The Heresy That Keeps Coming Back: Reincarnation

 

I was having dinner recently with an old friend of mine from law school. He is a "conservative" member of the Vatican II sect, and it is my hope to see him convert one day. He was upset about a recent exchange between himself and a paralegal. He had asked the paralegal to do some extra work for him (he was in a bind) and he would make sure she got some extra time off when she wanted it. The lady (in her mid 30s) agreed. When she handed him the completed work, he said jokingly, "I'll give you some more tough work soon!" She responded, "That's fine. In my next life, I'll be your boss and get even!" My friend replied, "You only get one life." "No," she retorted, "reincarnation was taught even among early Christians." She later gave him a pamphlet, which my friend took out of his pocket and gave to me. "Is there any truth to this?" my friend asked. I assured him there was not. 

There is a movement afoot that is trying to convince people that you can believe in reincarnation and be Catholic. This post will expose and refute such claims, showing reincarnation to be both a heretical and evil teaching. N.B. I have complied this information from many sources in addition to the ones cited, which includes many online articles and books I have acquired. I take no credit for the information, only for condensing it into a terse and readable post---Introibo

What is Reincarnation?

According to a 2018 Pew Research Poll, 36% of Vatican II sect members believe in the pagan teaching of reincarnation; up from 28% just eight years earlier. Reincarnation is the belief that people's souls go through cycles of birth, death, and re-birth until they achieve Nirvana (which means to be "blown out" like a candle) so as to escape the cycle and achieve "oneness" with the universe (a type of pantheism). The idea that people keep "coming back" as other people after death continues to grow in popularity  while the notion of returning as another life form, e.g., a dog, is by and large  rejected by "modern reincarnationists."

(See pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/10/01/new-age-beliefs-common-among-both-religious-and-nonreligious-americans).

 Before 1965, almost all who believed in reincarnation were either Hindus or Buddhists. Since then, there are those who have converted to those pagan religions because of that doctrine. Now, there's the new development (especially in the wake of Vatican II) of "mixing and matching" beliefs to fit personal desires about what people want to be true rather than seeking truth itself--even to the point where chosen ideas are mutually exclusive.  There are three major reasons for this continuing rise and acceptance of reincarnation: 

1. Ecumenism fostered by Vatican II. 

The Vatican II Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions, Nostra Aetate,  states in paragraph #2:

Thus in Hinduism, men contemplate the divine mystery and express it through an unspent fruitfulness of myths and through searching philosophical inquiry. They seek release from the anguish of our human condition through ascetical practices or deep meditation or a loving, trusting flight toward God... Buddhism, in its various forms, realizes the radical insufficiency of this changeable world; it teaches a way by which men, in a devout and confident spirit, may be able either to acquire the state of perfect liberation, or attain, by their own efforts or through higher help, supreme illumination...The Catholic (sic) Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men.

There is no condemnation of these pagan religions both of which teach reincarnation, instead they are lauded. Reincarnation was explicitly condemned in the schema of the Dogmatic Constitution De Deposito Fide Pure Custodiendo, which was drawn up by thoroughly orthodox theologians and canonists under the direction of Cardinal Ottaviani during the preparatory phrase of the Council. Roncalli saw to it that it was rejected and replaced by the Council because of its paucity of "ecumenical character." The heretical ecclesiology of Vatican II makes it clear that even pagan religions have "elements of truth," and that "all paths lead to God." If so, why not choose "the path of least resistance"? 

Accepting reincarnation erodes morals because you can live like a heathen and there is no Hell, just another life to try and "get it right" and achieve nirvana, which is basically extinction--so no one suffers in the end. This wicked idea would mean that there is no real difference between being Joseph Stalin or St Francis of Assisi; Stalin would only need to be reincarnated more times than St. Francis. If the Church (sic) "regards with sincere reverence...those precepts and teachings...differing in many aspects from the ones she (sic) holds and sets forth..." why not be a "reincarnation-believing Catholic (sic)"? 

2. Occultism.

 As I've warned many times, we are experiencing an occult revival unseen since before the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Reincarnation is integral to the occult both philosophically and experimentally. All that I've researched indicates the following: (1) people who have reincarnation experiences are usually occult practitioners, or have occult activity in their family history. Again, reincarnation experiences usually occur within an occult environment—culturally or individually; (2) Almost all occultists teach reincarnation and most committed reincarnationists hold to at least some beliefs common to occult philosophy or practice. Books authored by reincarnationists typically encourage occult activity or teach occult doctrines—e.g., books by Jeane Dixon, Edgar Cayce, etc.; (3) Conversely, numerous occult disciplines depend upon reincarnation as a major component—Astrology, Tarot, parapsychology, spiritism, etc. For example, although it might not be initially evident in general, reincarnation is a principal pillar undergirding both mediumistic and spiritistic philosophy and practice. 

If reincarnation is true, there are millions of spirits who exist in the postmortem spiritual world. Contrary to popular opinion, “the great majority of reincarnationists believe that death is not immediately followed by reincarnation in the new body. In the Bhagavad Gita the interval is spoken of as a “immensity of years,” and in the Republic Plato speaks of a thousand-year cycle.​ Other cultures vary from several months to several years; the point is that because of a belief in reincarnation, endless numbers of human spirits are believed to exist in the spirit world. As humans, they have an interest in human affairs. They are learning and/or otheby those with proper mediumistic “gifts” and gleaned for their postmortem “wisdom.” 

Reincarnation thus supports the specifically mediumistic hypothesis of discarnate humans in the spirit world who may be contacted for human welfare. Spiritism, in general, believes that the spirits contacted are the human dead existing in the postmortem state prior to their next incarnation. The underlying premise of the concept of a spirit guide is that because it has lived life already, it has gleaned new wisdom from its postmortem experience and may convey that wisdom to humans; it is indeed a qualified spiritual guide who can more successfully lead and direct one’s life. In this view, since unrepentant humans do not go to judgment at death but are floating around in the spirit world, the Church must be in error when it teaches otherwise. 

Personal contact (as in mediumism) with what are actually demonic entities is reinterpreted as contact with deceased, but now more spiritually advanced humans—something much more acceptable and desirable. After all, if humanity naturally progresses into the next life, why should we not contact them? Indeed, what a fascinating, hopeful endeavor—such is the drawing power of mediumism and the reason demons support the practice. After all, social and personal relationships exist here; why should we prohibit the joy of fellowship with our friends, family—even noble strangers—from the other side, when it is to our benefit? They are, after all, just people. Why not contact them for comfort, spiritual insight, (they do live in the spiritual world), wisdom, help, secret information, etc.? How are we to engage in such contact? By means of the local occultist—guru, medium, spiritist, etc. A belief in reincarnation provides demons with the opportunity to act out their own natures, especially in poltergeist and related phenomena. If some spirits were evil humans, fulfilling their karma in this life, and have not repented in the afterlife, they can be expected to be brutish, deceiving and cruel. In any case, they believe they are still dealing with the spirits of humans, not the spirits of demons.

 In the field of parapsychology, reincarnation research is a common theme, and it further “endorses” the above conclusions with a “scientific” acceptance. Reincarnation “evidence” is almost universally derived from occultism—certain altered altered states of consciousness (trance, hypnosis, meditation, yogic consciousness), mediumism and other forms of possession. In the millions of pages of published revelations from the spirit world, reincarnation is one teaching that is stressed by them as having pivotal importance—i.e., it is a major doctrine or revelation from the spirit world, regardless of the variety of spiritism it occurs in. It is, in fact, so common to spiritistic revelations, so integral to occultism, and so consequential spiritually and culturally, that I suspect the origin of the doctrine was from the spirit world at the outset. 

3. Pantheism. 

Pantheism, either asserts that the universe and God are identical (which is basically atheism with reverence for nature), or nature is an integral part of God (for example, my heart is not me, but an essential part without which I cannot survive). Allegedly, the true nature of everything, including humanity, is impersonal divinity. Our true nature has nothing to do with material or personal existence. The only problem is that we do not yet realize it. Everything is "god" including "you." The message, "You are God" makes you feel important and powerful. Pantheism was condemned as heresy by the Vatican Council of 1870. 

Infallibly taught by the Vatican Council of 1870:

1. If anyone shall deny One true God, Creator and Lord of things visible and invisible; let him be anathema. 

2. If anyone shall not be ashamed to affirm that, except matter, nothing exists; let him be anathema. 

3. If anyone shall say that the substance and essence of God and of all things is one and the same; let him be anathema. 

4. If anyone shall say that finite things, both corporeal and spiritual, or at least spiritual, have emanated from the Divine substance; or that the Divine essence, by the manifestation and evolution of itself, becomes all things; or, lastly, that God is a universal or indefinite being, which by determining itself constitutes the universality of things, distinct according to genera, species and individuals; let him be anathema. 

Vatican II "Theologians" and Reincarnation

Even despite an increasing phenomenon of both secularization and paganization, to say something is “biblical” makes it sound profound or tends to legitimize it spiritually. Likewise, to say something was a teaching of Jesus means it must be good and wise and godly. Thus, as is true in parapsychology, yoga and other occult disciplines, there exists in the area of reincarnation many books defending the idea that Christianity and reincarnation are indeed compatible. One hears of Christian reincarnation in the exact same way one hears of "Christian parapsychology," "Christian yoga," "Christian Zen," and "Christian Marxism." The result is the promotion of the latter half of the equation with at best a normal or weak Christian veneer.

A leading proponent of "Christian Reincarnation" is Vatican II sect "theologian"  John J. Heaney (1925-2017) who received his doctorate in theology from the Institut Catholique in Paris. He taught theology at Fordham University where he specialized in fundamental theology and Christian revelation. One of his major texts is entitled, The Sacred and the Psychic: Parapsychology and Christian Theology, [1984]. This is an integrative text seeking to incorporate/integrate the findings of the present-day scientific study of the occult with Christian revelation. For example, he accepts the parapsychological investigation of mediumism and seeks to apply its findings to "Catholic" faith. In his chapter on reincarnation, Heany stated: Should a Christian theologian deny outright that reincarnation might be a reality? Must he reject reincarnation because of Christian doctrine? This would seem to me to be most inappropriate. (pg. 192)

Heaney continues:

Notice that after New Testament times, the Catholic tradition, basing itself merely a few hints in Scripture, developed the doctrine of purgatory. The ethical idea behind this evolution seems to have been that since life is so short, we do not all reach the goal at the end. Think, for example, of infants who die. We need a slow process of maturation. Whether this would be on this earth or in the next world would not seem to be the major point. Later, as the doctrine of evolution moved into religion, as with Teilhard de Chardin, the slow processes of the universe are seen by many, even by Protestant thinkers today, to continue after death. Why should this law of slow maturing in the evolutionary process operate everywhere in the universe but end suddenly with a person’s death? (pgs. 216-217). 

Gone are the days of the approved theologians using razor-sharp Neo-Scholastic reasoning under the direction of the Magisterium in compiling theology manuals. The comparison of reincarnation to Purgatory is a blasphemous joke. Moreover, Heaney goes on to refute that reincarnation is compatible with Catholicism, and yet affirms if anyway (!):

The most formidable theological objection to reincarnation is that Jesus did not teach it and it is not proposed in the New Testament (nor in the Old Testament). This is a strong objection.... It would be inconceivable that Jesus implicitly accepted a doctrine of reincarnation. In the New Testament we have the parable of the last judgment (Matthew 25:31) where no second chance is implied, and the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19) where the rich man is unable to return to earth to warn his five brothers about the way they are living. Furthermore, texts in the New Testament which seem to imply individual preexistence do not teach reincarnation. Apart from Christ, in the case of ordinary people, they imply existence as ideas in the mind or plan of God. No other explanation is allowed by the context. We seem to have met the great obstacle to the doctrine of reincarnation: neither Jesus nor Scripture teaches this doctrine. (pgs. 213-214; Emphasis mine). 

He then declares that reincarnation is incorporated into the Christian faith “only with great difficulty,” but suggest this incorporation is not impossible, although it's not clear why. He also wishes Catholics to remain open to the idea. One can only wonder why. Were the disciples “open” to Gnosticism? Heaney, ordained a Jesuit in 1955, became a disciple of Modernist Fredrich von Hugel in the wake of Vatican II and studied the occult. He asked for (and received) laicization from Montini to get married. 

Stafford Betty, a professor at Cal State has commented on why so many "Catholics" believe in reincarnation. He presents two reasons:

1. "Many Catholics think that a single life of anywhere from a few seconds' duration to 110 years is not enough time to determine the destiny of a soul for all eternity. They feel that God would be unloving if He (excuse the conventional pronoun) were to condemn a sinner to hell, but irrational if He rewarded a baby born dead with heaven. Some of these Catholics see the wheel of rebirth as a more plausible form of purgatory. "

2. "The other main reason that Catholics -- and other Americans -- adopt a reincarnational worldview turns on evidence. Much, perhaps most, of what passes as evidence comes from the popular media. Stories about people who have seeming memories of a previous life or mysterious phobias or obsessions or talents that cannot be explained by events in this life abound, and they often set people to wondering. The History channel serves up occasional stories of apparent rebirth, and these are based on research by paranormal investigators. 

There is also some reputable academic research being done on reincarnation that trickles down into public awareness. This is the work of Ian Stevenson, the famous reincarnation researcher affiliated with the University of Virginia who died in 2007. Stevenson and his associates traveled over the world tracking down little children, usually aged between 3 and 5, who claim to have memories of past lives. In hundreds of cases from all over the world their memories would match actual events that happened to the adult they remembered being." (See http://www.hinduismtoday.com/blogs-news/hindu-press-international/-why-do-so-many-catholics-believe-in-reincarnation-/10313.html)

The Case Against "Catholic" Reincarnation

It's obvious that reincarnation is incompatible with Church teaching. However, I wish to respond to the reasons most commonly given above by Professor Stafford Betty for belief in this false doctrine. It is based on feelings and sensation more than anything else, which is why an appeal to the teaching of the Church or quoting the Bible will usually hold no sway over such believers. Deja vu (from the French for "already seen") is the sensation that something you are experiencing (usually for the first time) has been experienced by you in the past. This is then attributed to having done the particular experience "in a past life."   There are sound arguments to reject the reincarnationists' reasons in addition to Church teaching; these I offer below.

1. One lifetime is enough to decide your eternal fate. What difference does it make if a person lives 7,000 years in various incarnations or 70 years in one lifetime when compared to eternity? Are not both infinitesimal when compared to eternity? Everyone is given ample opportunity to get to Heaven, and no one goes there unless they choose it! Not all experiences admit of second chances. Reincarnationists are fond of comparing life to a test that a kind teacher lets you retake if you fail. I could just as easily analogize to someone committing suicide by shooting himself in the head. There is no "do over," and the result is permanent. Provided that the person was of sound mind, the choice was freely made. Purgatory is for getting rid of imperfections; the person has already decided to choose God within their lifetime, so reincarnation is nothing like the dogma of Purgatory.

2. Reincarnation does nothing to explain evil and is unjust unlike Hell. Children can be baptized because they did nothing wrong in contracting Original Sin. It is simply the deprivation of sanctifying grace caused by the Fall of the first man. In a similar way, if a wealthy couple squanders millions of dollars, their children will be born into a poor state through no fault of their own but those children can work their way to wealth. Children who die without baptism are generally thought to enjoy some natural happiness (Limbo) because of no personal fault. Contrast this with reincarnation. In what sense does your self continue? If you have no memory of what you did in a past life (and you may not even exist as the same gender or on the same planet/dimension), in what sense do you survive death? If there is no bodily continuity, memory, or intellectual awareness, it seems like you're suffering for what someone else did, which is unjust. 

Reincarnation also offers no solution to the problem of evil. For example, if someone is born with no arms because they assaulted people in a prior life, and they assaulted people in a prior life because before that life they couldn't control their temper, whence did evil originate? It's an infinite regress of past lives with no explanation. How did suffering begin in the first place if each life of suffering was caused by past bad karma? Moreover, there would be no free will in the view of reincarnation. Eventually, everyone will come to some "Nirvana." So it doesn't matter if you're Hitler or St. Francis of Assisi, you both get to the same place regardless of what you do. On the other hand, Heaven and Hell are freely chosen with the wicked punished and the good rewarded.

3. Deja vu, hypnotic recall of past lives, and "spontaneous recall" are easily explained without reincarnation. 

According to a 2012 study in the peer reviewed journal Consciousness and Cognition 21 (2) 969-975, it was suggested recognition based on familiarity can cause a sensation of deja vu. Using virtual reality technology, it was found that similarity between a scene's spacial layout and the layout of a scene previously experienced (but not recalled) can lead to a subjective feeling of "having been there before despite knowing otherwise." This is also known as "cryptoamnesia." In simple terms it means that the subconscious relates a present event with a previous one that the conscious mind does not remember. One event is similar to another and the mind fuses them together, giving the sensation that this "happened before." 

So-called "past lives" brought out under hypnosis are fraught with difficulties. According to hypnosis expert James E. Parejko in an article published in the Journal of the American Institute of Hypnosis (Jan. 1975), he listed four factors of subconscious intervention during hypnosis: (a) Expectations of the hypnotist, (b)  diminished critical thoughts in the mind that accompany deep trance states, (c) a triggering idea by the hypnotist, and (d) the ability of the mind to hallucinate.

A case in point of inherent unreliability was that of Bridey Murphy. Through hypnosis, a woman allegedly regressed to 18th century Ireland. She suddenly spoke Gaelic, described the coastline where she lived, discussed the customs and spoke like a life-long Irish native. Upon further investigation, "Bridey Murphy" (the name of the person she allegedly was in this "past life") never existed but was a figment of the woman's imagination. She was raised by her grandmother who spoke Gaelic and kept history books on Ireland which she related to her granddaughter. The hypnotic subject had forgotten the language and history as she got older, but it was brought back under hypnosis with the mind giving life to the memories by manufacturing a name. (Let's not forget that some of these subjects, who dabble in the occult, could be under demonic control).

In the famous cases of Dr. Ian Stevenson, who investigated children claiming to have "spontaneously recalled" a past life, the doctor himself admits of bias in his study due to cultural conditioning. He wrote, "...the principal sites of abundant reported cases are: northern India; Sri Lanka; Burma; Thailand; Vietnam; western Asia, especially south central Turkey, Lebanon, and Syria; and northwest North America, among the natives of that region. The peoples of these areas (of the groups among whom the cases occur) believe in reincarnation." (See Stevenson, Ian, "The Explanatory Value of the Idea of Reincarnation," Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease Sept. 1977, 308).  He further admits, "Neither any single case nor all the investigated cases together offer anything like a proof of reincarnation." (Ibid, 325). So much for  the most reputable research they have to date.  

The Evil Consequences of Belief in Reincarnation

On December 7, 1977, Eldon McCorkhill (age 33) and Linda Cummings (age 28) were having drinks at a bar in Redlands, California. Their conversation eventually came to the subject of life after death. Cummings said she was firmly convinced that reincarnation was true. A spirited debate ensued, as McCorkhill was not a believer in cycles of birth, death, and rebirth. They argued all the way back to McCorkhill's apartment; once there, he took out a loaded gun and handed it to Cummings, saying, "If you believe in this, let's see what you'll come back as." Linda Cummings took the gun, pointed it at her head, and without hesitation, pulled the trigger. (See San Francisco Examiner, December 8, 1977). Ideas have consequences. 

 The True Church of Christ has always taught--along with the Apostle St. Paul---"(Just as)people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment" (See Hebrews 9:27). I have read much occult literature over the years in my study of the subject to better expose it. Reincarnation, as I explained above, comes hand in glove with many other occult beliefs and practices.  Here are some logical consequences of belief in reincarnation:

1. Promotion of Abortion.

In occult literature one discovers that the idea of reincarnation is utilized to justify abortion. Allegedly, the fetus does not become “living” until the spirit enters it, usually at delivery, sometimes months later, but rarely at conception or during the first six to nine months. In fact, spiritistic communications often encourage abortion because the baby is merely a vegetable or “dead flesh” until the soul enters it. The parents must not be burdened with unwanted baggage we are told. Only “wanted” babies should be allowed to live; only mature parents, etc., should have children: so the message is clear; go ahead and abort.

2. Promotion of Divorce and Adultery.

So-called "psychics, "spiritual advisors," and "therapists" who believe in reincarnation, often tell their clients that their adultery and divorce are permissible, because they did not marry their proper “soulmate,” that is, the one they allegedly lived with in a previous life. If they wish to advance spiritually, they must now join with this new partner or “suffer” the karmic consequences of being spiritually mismatched.

3. Promotion of LGBTQIA++ Evils.

If a male seems feminine, that may well be the effect of having been a woman in one or more "past lives." Maybe a sex change is in order; or perhaps that's why he feels attracted to men. If you can be both male and female in past "incarnations" then gender really is "fluid" and sex acts can be good with either gender--or both.

Conclusion

 The Church makes clear that this life is the only one we will ever have, so get things right the first and only time you're here. Don't talk about "karma" and "your next life," as these are false, pagan ideas completely incompatible with Catholicism.