Reincarnation or Resurrection?
We look at the backdrop of world religions and their beliefs
concerning death and the after-life, and contrast these with the
Christian hope in Christ Jesus.
A. Is there life after death? — the universal search for immortality
of the body and mind — mummification (Egypt) and mental development
(Tibet)
of the soul — beliefs in reincarnation and transmigration
of the ‘life stream’ — flowing in and out of all life-forms and finally
reaching fulfilment in nirvana
in resurrection and the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ (John 17:3)
B. Eastern Religions and their Beliefs
1) Hinduism
The Upanishads (Hindu scriptures) teach that:
the soul or the Self (atman) = unborn and cannot die
soul/Self lives on beyond death of the body
a person’s karma (good or bad deeds etc) determines nature of
his rebirth through re-incarnation — either a h,~7her or a lower
life-form
cycle of birth, death and rebirth
cycle is escaped from by spiritual enlightenment - true Self
(atman) detaches from the body to attain immortality
Immortality = either absorption into the Absolute or union with
God
unenlightened person becomes involved again in rebirth
In the Upanishads, three classes of souls are distinguished:
the spiritual elite - faith in the eternity of the Self to attain
immortality and escape rebirth
those who observe religious duties (sacrifices, almsgiving and
austerity) - go to the world of the Fathers and return to the
world in human form
those who are ignorant of both these ways - condemned to the
life of an insect or a reptile.
A person reaps the fruit of his actions as he is reborn. The expectation
of rebirth induces serenity/passivity in the face of death.
“People die only to be born again. Sorrow therefore is entirely
uncalled for”. (Ghandi)
2) Buddhism —
Being exists in the form of a ‘life process’
The ‘life process’ = successive reincarnations
Ultimate goal = to achieve nirvana
Individuals can achieve ‘intuitive insight’ and become an ‘arahant’
Buddhism denies the possibility of both the immortal body and
the immortal soul
The ‘life-process’ is impersonal ______________
The Buddha taught that there were three factors essential for the conception of a child:
1. coitus of the parents
2. fertile phase of the woman
3. ‘gandhabba’ or ‘connecting psyche’ or the seed of life
From the moment of birth, the body begins to die and at death
accomplishes the “life-stream”.
A connecting psyche charged with:
positive karmic force = drawn to a world of higher beings
negative karma = reborn in a lower form such as that of animals.
Death = welcomed by those with accumulated good karma may as a
promotion to a higher and better position.
Five realms of being (The Doctrine of Buddha by George Grimm).:
man
spectre
animal
devil
god _____________
Buddhist ‘enlightenment’ = following the Noble Eightfold Path; begins
with a ‘right view of life’ which is that ‘suffering is the result of repeated
rebirths’.
The Buddha rejected all forms of teaching that imply that the
conscious Self survives.
The cosmic nirvana = goal of enlightenment; it is egoless,
impersonal and without consciousness. ______________
The life-stream = semi-eternal
The cosmic nirvana = immortal and eternal. _____________
Summary:
A belief in re-incarnation:
produces passivity in the face of death and suffering
can appear indifferent to human pain or judgemental of e.g.
disability (implies that poor karma from the previous life has
resulted in suffering in that incarnation)
3) African Tribal Religion and its Beliefs _____
Mind-Body dualism. The Human Soul (Okra)
has a divine origin and destiny
is indestructible
survives in an incorporeal state when the body dies
interaction between the living and the dead = expected; expressed
in the form of disembodied spirits needing sacrifices, appeasement, ______
prayers, etc
Re-incarnation = not of the complete soul but of aspects of the ______
dead person’s characteristics, which are reborn in the living
Death = caused by e.g. physical disease, injury or spiritual causes
(curses, witchcraft and sorcery etc.)
The dead journey into the world of spirits where they are re-united
with their dead relatives
The deceased person = still part of his family/community, even
though he no longer lives in the flesh
Separation of a person from his family/community through death =
a source of sorrow and grief which eventually gives way to ______
acceptance of their new status in the spirit world
The dead have a duty to ______
o protect
o intervene and ______
o mediate on behalf of the living
a Their souls live on in the land of spirits
There is no ‘merging with the Absolute’, as Eastern religions portray.
Summary:
Emphasis on the value and importance of personhood, but _______
Encourages superstition, fear of spirits and occult practices.
Respect for, and honouring of, ancestors readily becomes prayers
to the spirits of the dead which is forbidden in the Bible.
4) Islam and its Beliefs in the Hereafter
The after-life and judgement figure prominently in the Koran; five chapters
are given almost entirely to describing the Great Day, one of them (Sura 75) being entitled “The Resurrection”.
The Koran teaches that Moslems must believe in
the oneness of Allah _______
his messenger Mohammed and the Prophets and Angels
the holy book(s)
the Day of Judgement, and
the hereafter
They must live by the Five Pillars of Islam:
confession of faith in Allah and Mohammed
five daily prayers
observing the fast
alms giving
pilgrimages
This religious observance will prepare them for the Day of Judgement which is for Men and Jinns (angels, bad and good).
Nature of Man
Humans have evolved from the dust of the earth
The physical frame is only a vehicle by which the soul must develop
itself
Our life on earth is a preparation for the world to come
The soul needs Revelation in order to be fruitful
If we have not attained spiritual development in our earthly life we cannot
enter the heavenly life. ____________
After Death ____________
soul separates from the body and is in a suspended state until the
hour of resurrection when it will be sent to either Heaven or Hell
intermediate state allows crystallisation of one’s thoughts in this
world; a ‘bad ending’ is to be feared - produces a diseased soul
Hell exists as an evolutionary process, curing diseased souls until
Allah grants them mercy
The Koran promises the faithful:
a life of immortality in Heaven (Paradise) including earthly-type ‘pleasures’
resurrection of the soul ______________
a ‘body’ appropriate to Paradise
Summary:
Islam = a confused presentation of some Old Testament teachings
with ‘novelties’ thrown in?
emphasis on the After-life in the Koran = strong enough to cause
Moslem extremists to desire to enter Paradise by engaging in ‘Holy War’
C. The Biblical Teaching on Death, Resurrection and Immortality
1) Old Testament and Jewish Teaching
the realm of the dead — She’ol
the cursed valley associated with fire and death — ge ben hinnon,
gehinnom, and ge
gave rise to concept of hell-fire in the New Testament — gehenna
Positive references to eternity in
the Psalms (Psalms 84:4, 16:8-11, 23:6, 37:37-40, 49:15, etc),
the Prophets, e.g. Daniel 12:2-3
the Wisdom literature, e.g. Ecclesiastes 3:11
By the time of Jesus there were two schools of Rabbinic teaching:
the Sadducees — taught no resurrection or after-life
the Pharisees — believed there is resurrection/after-life
(cf. Acts 23:6-8)
2) Jesus’ Teaching concerning Resurrection and Immortality
John 5:28-29 — “all who are in the graves will hear His voice”
11:25-26 — “I am the resurrection and the life”
14:19 — “Because I live you will live also”
17:2-3 — “this is eternal life...”
Concerning His own resurrection
Luke 16:3 1— Rich Man & Lazarus
Luke 9:22 & 18:31-34 — predicting His death
The Resurrection as a fact
Mark 12:23-27 — “when they rise from the dead...”
3) New Testament Teaching on the Christian Hope
1 Peter 1:3ff — “we have been born anew to a living hope...”
Romans 8:24 — “In this hope we are saved...”
2 Timothy 1:10 — “...life and immortality through the Gospel”
1 Cor 15:13-19 — “if for this life only Christ has given us hope...
Hebrews 11:13 — “...strangers and pilgrims on the earth”
This ‘certain Hope’ is at the heart of the Christian message, enabling
Christians to embrace martyrdom with composure, and to endure
persecution, trials and suffering in this life, since a better life is coming!
4) What is our Hope?
i) At death, believers enter the presence of Christ (2 Cor.5:4-8):
Paradise & the final Day (see Rev.14:13, Rev.6:9-11 — the
faithful and the martyrs).
ii) The first Resurrection:
The faithful overcomers (Rev. 19:1-9, 20:4-6)
Reigning with Christ in the Millennium (cf. 1 Cor.15:20-25)
iii) The Great Resurrection, the Final Judgement and the Second Death
(Rev.20: 11-15):
All are resurrected
Believers are written in the Book of Life = saved from
condemnation (John 5:24, 29)
Those not written in the Book of Life = the Lake of Fire
A new heaven and a new earth
D. Exposition of 1 Corinthians 15
i) The fact of Christ’s resurrection and the promise of resurrection of
His faithful ones is central to the Christian gospel (1 Cor.15:1-19).
There is no hope of forgiveness of sins and life beyond the grave if
this central teaching is untrue! (1 Cor.15:17-19)
ii) Just as Christ rose from the dead so those ‘in Christ’ shall do also.
Christ is the firstfruits and when He comes those in Him shall rise to
meet Him in the air. (1 Cor.15;51-52, see also 1 Thess.4:13-18) ______
iii) We will have a new body which will be a ‘celestial’ one not an earthly
one. Each will have his or her own distinctive body (v38, 40, 41). It
will be like the resurrection body of Jesus, which was not instantly
recognisable as His former earthly body was. It will be immortal,
incorruptible and glorious!
E. Some Implications of Bodily Resurrection
“No choice is uninfluenced by the way in which the personality
regards its destiny and the body its death. In the last analysis, it/s
our conception of death which decides our answers to all the
questions that fife puts to us”
(Dag Hammarksjold)
copyright Faith Forster
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