not aware of any credible evidence to support it. Its proponents simply say, "This could have happened." That is not enough to discredit the text of Scripture. Moreover, it is not just a case of the gospel writers leaving out some things. The Bible records Jesus as saying many things that are quite inconsistent with reincarnation. The proponents of this theory are necessarily saying that the gospel writers made these statements up out of whole cloth, and attributed to Jesus many things that he did not say. In my paper on "The Authority of Scripture" I point out that the gospel writers had every incentive to report accurately and truthfully. After all, the Jesus for whom they were willing to die had told them that the devil was the father of lies. Others argue that at the church Council of Constantinople, in 553 A.D., a decision was made to deliberately remove reincarnation from the Bible. There is no credible evidence of this, so far as I am aware. The council did reject and forbid certain teachings. Reincarnation was not one of these. But the council was dealing with conflicting interpretations of Scripture. There is no evidence of an intent to tamper with the text of Scripture. There is an even more insuperable objection. By the time of this council there were many manuscripts of the Bible, or portions of it. We now have several complete or almost complete texts of the New Testament dating in the fourth century AD(two dating about 350 AD), and portions of the New Testament dating to the third and second centuries AD In 553 AD there were probably many more manuscripts in existence than we have now. These manuscripts were written in ink on papyrus or leather, and sometimes bound together. It would have been physically impossible to collect all these manuscripts, delete portions of them, change portions of them, and add a significant body of material which contradicts reincarnation, and to do all this in such a way that it could not be detected. Where are the early manuscripts that reflect this supposed earlier version of the Bible which is said to support reincarnation? There are none. We do have one statement by Origen (about 185-254 AD) that "the dogma of transmigration" (that is, reincarnation) is not "anywhere set forth in the scriptures" (quoted in Gudel, Bowman and Schlesinger, "Reincarnation - Did the Church Suppress It?", Christian Research Journal, Summer, 1987, at p. 10). The text of the Bible as we have it has been examined by hundreds of scholars and has been shown to be accurate. I think we should stay with it. And I believe that it leaves no room for reincarnation. [link to www.scriptureinsights.com] |
Anonymous Coward (OP) User ID: 19212647 United States 07/12/2012 12:48 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | The True Rebirth Scripture talks about two, and only two, kinds of "rebirth", if I may use the term. One is a spiritual rebirth which can happen during a single lifetime to those who accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord. The other is physical resurrection which happens only once in the end times; the resurrection body which people then receive never dies. Neither has anything to do with reincarnation. The fact that Scripture does talk about rebirth, but in terms which clearly exclude reincarnation, is, to me, persuasive evidence that there is no place in Scripture for reincarnation. "Born Again" Jesus said "No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" (John 3:3). He was not talking about a physical rebirth, but a spiritual one. (Indeed, the Greek anothen is sometimes translated born "from above".) He said, "No one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit" (John 3:5-6). He was talking about a spiritual change within the same physical body during one lifetime. The passage has nothing to do with reincarnation. Other Scriptures refer to this spiritual change. Paul said "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2). The word translated "transformed" is metamorphoo; it refers to a change as drastic as that by which a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. He said "If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17). He spoke of putting off the "old self" and putting on the "new self" (Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:9-10). Paul talks about dying and being buried with Christ in order that "we may live a new life." "Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Romans 6:4, 11). He said "I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). John says that there are two kinds of people, "children of God" and "children of the devil" (1 John 3:10). When we accept Jesus we change from one to the other. We become adopted sons of God (John 1:12-13; Romans 8:15-17; Galatians 2:16). God "has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves" (Colossians 1:13). This is the true new birth. It is marvelous and life-changing. It is something that occurs, through God's power, during a single earthly lifetime. It is totally opposed to the new birth that reincarnationists speak of. [link to www.scriptureinsights.com] |
Anonymous Coward (OP) User ID: 19212647 United States 07/12/2012 12:50 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Does the Bible Teach Reincarnation? The New Age - A New Twist Scripture Twisting: Reincarnation In order to gain support for their position, the New Age teachers/leaders turn right around and try to use the Bible (which they claim has been corrupted and expunged of reincarnation) to prove Christianity teaches reincarnation. Four passages are most frequently used to prove that the Bible teaches reincarnation: Matthew 11:13-15, Matthew 17:10-13; John 9:1-3; John 3:3; and Galatians 6:7-8. Matthew 11 & 17 In Matthew 11 and 17 (parallel passage Mark 9:11-13) Jesus refers to John the Baptist as the coming again of Elijah. Is Jesus teaching that Elijah was reincarnated as John the Baptists? Surely not. Another coming of Elijah was prophesied by Malachi (4:5-6) to occur before judgment day. Elijah didn't experience physical death as he was translated into heaven (2 Kings 2:1). Elijah still maintained his own identity and being as he was seen with Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration after John the Baptist was born (Matthew 17:1-3). A good principle of Bible interpretation is to allow Scripture to interpret Scripture. The explanation of Jesus' reference is given in Luke 1:17 by Zechariah when he declared that John would go in the "power and spirit of Elijah," thus fulfilling Malachi 4:5-6. As Elisha received the mantle of the "spirit of Elijah" and was obviously not a reincarnation of Elijah, John too held the same office and function of Eljiah the prophet. John even clearly stated that he was not literally Elijah (John 1:21). John 9 In the John 9 passage, the disciples speculated on why a man was born blind. The disciples were not referring to reincarnation, although, at the time similar doctrines were propagated through the pagan religions which had emanated from Babylonia and Persia. Instead the disciples were almost certainly referring to the false beliefs of some Jewish Rabbis that all sickness is a result of sin and that infants could sin in the womb before birth. Biblical scholar, F.F. Bruce, cites the rabbinical commentary, Geneses Rabba 63.6, and explains, "It does sometimes happen that men and women are themselves responsible in part for physical ailments.... But it is not usually so,.... The idea that an infant might sin while still in the womb, however, appears to have been entertained by some rabbis, and the disciples may have thought it possible" (The Gospel of John, p. 208). The important point is, despite what ever the disciples meant by the question, their presuppositions were wrong. Jesus answered and corrected them by saying "neither" is the cause, but that what God will do in or through this malady is the answer and reason. In other words, in order to bring glory to God through the situation. John 3 In John 3:3, some reincarnationists insist that to be born again must mean a previous birth. But again, the context demonstrates another meaning. Born physically the first time and spiritually the second, while still living the first birth life (John 3:3-5). Comparing Scripture with Scripture bears out that it is the regeneration brought about by God, the Holy Spirit indwelling a believer (John 14:16-17, 16:5-15; 1 Peter 1:3, 23; 2 Corinthians 5:17). Galatians 6 In Galatians 6:7-8, there is not even an implied reference to reincarnation. The immediate context, chapter context, and the whole New Testament is consistent with an understanding of the consequences of sin and negative character development contrasted to walking in the Spirit and obeying Christ for those who are heaven-bound. More Distortion Another distinctive doctrine of the New Age is that there is no Sovereign God separate from and ruling over creation and mankind, instead man is intrinsically God within Himself. Again, Dr. Curtis stated on the Oprah Winfrey Show, "Where is one to go to find the Divine Self, except within. The greatest teacher even once said, `the kingdom of God is within'" (video on file). This often repeated verse (Luke 17:21) is used by New Agers to show that Jesus taught that the search for the divine is inside oneself. The interpretation consistent with the context and the rest of Scripture is that Jesus, the King, is ushering in the kingdom of God with His reign over the creation, and in the hearts of man. It is a spiritual reign which will produce righteousness and peace (Romans 15:17; Luke 23:3; Ephesians 1:18-23; John 1:12). Jesus taught that the proper response to this kingdom is repentance and faith in His gospel (Mark 1:14). Also, only those who have been born again enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:3-5) and Jesus is addressing the Pharisees in Luke. All evidence points to the spiritual realm of Christ. Psalm 46:10 and John 8:58 Two other passages used by New Agers to indicate man is God are Psalm 46:10, "Be still, and know that I am God...," and John 8:58 (Exodus 3:14-15), "Before Abraham was, I AM." Shirley MacLaine writes about this enlightened state in which man is God saying, "when that awareness is achieved, I will be aligned completely with that unseen Divine Force that we call God. Since I am part of that force, then I AM that I AM" (Dancing in the Light, p. 420). Unity School of Christianity leader, Eric Butterworth, writes, "Praying to God about things is taking the name of the Lord in vain.... God is present as the reality of you. There is no where to go, no one to reach for - only a Presence to experience and feel at one with. The need is to be still and know that I AM" (How to Break the Ten Commandments, p. 38). Oprah asked Shirley MacLaine, "When you were asking yourself these questions [Who am I?; What's the purpose of my life?; What happens when I die?] the answers that came back were?" MacLaine: "First, I had to learn to meditate... I learned to be quiet, to be still inside, to just say,`what shall I do about this?' and boom, the answer would come" (emphasis added). Oprah continued, "And that's the same thing the Bible says, `ask and it shall be given, seek and ye shall find'. And when you connected to the higher self, is it what other people call `being born again'?" Shirley responded, "Yeah, probably, although I don't know what their definition of being born again means" (video on file). In the Bible, Peter warns that the untaught and unstable will twist the Scriptures to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16). These typical New Age leaders are trying to force these passages to say the exact opposite from their clear and obvious meaning. All of these passages are actually saying that God is separate from man, that Jesus is the unique God incarnate, and that man must seek Him alone for salvation and communion, not travel inside themselves. [link to www.watchman.org] |
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Huxter User ID: 19622383 United Kingdom 07/12/2012 12:55 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Have a look at the following books; Life and Teaching of the Masters of the Far East, The Only Planet of Choice, Right Use of Will and The Living Word of St John (white Eagle's interpretation of the gospel). Or else, if you don't like to read then ask within to be shown what you seek. Tashi Delek |
Anonymous Coward (OP) User ID: 19212647 United States 07/12/2012 12:56 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Reincarnation Exposed Nearly one-third of Americans now believe in Reincarnation. Reincarnation, in its purest form, comes to us from the Hindu religion. Today it also embraced by most Wiccan groups, New Agers, and others. Reincarnation teaches a birth-death-rebirth cycle based on a person’s Karma. A bad person will come back as a lower form. A good person will be reborn to a higher station in life. If perfection is ever achieved, one may escape this treadmill-like existence and either merge with the divine or melt into the universe. God’s Word reveals that reincarnation is a deception which contradicts both the biblical doctrine of the Resurrection and the observable evidence. Here are some of the many problems with Reincarnation: 1) If Reincarnation is true, mankind should be progressing. Human nature and conduct should be improving. However, the truth is, moral depravity is worsening as the Bible anticipates (Matthew 24:12; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; etc.). 2) The vast majority of the population has no memory of their prior lives. If we’re all a product of previous life-cycles, why don’t we remember our previous lives? How can we work off bad karma if we don’t recognize our prior mistakes? 3) Though there are some who claim to recall past lives, the Bible reveals that demons have existed for millennia. These demons are able to place thoughts in a person’s mind in order to deceive (1 Chronicles 21:1; 1 Timothy 4:1-2; Revelation 12:9; 16:14; etc.). 4) If we are all being recycled, where are all the new babies coming from? There were an estimated 100 million souls a few thousand years ago, but today we’re approaching 7 billion people. Reincarnation denies a Creator God, so where are all these souls coming from? 5) India is the cradle of Reincarnation, yet India is one of the world’s most woeful nations. Though the people are intelligent and industrious, and natural resources abound, cows and rats eat their fill while many humans starve. Countless city streets are awash with filth, lined with starving beggars, and suffering is everywhere. With thousands of years to perfect Reincarnation, and countless gurus and holy men, why isn’t India the shining star of human progress and spiritual evolution? 6) Gandhi stated that Reincarnation is a burden to great to bear. He saw the fruits of this practice around his country. All abroad was hopelessness and despair. 7) To break free from Reincarnation, one must live a harmless life. You can’t even kill a microbe. Yet our immune system kills millions each day. This means there is no hope of ever escaping the wheel of Karma. 8) If you see a beggar wallowing in the gutter don’t you dare help him! He is working off bad Karma. If you help him now, he will just have to come back in another lifetime to work off his bad karma all over again. This is why India had no hospitals or charitable institutions until the coming of Christian missionaries. The truth is Reincarnation offers no hope, provides no answers, ignores the clear evidence, and contradicts our God-given conscience. It is a demonically inspired philosophy intended to keep its adherents slaves to sin and death. [link to www.eternal-productions.org] |
Anonymous Coward (OP) User ID: 19212647 United States 07/12/2012 12:58 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | WHAT DOES HINDUISM TEACH ABOUT REINCARNATION? Traditional Hinduism also teaches the doctrine of a consecutive embodiment of the soul in a series of bodies that could consist of any form of life besides a human being. Erwin W. Lutzer and John F. DeVries write from their book "Satan's "Evangelistic" Strategy For This New Age: "Long before Charles Darwin, the Hindus had their own understanding of evolution, the notion of the gradual development of the soul to higher forms. This evolution can be illustrated by a series of continuous circles, gradually working up the scale. There is neither a beginning nor an end, but an endless process of refinement and perfection. The system slowly but surely purges out the weak, the unfit, the undesirable. . . . Reincarnationism also teaches a kind of devolution as well as evolution. This means that if you accumulate some bad karma you could regress in your journey toward the nothingness of nirvana. You could be a spider or a worm in the life to come. But this aspect of Hinduism is conveniently omitted when marketed for American audiences. The mood in the West is upbeat and optimistic. Everyone is making progress as they complete their cycles. With each round, a better form of life is reached." (2) One is terribly grieved when taking a look at a country like India. India is a country filled with much poverty and one that has been practicing Hinduism for centuries. Many children and adults are helplessly suffering and dying because it is believed that if someone helps another in need, they are actually interfering with their karma. It is believed that if a merciful person does try to help them, that person will get paid back with bad karma in their next life. This is nothing but cruel, selfish religion where no one looks out for anyone else but his or her own self. There is absolutely no conscience as a merciless rich person steps over a poor weeping child dying of sickness and starvation. In India, reincarnation is taught more than any other place, and they also suffer needlessly the most from this appalling theory. In the law of karma there is no forgiveness. How can someone learn from their mistakes in the past if they can't even remember them? This is an utterly absurd and satanic doctrine. THE GOOD NEWS The good news is that we can be forgiven because Jesus has paid the debt of sin in full! There is no payment that is required of us. All we have to do is repent and receive His forgiveness and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). THE RESURRECTION After Jesus death, He was buried and on the third day He rose from the dead! He overcame death! He lives again! "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). All those who have died will also be raised from the dead. Those who have trusted Christ will be raised to everlasting life in heaven, and those who have rejected Christ to everlasting torment, destruction and separation from almighty God. TWO RELIGIONS Lutzer and DeVries sum up the differences between Christianity and other religions; "What is the difference between the experience of the Eastern religions and the experience of the true God? One is self-centered, the other is people-centered; one seeks the experience itself, the other seeks the true God, and the emotional experience connected with it is secondary. Christian joy comes when we look away from ourselves-first to God, then to others". (3) [link to www.fillthevoid.org] |
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Anonymous Coward (OP) User ID: 19212647 United States 07/12/2012 01:04 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Father's Love Letter My Child ~ You may not know me, but I know everything about you ~ Psalm 139:1 I know when you sit down and when you rise up ~ Psalm 139:2 I am familiar with all your ways ~ Psalm 139:3 Even the very hairs on your head are numbered ~ Matthew 10:29-31 For you were made in my image ~ Genesis 1:27 In me you live and move and have your being ~ Acts 17:28 For you are my offspring ~ Acts 17:28 I knew you even before you were conceived ~ Jeremiah 1:4-5 I chose you when I planned creation ~ Ephesians 1:11-12 You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book ~ Psalm 139:15-16 I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live ~ Acts 17:26 You are fearfully and wonderfully made ~ Psalm 139:14 I knit you together in your mother's womb ~ Psalm 139:13 And brought you forth on the day you were born ~ Psalm 71:6 I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me ~ John 8:41-44 I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love ~ 1 John 4:16 And it is my desire to lavish my love on you ~ 1 John 3:1 Simply because you are my child and I am your father ~ 1 John 3:1 I offer you more than your earthly father ever could ~ Matthew 7:11 For I am the perfect father ~ Matthew 5:48 Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand ~ James 1:17 For I am your provider and I meet all your needs ~ Matthew 6:31-33 My plan for your future has always been filled with hope ~ Jeremiah 29:11 My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore ~ Psalm 139:17-18 I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus ~ John 17:23 For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed ~ John 17:26 He is the exact representation of my being ~ Hebrews 1:3 He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you ~ Romans 8:31 And to tell you that I am not counting your sins ~ 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled ~ 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you ~ 1 John 4:10 I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love ~ Romans 8:31-32 If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me ~ 1 John 2:23 And nothing will ever separate you from my love again ~ Romans 8:38-39 Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen ~ Luke 15:7 I have always been Father, and will always be Father ~ Ephesians 3:14-15 I am waiting for you ~ Luke 15:11-32 And I rejoice over you with singing ~ Zephaniah 3:17 [link to www.habeeb.com] |
Anonymous Coward (OP) User ID: 19212647 United States 07/12/2012 01:09 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | The Bible affirms the distinctiveness of individuals in the womb *Jacob and Esau were distinct individuals in the womb (Gen. 25:23; Rom. 9:11-12). *Samson’s mother was not to drink wine, because her son was to be a Nazirite, who would abstain from alcohol (Judges 13:3-5). *Jeremiah and Paul both acknowledged that God formed them in the womb and knew them by name (Jer. 1:5; Gal. 1:15). Isaiah 49:1, 5 affirms the same thing about Messiah. *John the Baptist recognized Jesus while both were still in the womb (Luke 1:35-36, 39-44)! This is an amazing text! Elizabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy when Mary conceived Jesus by the Holy Spirit. Mary went to visit Elizabeth before John was born. Thus Elizabeth would have been in her last trimester, while Mary was in her first trimester. Yet John recognized Jesus in those early months of Mary’s pregnancy! I think that this is the strongest passage that a baby in the womb in the first trimester is a person created in God’s image. We are not free to take the life of such a child just because it is not convenient to have a baby! We have seen that human life is unique in that God created us in His image. The Bible forbids us from shedding innocent blood. Pre-natal human life is fully human and thus precious to God. [link to www.blueworld.co.za] |
Anonymous Coward (OP) User ID: 19212647 United States 07/12/2012 01:18 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Ten Facts about the reliability of scripture: ¨ Fact One: The existence of thousands of Greek and Latin manuscripts, with the papyri and early uncials dating much closer to the originals than for any other ancient literature; ¨ Fact Two: The lack of proven fraud or error on the part of any New Testament author; ¨ Fact Three: The writings of reliable Christian resources outside the New Testament; ¨ Fact Four: The existence of a number of Jewish and secular accounts about Jesus; ¨ Fact Five: Detailed archaeological data concerning the New Testament; ¨ Fact Six: The existence of many powerful enemies of Jesus and the apostolic church who would have proven fraud or pointed out other problems if they could; ¨ Fact Seven: The presence of living eyewitnesses to the events recorded; ¨ Fact Eight: The positive appraisals by conservative and even some liberal authorities bearing on the issue of the genuineness of traditional authorship and the early date of the New Testament books; ¨ Fact Nine: The consistent scholarly, factual reversals of the conclusions of higher criticism that undermine its own foundations and credibility; and ¨ Fact Ten: Legal and other testimony as to New Testament reliability. Fact One: The Bibliographical Test (corroboration from textual transmission) The bibliographical test seeks to determine whether we can reconstruct the original New Testament writings from the extant copies at hand. We have 5,300 Greek manuscripts and manuscript portions, 10,000 Latin Vulgate, and 9,300 other versions, plus 36,000 early (100-300 A.D.) patristic quotations of the New Testament—such that all but a few verses of the entire New Testament could be reconstructed from these alone.5 Few scholars question the general reliability of ancient classical literature on the basis of the manuscripts we possess. Yet this manuscript evidence is vastly inferior to that of the New Testament manuscripts. For example, of sixteen well-known classical authors (Plutarch, Tacitus, Seutonius, Polybius, Thucydides and Xenophon, etc), the total number of extant copies is typically less than ten, and the earliest copies date from 750 to 1600 years after the original manuscript was first penned.6 We need only compare such slim evidence to the mass of biblical documentation involving over 24,000 manuscript portions, manuscripts, and versions, with the earliest fragments and complete copies dating between 50 and 300 years after originally written. Given the fact that the early Greek manuscripts (the Papyri and early Uncials7) date much closer to the originals than for any other ancient literature, and the overwhelming additional abundance of manuscript attestation, any doubt as to the integrity or authenticity of the New Testament text has been removed. Indeed, this kind of evidence is the dream of the historian. No other ancient literature has ever come close to supplying historians and textual critics with such an abundance of data. Dr. F. F. Bruce, the late Ryland’s Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis at the University of Manchester, asserts of the New Testament: "There is no body of ancient literature in the world which enjoys such a wealth of good textual attestation as the New Testament."8 Professor Bruce further comments, "The evidence for our New Testament writings is ever so much greater than the evidence for many writings of classical writers, the authenticity of which no one dreams of questioning. And if the New Testament were a collection of secular writings, their authenticity would generally be regarded as beyond all doubt."9 Further, Dr. Rene Pache remarks of the great Princeton scholar B. B. Warfield that he "goes on to say that the great bulk of the New Testament has been transmitted to us without, or almost without, any variations. It can be asserted with confidence that the sacred text is exact and valid and that no article of faith and no moral precept in it has been distorted or lost."10 It is this wealth of material that has enabled scholars such as Westcott and Hort, Ezra Abbott, Philip Schaff, A. T. Robertson, Norman Geisler and William Nix to place the restoration of the original text at better than 99 percent.11 Thus no other document of the ancient period is as accurately preserved as the New Testament. Hort’s estimate of "substantial variation" for the New Testament is one-tenth of 1 percent; Abbott’s estimate is one-fourth of 1 percent; and even Hort’s figure including trivial variation is less than 2 percent. Sir Frederic Kenyon well summarizes the situation: The number of manuscripts of the New Testament... is so large that it is practically certain that the true reading of every doubtful passage is preserved in some one or another of these ancient authorities. This can be said of no other ancient book in the world. Scholars are satisfied that they possess substantially the true text of the principal Greek and Roman writers whose works have come down to us, of Sophocles, of Thucydides, of Cicero, of Virgil; yet our knowledge depends on a mere handful of manuscripts, whereas the manuscripts of the New Testament are counted by hundreds and even thousands.12 In other words, those who question the reliability of the New Testament must also question the reliability of virtually every ancient writing the world possesses! How can the Bible be rejected when its documentation is one hundred times that of other ancient literature? Because it is impossible to question the world’s ancient classics, it is far more impossible to question the reliability of the New Testament.13 In addition, none of the established New Testament canon is lost or missing, not even a verse, as indicated by variant readings. By comparison, the books of many ancient authors are filled with omissions: 107 of Livy’s 142 books of history are lost, and one-half of Tacitus’ 30 books of Annals and Histories. For Polybius, only five complete books remain from the original forty. Finally, the Gospels are extremely close to the events which they record. The first three can be dated within twenty years of the events cited, and this may even be true for the fourth gospel. This means that all four Gospels were written during the lives of eyewitnesses, and that abundant opportunity existed for those with contrary evidence to examine the witnesses and refute them. The Gospels, then, passes the bibliographical test and must, by far, be graded with the highest mark of any ancient literature we possess. Fact Two: The Internal Evidence Test (corroboration from content accuracy) This test asserts that one is to assume the truthful reporting of an ancient document (and not assume either fraud, incompetence or error) unless the author of the document has disqualified himself by their presence. For example, do the New Testament writers contradict themselves? Is there anything in their writing which causes one to objectively suspect their trustworthiness? Are there statements or assertions in the text which are demonstrably false according to known archaeological, historic, scientific or other data? The answer is no. There is lack of proven fraud or error on the part of any New Testament writer. But there is evidence of careful eyewitness reporting throughout. The caution exercised by the writers, their personal conviction that what they wrote was true and the lack of demonstrable error or contradiction indicate that the Gospel authors and, indeed, all the New Testament authors pass the second test as well (Luke 1:1-4; John 19:35; 21:24; Acts 1:1-3; 2:22; 26:24-26; 2 Peter 1:16; 1 John 1:1-3). For example, the kinds of details the Gospel writers include in their narratives offer strong evidence for their integrity. They record their own sins and failures, even serious ones (Matt. 26:56, 69-75; Mark 10:35-45). They do not hesitate from recording even the most difficult and consequential statements of Jesus (John 6:41-71). They forthrightly supply the embarrassing and even capital charges of Jesus’ own enemies. Thus, even though Jesus was their very Messiah and Lord, they not only record the charges that Jesus broke the Sabbath but also that He was born in fornication, a blasphemer and a liar, insane and demonized (See Matt. 1:19; 26:65; John 7:20,48; 8:41, 48, 52; 10:20, 33, etc.). To encounter such honesty in reporting incidents of this nature gives one assurance that the Gospel writers placed a very high premium on truthfulness. Fact Three: The External Evidence Test (corroboration from reliable sources outside the New Testament) The test of external evidence seeks to either corroborate or falsify the documents on the basis of additional historical literature and data. Is there corroborating evidence outside the Bible for the claims made in the Gospels? Or are the claims of the New Testament successfully refuted by other competent reports or eyewitnesses? Any honest investigation will reveal that the New Testament passes the test. For example, the resurrection itself has never been refuted, even by Jesus’ own enemies, and Luke’s careful historical writing has been documented from detailed, personal archaeological investigation by former critic Sir William Ramsay, who stated after his painstaking research, "Luke’s history is unsurpassed in respect of its trustworthiness."14 A. N. Sherwin-White, the distinguished historian of Rome, stated of Luke: "For [the book of] Acts the confirmation of historicity is overwhelming. Any attempt to reject its basic historicity even in matters of detail must now appear absurd."15 Papias, a student of the Apostle John16 and Bishop of Hierapolis around 150 A.D., observed that the Apostle John himself noted that the Apostle Mark in writing his Gospel "wrote down accurately... whatsoever he [Peter] remembered of the things said or done by Christ. Mark committed no error... for he was careful of one thing, not to omit any of the things he [Peter] had heard, and not to state any of them falsely."17 Further, fragments of Papias’ Exposition of the Oracles of the Lord, ca. 140 A.D. (III, XIX, XX) assert that the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and John are all based on reliable eyewitness testimony (his portion on Luke is missing).18 The relevant bibliographic, internal and external evidence for the New Testament force us to conclude the historical accuracy and reliability of the Gospel accounts. They pass persuasive tests which determine their integrity. Even two hundred years of scholarly rationalistic biblical criticism have proven nothing except that the writers were careful and honest reporters of the events recorded, and that these methods attempting to discredit them were flawed and biased from the start.19 In conclusion, it is not only a demonstrable historical fact that Jesus lived and taught what the New Testament says He lived and taught, it is also a fact that the Bible is the best-documented and most accurately preserved book of ancient history. That means we can trust what the authors say as true. When we examine the evidence for something like the resurrection of Jesus as reported in the new Testament, there is no logical, historical, or other basis upon which to doubt what is written. Fact Four: Corroboration from Non-Christian Sources The existence of both Jewish and secular accounts, to a significant degree, confirm the picture of Christ we have in the New Testament. For example, scholarly research such as that by Dr. Gary R. Habermas in Ancient Evidence for the Life of Jesus, and other texts, indicates that "a broad outline of the life of Jesus" and His death by crucifixion can be reasonably and directly inferred from entirely non-Christian sources.20 Even the resurrection of Christ can be indirectly inferred. Using only the information gleaned from these ancient extra-biblical sources, what can we conclude concerning the death and resurrection of Jesus? Can these events be historically established based on these sources alone? Of the seventeen documents examined in this chapter, eleven different works speak of the death of Jesus in varying amounts of detail, with five of these specifying crucifixion as the mode. When these sources are examined by normal historical procedures used with other ancient documents, the result is conclusive. It is this author’s view that the death of Jesus by crucifixion can be asserted as a historical fact from this data.... The ancient references to the resurrection are fewer and more questionable. Of the seventeen sources, only six either imply or report this occurrence, with four of these works being questioned in our study. Before answering the issue concerning Jesus’ resurrection, we will initially address the cognate point of whether the empty tomb can be established as historical by this extra-biblical evidence alone. There are some strong considerations in its favor. First, the Jewish sources which we have examined admit the empty tomb, thereby providing evidences from hostile documents.... Second, there are apparently no ancient sources which assert that the tomb still contained Jesus’ body. While such an argument from silence does not prove anything, it is made stronger by the first consideration from the hostile sources and further compliments it. Third, our study has shown that Jesus taught in Palestine and was crucified and buried in Jerusalem under Pontius Pilate. These sources assert that Christianity had its beginnings in the same location. But could Christianity have survived in this location, based on its central claim that Jesus was raised from die dead, if the tomb had not been empty? It must be remembered that the resurrection of the body was the predominant view of the first century jewish people. To declare a bodily resurrection if the body was still in a nearby tomb points out the dilemma here. Of all places, evidence was readily available in Jerusalem to disprove this central tenet of Christian belief.21 Fact Five: Corroboration from Archeology There also exists detailed archaeological confirmation for the New Testament documents.22 Dr. Clifford Wilson, author of New Light on the New Testament Letters, New Light on the Gospels, Rock, Relics and Biblical Reliability and a 17-volume set on the archeological confirmation of the Bible writes concerning Luke: Luke demonstrated a remarkably accurate knowledge of geographical and political ideas. He referred correctly to provinces that were established at that time, as indicated in Acts 15:41; 16:2, 6-8. He identified regions, such as that referred to in Acts 13:49, and various cities, as in Acts 14:6. He demonstrated a clear knowledge of local customs, such as those relating to the speech of the Lycaonians (Acts 14:11), some aspects relating to the foreign woman who was converted at Athens (Acts 17:34), and he even knew that the city of Ephesus was known as "the temple-keeper of Artemis" (Acts 19:35).... he refers to different local officers by their exact titles—the proconsul (deputy) of Cyprus (Acts 13:7), the magistrates at Philippi (Acts 16:20, 35), the politarchs (another word for magistrates) at Thessalonica (Acts 17:6), the proconsul ofAchaia (Acts 18:12), and the treasurer at Corinth (Aedile)—which was the title of the man known as Erastus at Corinth (Acts 19:22; Romans 16:23).... Luke had accurate knowledge about various local events such as the famine in the days of Claudius Caesar (Acts 11:29); he was aware that Zeus and Hermes were worshiped together at Lystra, though this was unknown to modern historians (Acts 14:11,12). He knew that Diana or Artemis was especially the goddess of the Ephesians (Acts 19:2); and he was able to describe the trade at Ephesus in religious images (Acts 19:26, 27).... At these points, archaeology has had something significant to say, sometimes where the biblical record had previously seemed to be in error. One good example relates to those magistrates at Philippi. In Acts 16:20, 35 we read of the magistrates being referred to as "praetors.’ Strictly, their title should have been duumvir, but it was as though they called themselves, "senior magistrates" instead of magistrates." Ramsay showed by an inscription recovered in another Roman colony, Capua, that Cicero had spoken of the magistrates: "Although they are called duumvirs in the other colonies, these men wish to be called praetors." This is a point at which critics had thought Luke was in error, but the fact is Luke was better informed than those who opposed him. His writings constantly bear this impress of authenticity. He was an eyewitness of so much that is recorded in the Acts, and the source documents have now been recognized as first-class historical writings.23 This is only a minuscule portion of the data underlying his conclusion that "Those who know the facts now recognize that the New Testament must be accepted as a remarkably accurate source book."24 Fact Six: Corroboration from Enemies’ Silence The complete inability of the numerous enemies of Jesus and the early Church to discredit Christian claims (when they had both the motive and ability to do so) also argues strongly for their veracity, especially in light of the dramatic nature of those claims (e.g., concerning Christ’s messiahship and resurrection) and the relative ease of disproof (documenting Jesus’ failure to fulfill specific prophecies; producing Jesus’ body). (50% rule observed - [link to www.ankerberg.com] |
CoinGuy User ID: 15034084 United States 07/12/2012 01:19 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | You get one go through in this life and then the judgement. That's fair enough. If you can't do enough good in one life, no amount of lives are going to do it unless you believe in the Ground Hog Day doctrine. lol But if this were a merry go round wouldn't the world be a better place by now. duh. The risk reward is also fair. It's either going to be the blackness of death and no longer being aware, or escaping to either heaven, or hell and NOT some sort of random etherica afterlife. But most people nowadays can't think in terms absolutes, so I say to each his own, good luck and I mind my own business. What is really the big deal? Everything needs to be looked in risk/reward perspective. choose wisely. |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 18393173 Australia 07/12/2012 01:28 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Truth..you will reincarnate..does not matter what you think...or what you think you are reading Quoting: Anonymous Coward 2221227 I'm afraid so! You dont have to 'believe' in, say, electricity for it to work, you just flick the light switch & it will work, whether you're a 'believer' of it, or have been brainwashed into 'Harry Potter' type nonsense by your community, that electricity is a lie. and quite frankly, the Abrahamist brainwashing of the three flavours (Christian, Judaism & Christianity) are really as absurd as a Lord of the Rings story. |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 18393173 Australia 07/12/2012 01:30 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Truth..you will reincarnate..does not matter what you think...or what you think you are reading Quoting: Anonymous Coward 2221227 I'm afraid so! You dont have to 'believe' in, say, electricity for it to work, you just flick the light switch & it will work, whether you're a 'believer' of it, or have been brainwashed into 'Harry Potter' type nonsense by your community, that electricity is a lie. and quite frankly, the Abrahamist brainwashing of the three flavours (Christian, Judaism & Christianity) are really as absurd as a Lord of the Rings story. so it doesnt matter what your 'holy' bible says, reincarnation occurs |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 554016 United States 07/12/2012 01:32 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 1711362 Canada 07/12/2012 01:33 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Truth..you will reincarnate..does not matter what you think...or what you think you are reading Quoting: Anonymous Coward 2221227 You will reincarnate if you want to come back again ;) We have a choice on the other side... There's no choice. Unless you become fully enlightened like the buddha you have absolutely zero choice. You are stuck in this samsara and cycle of life and death. The whole point of enlightenment is to stop this cycle. |
Anonymous Coward (OP) User ID: 19212647 United States 07/12/2012 01:37 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | HASN'T THE BIBLE BEEN CHANGED? Concerning the Old Testament, now that the Dead Sea Scrolls have been found with an incredibly high textual integrity to modern versions--yet pre-dating the first century by 100s of years--this time-worn assertion betrays a certain ignorance. The texts found at Qumran are the SAME as we have today in our Jewish and Christian Bibles. Remember that an entire Isaiah scroll was found at Qumran INTACT. This is proof POSITIVE that the texts were not altered in and around and after the first century. (It is also ironic, because before the Qumran discovery Isaiah had long been viciously attacked as "obviously" written after the crucifixion of Christ--as its prophecies are descriptive and exact.) The nature of the way the New Testament was spread allows for any errors or changes to be fairly accurately traced, as is the case for the minuscule modifications and additions. The "gospels" and "letters" which make up the New Testament were sent from town to town, copied and distributed from city to city. Thus, we have thousands of manuscripts or fragments of the New Testament texts, all with VERY HIGH textual consistency. The differences are minor and noted in most new translations, and we take the earliest ones as most accurate. None of the differences have any doctrinal significance. And every time a new manuscript is found it is virtually identical to what we already have. Thus 1) by the nature of the way it was copied, and 2) by the evidence of the manuscripts we have, and 3) in light of recent archeological discoveries, both the Old and New Testaments of scripture have to be regarded as reliable and significantly unchanged. There is NO evidence to the contrary, although many would wish it so. Asserting that the moon is made of cheese sort of ruins your credibility in the modern world, and especially among serious astronomers, where only a few decades ago this was a semi-serious lark. The same can be said for those who still (against all archaeology and history) claim that the biblical texts have been significantly altered. The Bible is as advertised, and, interestingly enough, no other documents in human history are as solid. Having even two or three manuscripts with 50-60% textual integrity is enough to validate any other person's life and times. We Christians have THOUSANDS and counting, with the highest textual integrity of ANY documents of antiquity, all written contemporaneously to the events, under duress and threat of death, and we STILL get second-guessed by people like the "Jesus Project" who do not like the consistent texts they see and want to "edit" the history. Maybe something else is going on here besides scholarship and logic, eh? As God likes to say in his revelation, "Men have no excuse..." "For they have rejected Me..." [link to www.acts17-11.com] |
Anonymous Coward (OP) User ID: 19212647 United States 07/12/2012 01:40 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | The Dead Sea Scrolls prove the accuracy of the transmission of the Bible. In fact, in these scrolls discovered at Qumran in 1947, we have Old Testament manuscripts that date about a thousand years earlier (150 B.C.) than the other Old Testament manuscripts then in our possession (which dated to A.D. 900). The significant thing is that when one compares the two sets of manuscripts, it is clear that they are essentially the same, with very few changes. The fact that manuscripts separated by a thousand years are essentially the same indicates the incredible accuracy of the Old Testament's manuscript transmission. A full copy of the Book of Isaiah was discovered at Qumran. Even though the two copies of Isaiah discovered in Qumran Cave 1 near the Dead Sea in 1947 were a thousand years earlier than the oldest dated manuscript previously known (A.D. 980), they proved to be word for word identical with our standard Hebrew Bible in more than 95 percent of the text. The 5 percent of variation consisted chiefly of obvious slips of the pen and variations in spelling." From manuscript discoveries like the Dead Sea Scrolls, Christians have undeniable evidence that today's Old Testament Scripture, for all practical purposes, is exactly the same as it was when originally inspired by God and recorded in the Bible. Combine this with the massive amount of manuscript evidence we have for the New Testament, and it is clear that the Christian Bible is a trustworthy and reliable book. The Dead Sea Scrolls prove that the copyists of biblical manuscripts took great care in going about their work. These copyists knew they were duplicating God's Word, so they went to incredible lengths to prevent error from creeping into their work. The scribes carefully counted every line, word, syllable, and letter to ensure accuracy. Manuscript Evidence for the New Testament There are more than 24,000 partial and complete manuscript copies of the New Testament. These manuscript copies are very ancient and they are available for inspection now. There are also some 86,000 quotations from the early church fathers and several thousand Lectionaries (church-service books containing Scripture quotations used in the early centuries of Christianity). Bottom line: the New Testament has an overwhelming amount of evidence supporting its reliability. The Variants in the New Testament Manuscripts Are Minimal In the many thousands of manuscript copies we possess of the New Testament, scholars have discovered that there are some 150,000 "variants." This may seem like a staggering figure to the uninformed mind. But to those who study the issue, the numbers are not so damning as it may initially appear. Indeed, a look at the hard evidence shows that the New Testament manuscripts are amazingly accurate and trustworthy. To begin, we must emphasize that out of these 150,000 variants, 99 percent hold virtually no significance whatsoever. Many of these variants simply involve a missing letter in a word; some involve reversing the order of two words (such as "Christ Jesus" instead of "Jesus Christ"); some may involve the absence of one or more insignificant words. Really, when all the facts are put on the table, only about 50 of the variants have any real significance - and even then, no doctrine of the Christian faith or any moral commandment is effected by them. For more than ninety-nine percent of the cases the original text can be reconstructed to a practical certainty. Even in the few cases where some perplexity remains, this does not impinge on the meaning of Scripture to the point of clouding a tenet of the faith or a mandate of life. Thus, in the Bible as we have it (and as it is conveyed to us through faithful translations) we do have for practical purposes the very Word of God, inasmuch as the manuscripts do convey to us the complete vital truth of the originals. By practicing the science of textual criticism - comparing all the available manuscripts with each other - we can come to an assurance regarding what the original document must have said. Let us suppose we have five manuscript copies of an original document that no longer exists. Each of the manuscript copies are different. Our goal is to compare the manuscript copies and ascertain what the original must have said. Here are the five copies: Manuscript #1: Jesus Christ is the Savior of the whole worl. Manuscript #2: Christ Jesus is the Savior of the whole world. Manuscript #3: Jesus Christ s the Savior of the whole world. Manuscript #4: Jesus Christ is th Savior of the whle world. Manuscript #5: Jesus Christ is the Savor of the whole wrld. Could you, by comparing the manuscript copies, ascertain what the original document said with a high degree of certainty that you are correct? Of course you could. This illustration may be extremely simplistic, but a great majority of the 150,000 variants are solved by the above methodology. By comparing the various manuscripts, all of which contain very minor differences like the above, it becomes fairly clear what the original must have said. Most of the manuscript variations concern matters of spelling, word order, tenses, and the like; no single doctrine is affected by them in any way. We must also emphasize that the sheer volume of manuscripts we possess greatly narrows the margin of doubt regarding what the original biblical document said. If the number of [manuscripts] increases the number of scribal errors, it increases proportionately the means of correcting such errors, so that the margin of doubt left in the process of recovering the exact original wording is not so large as might be feared; it is in truth remarkably small. [link to home.earthlink.net] |
Anonymous Coward (OP) User ID: 19212647 United States 07/12/2012 01:41 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Truth..you will reincarnate..does not matter what you think...or what you think you are reading Quoting: Anonymous Coward 2221227 You will reincarnate if you want to come back again ;) We have a choice on the other side... There's no choice. Unless you become fully enlightened like the buddha you have absolutely zero choice. You are stuck in this samsara and cycle of life and death. The whole point of enlightenment is to stop this cycle. actually, Buddha's self-proposed enlightenment means that he ceases to exist on the cycle of birth and rebirth. technically that means that he ceases to exist completely. that's a goal to strive for? |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 13118974 United States 07/12/2012 01:42 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | We are coming to an end to our cycle of life in this 3D reality and we are still back at talking about whether we live multiple lives. Come on! Haven't you people grown at all in this lifetime? Of course we have had many, many lives. Duh. So many words for such a obvious answer. There is SO much more to learn beyond this. Better hurry... |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 1098648 United States 07/12/2012 01:42 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward (OP) User ID: 19212647 United States 07/12/2012 01:42 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
msz User ID: 19613661 United States 07/12/2012 01:43 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward (OP) User ID: 19212647 United States 07/12/2012 01:43 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | The New Testament Versus Other Ancient Books By comparing the manuscript support for the Bible with manuscript support for other ancient documents and books, it becomes overwhelmingly clear that no other ancient piece of literature can stand up to the Bible. Manuscript support for the Bible is unparalleled! There are more [New Testament] manuscripts copied with greater accuracy and earlier dating than for any secular classic from antiquity. Rene Pache adds, "The historical books of antiquity have a documentation infinitely less solid." Dr. Benjamin Warfield concludes, "If we compare the present state of the text of the New Testament with that of no matter what other ancient work, we must...declare it marvelously exact." Norman Geisler makes several key observations for our consideration: No other book is even a close second to the Bible on either the number or early dating of the copies. The average secular work from antiquity survives on only a handful of manuscripts; the New Testament boasts thousands. The average gap between the original composition and the earliest copy is over 1,000 years for other books. The New Testament, however, has a fragment within one generation from its original composition, whole books within about 100 years from the time of the autograph [original manuscript], most of the New Testament in less than 200 years, and the entire New Testament within 250 years from the date of its completion. The degree of accuracy of the copies is greater for the New Testament than for other books that can be compared. Most books do not survive with enough manuscripts that make comparison possible. From this documentary evidence, then, it is clear that the New Testament writings are superior to comparable ancient writings. "The records for the New Testament are vastly more abundant, clearly more ancient, and considerably more accurate in their text." [link to home.earthlink.net] |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 11026575 United States 07/12/2012 01:45 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | You can pile the Bible scriptures a mile high but they prove nothing. When ordinary people undergo regression hypnosis, that bypasses their conscious mind and reveals the underlying spiritual consciousness, ALL say the same thing, that reincarnation is a fact, and all of us go through many lives to learn lessons to advance as spirit beings. Read Michael Newton's Journey of Souls to check it out. ALL other regression hypnosis professionals find the same thing. As Mark Twain once said, "Is it any more remarkable that are reborn many times than just once." |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 1339524 United States 07/12/2012 01:46 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward (OP) User ID: 19212647 United States 07/12/2012 01:47 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Reincarnation is directly opposite the teaching of the Word of God I seems strange to me that one would try aligning reincarnation with Bible. We can be sure reincarnation is not true, because it is against God's Word. How can I say that? (A) The teaching of reincarnation does away with God's dealing with individuals. The Bible teaches that “Everyone shall give an account of himself before God.” This mean, of course, the each person is one human being, not one who has been several different persons, who must give an account of himself to God. The Bible teaches, “Prepare to meet THY God.” This judgment will be a personal interview with Almighty God! (B) The teaching of reincarnation does away with the need of being saved immediately. Reincarnation and the Bible 2 The Bible is plain, “Now accepted time, today is the day of salvation!” Reincarnation teaches that if you don’t get right with God in this life, you will have an opportunity in some other life. (C) The teaching of reincarnation does away with teaching of passing immediately into heaven or hell after physical death Jesus lifts the lid off of the scene in hell and shows a man in real torments, real pain and thirst, in a real hell (Luke 16). Paul assures the Christian of immediately passing into the presence of Lord after physical death – Philippians 1:21-23, “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor, yet what I shall choose I know not. For I am in a strait between two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far batter.” 2 Corinthians 5:8 is clear, “Absent in the body, present with the Lord!” Second, Reincarnation is in line with the methods of Satan Some say that all experiments of reincarnation are hoaxes or frauds, and none of them are true. I'm not so sure of that! Turn to the Old Testament, 1 Samuel 28 and watch King Saul as he is faced with a staggering problem, and he turns to, what Scripture calls, “familiar spirit.” Saul heard alright – he heard Satan's demons. According to one hypnotist when a subject answers, “He takes on a personality of the individual who lived previously.” He continues explaining, “I am not talking to the subject at all, but to a personality who lived years ago, something, someone, within the persons who is answering me, rather than the person himself.” With this in mind, turn to Luke 8:28-31 and read, “When he (the maniac) saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, `What have I to do with thee, Jesus, Thou Son of God most high? I beseech Thee torment me not.' - (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him; and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.) - And Jesus asked him, saying, `What is thy name?' And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him. And they besought Him that He would not command them to go out into the deep.” It was not the maniac who answered Jesus, but rather, it was the “evil spirit” within the maniac. Note another method Satan uses. In Isaiah 14:13-14, God is speaking of Satan, who was once an angel in Heaven, God says, “For thou hast said in thine heart, ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stares of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the most High.’” Satan desires to be like God. His ambition is to copy the Most High God. This character of Satan is shown in: 1. The claim of a previous existence. Reincarnation claims, “We existed before our earthly birth.” Jesus Christ is the only One Who lived before His birth on earth. Reincarnation says, “What if Christ is eternal, everyone is!” 2. Reincarnation teaches the incarnation of ALL men. Philippians 2:6-8 teaches that only Christ was incarnate, when it states, “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” 3. Another peculiarity of reincarnation brought out by hypnotist is “the ability of the subject to speak language of the country they claim to have lived in.” Satan said, “I will be like (copy) God.” Speaking in tongues, supernaturally, by the power of the Holy Spirit is something God promised the believer. Satan attempts to copy this precious gift that God has given. Third, Reincarnation presents a wrong issue to man Reincarnation is not only contrary to the Bible, employs the methods Satan uses, but it, also, presents the wrong issues to man. The doctrine of reincarnation turns man's mind from the real issue to issues that do not exist. It teaches falsehoods. Our great concern should not be “reincarnation” – but Christ's INcarnation (God becoming man). Pilate asked, “What shall I do with Jesus which is called the Christ?” The question needs to settle. The answer settles our eternal destiny! The question is not, “Was I been born before?” – but, rather, “Have I been born again?” I’m not looking forward to a time of being born into another human body – that’s hampered with sin and sickness, but rather, I’m looking forward to the time, “When Christ shall change our vile bodies to be fashioned like unto His glorious body.” Fourth, The Word of God teaches that we have one physical body – and one physical death – that will appear before one judgment. I have pointed out the errors of reincarnation and the dangerous effects of believing this teaching. Reincarnation teaches “a way of salvation” that is contrary to the Bible. If you die without Christ, only hell awaits you, not some other life. [link to www.netbiblestudy.com] |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 1492295 United States 07/12/2012 01:47 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |