Some Resources:
Brandon, DICTIONARY OF COMPARATIVE RELIGION (Abingdon, 1970)
Crim, ABINGDON DICTIONARY OF LIVING RELIGIONS (Abingdon, 1981)
Ferguson, ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MYSTICISM AND MYSTERY RELIGIONS (Crossroad, 1982)
Gentz, THE DICTIONARY OF BIBLE AND RELIGION (Abingdon, 1986)
Kurtz,(ed.) FREE INQUIRY (1986, Vo1. 6, #4 and 1987, Vol. 7, #1 & #2 )
Liptak, "Reincarnation: A Heretical Theory" in THE CATHOLIC TRANSCRIPT (4/4/75)
Parrinder, A DICTIONARY OF NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS (Westminster, 1971)
WHAT IS REINCARNATION?
“Metempsychosis is ... the idea of life as a cyclical process, i.e. of passage of soul through successive bodies...” [Brandon]
“The process by which, in certain belief systems, the soul of a dead person enters another body in order to continue its existence. .... depends upon a belief in a soul which is ontologically distinct from the body and which can therefore exist independently from the body, or at least from any particular body” (Crim)
“…… sometimes include passage into an animal or even vegetable life.” (Ferguson)
“Random reincarnation. There seems to be a belief among some people in the West, apparently without any systemic religious foundation, in what may be called random reincarnation. This is part of the widespread emphasis on the occult and the uncanny. There is talk about persons having memories which cannot be explained without recourse to the notion that they are remembering some previous existence. This prior life may have taken place in fairly recent history, or it may go back to antiquity or even to prehistory. But there does not seem to be any organized philosophy behind this belief.” (Crim)
Many classical Asian and Greek philosophical interpretations: the reincarnated soul retains no memories or other personality characteristics, all of which are shed at death.
WHAT PURPOSES DOES REINCARNATION SERVE?
1. Opportunities for the soul to become purer
2. Justice: reward or punishment after death
3. A sense of some type of spiritual immortality
4. An explanation for being "low class" or better now
5. A sense of being cosmic
6. An explanation for some private, personal experiences
WHERE IS THE BELIEF TO BE FOUND?
In systems of belief conceiving of time as cyclical:
Hinduism; Buddhism; Jainism; Sikhism; Plato's philosophy, mystery religions such as Orphism; small "cults" within Judaism, Christianity, and Islam who were influenced by Plato's and other Greek thought; Theosophy; modified forms in Chinese religions
WHAT RELIGIONS HAVE REJECTED REINCARNATION?
Systems of belief conceiving of time as linear, not cyclical:
Judaism; minor inclusion in mystical cabalistic tradition;
Christianity; appeared among Gnostics who were found outside mainstream Christianity.;
"Orthodox Christianity has never espoused it ...." (Ferguson);
" ..dismissed as heretical..." as early as 6th Century (Liptak);
Biblical Christianity proposes linear everlasting life, not a recycling, immortal soul;
"The belief was unknown to the Bible, attacked by Augustine, though perhaps favoured by Origen, and condemned at the Council of Lyons in 1274." (Parrinder);
Zoroastrianism
EVIDENCE FOR REINCARNATION:
Testimony by individual believers who are convinced that they have some memories or spiritual experiences related to previous lives.
OPPOSITION TO REINCARNATION
“(Hypnotic) regressions are fascinating examples of cryptomnesia.
“To understand cryptomnesia we must think of the subconscious mind as a vast, muddled storehouse of information. This information comes from books, newspapers, and magazines; from lectures, television, and radio; from direct observation and even from overheard scraps of conversation. Under normal circumstances most of this knowledge is not subject to recall, but sometimes these deeply buried memories are spontaneously revived. They may reemerge in a baffling form, since their origins are completely forgotten. This is cryptomnesia proper.
“Because its origin is forgotten, the information can seem to have no ancestry and can be mistaken for something newly created . ....
“Yet in the end they turned out (after investigations) to be nothing but fantasies, pure and simple” [Harris, "Are 'Past-Life' Regressions Evidence of Reincarnation?" in FREE INQUIRY]
[See also, Edwards, "The Case Against Reincarnation" also in FREE INQUIRY.]
DOES CHRISTIANITY HAVE ALTERNATIVES TO THE PURPOSES OF REINCARNATION?
Yes. (Compare to above list.)
1. The individual will have the opportunity to "grow in God's love and service" in the next phase of living.
2. Justice is ultimately in the hands of God; some receive justice in this phase of living, some in the next; we trust God in this regard.
3. A hope for personal continuity after this phase of life.
4. Being unfortunate (low class) is the result of complex human decisions of societies and individuals, not the quality of a prior life.
5. A sense of being a unique, loved child of the Creator.
6. Private, personal experiences are far less significant than an individual's experiences in fellowship with others: explanations of unusual, private experiences can be offered scientifically or left unexplained without major impact.