Article June 1, 1992 Issue

Reincarnation—or life in Spirit?

Jesus' teachings and works show us something wonderful about the nature of our true existence in God.

Elise L. Moore

More than a billion people include reincarnation as part of their religious belief. Faith in reincarnation or transmigration (a soul reborn in another form or body after death) seems as ancient as humankind. From the Upanishads, the ancient writings of India, to the Popul Vuh, or creation story, of the Maya in Central America, peoples have conceived the possibility of returning to earth in another form after death. Even some Christians view Jesus' resurrection as evidence of reincarnation.

For many followers of Christ Jesus, his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension give proof of eternal life as something more profound—and far different—than a return to earth in another physical form. They see his experience as demonstrating the spiritual, indestructible nature of true existence; also the supremacy of the one God—of Love over hate, Life over death.

Jesus had the same body when he returned to his disciples after the crucifixion. But one of the disciples, Thomas, didn't believe that the Master had overcome death. To reassure Thomas that he was not dead or merely a ghost, Jesus told him, "Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing." Jesus' victory over death was confirmed not by appearing in a reincarnated form but by raising up the very same body he had before the crucifixion. He then continued illustrating the real nature of life by ascending, by demonstrating the existence of life unfettered by physicality.

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