The following is an interesting bit that’s quoted (in part)
and edited (slightly) from a random website I came across while looking up something
else…
The first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus wrote
about the Pharisees being believers in reincarnation. (As a matter of interest, Paul was a Pharisee). Josephus wrote about the Pharisees' belief
that the souls of evil men are punished after death and the souls of good men
are "removed into other bodies" and will have "power to revive
and live again."
From time to time throughout Jewish history, there was a
persistent belief about dead prophets returning to life through reincarnation. The Sadducees
rejected these Persian concepts of resurrection and all Hellenistic influences
involving reincarnation. They accepted only the orthodox Hebrew belief
in Sheol. So there were a variety of influences going on in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus.
When Jesus began his ministry, many people wondered if he
was the reincarnation of one of the prophets. From Luke 9: “And
he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" And they answered,
"John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the
prophets of old has risen."
Throughout his ministry, Jesus taught people about the true
resurrection - a spiritual rebirth within a living person. Thus, when
Jesus stated that he was the resurrection and the life, he was teaching them about a rebirth of the spirit - not into a new body -
as when we are born from our mother's womb - but a rebirth of our spirit within
the body we now inhabit. Jesus was distinguishing between what was believed in those days concerning an afterlife, and the teaching concerning a
spiritual change within us that can lead to liberation (in THIS life!) He was making a
distinction between "the resurrection of the body" (returning to life
from physical death) and "the resurrection of the spirit" (returning
to life from spiritual death). This confusion concerning
Jesus teachings is documented in John 3 when Jesus had to explain to Nicodemus
the difference between physical rebirth and spiritual rebirth.
(End of edited quote) The part that really struck me is underlined. It brings up some related questions. First, the question is what exactly is meant by reincarnation? Secondly, what exactly is (and isn't) meant by our 'spirit'? It also brings up a question of how we traditionally understand the teaching of Jesus. Do we properly understand what he actually taught? Did he consistently teach that the resurrection means 'a spiritual change within us (NOW) that can lead to a liberation (life)'? This change of course, would be a real and tangible thing, there would be identifiable evidence of such spiritual change...by an identifiable change in one's behaviour, attitude and actions. Or did he teach about some future event that would result in life in an indefinable 'heaven'? This of course could not be proven, as nobody had ever gone there and come back.
Seems to me that Jesus might more logically have taught the former.
A few questions to keep in mind while studying...
Why does he not answer the question about the man born blind? He avoids answering. Certainly, he could care less about the Sadducees' views. What if both reincarnation is true and it does not matter, only what you do in THIS life matters?
ReplyDeleteAre you referring to the account in John 9? Because it seems he does answer that, at least in the translations I've looked at. The question was whose sin caused the man to be born blind, the man's own, or his parents. And the answer was that nobody's sin caused the blindness, there was another reason for it.
ReplyDeleteYou ask a good question about reincarnation. I'd have to answer that nobody knows if anything happens after death, regardless of how much 'faith' a person may have that something might. We just don't know.
But yes, we do have some control over what we do in this life! From all we can truly know, that matters. In my opinion, anyway.