Reincarnation in Christianity and Judaism

[Robban]

There are at least two resurrection appearances where Jesus is not recognized for unstated reasons. Also Jesus could vanish and enter locked rooms and so forth - more like angels are described.

We know scientifically that our body is always in flux. We eat and breathe and excrete waste products. Our bodies age. We have genes that cause illnesses and handicaps.

I was reading an interesting article about the importance of gut flora. 60% of the cells in our body are fungi and microbes. There was an experiment showing that transplanting microbes from a depressed human into a rat caused the rat to have depression.

So my question is: what is our body?

To your question,
the body is a vehicle for the soul.

Without a soul the body like an electric lightbulb with no electricity.

 

[Albion]

There are at least two resurrection appearances where Jesus is not recognized for unstated reasons.

These two incidents do not tell us anything about reincarnation, however, if that's what you are thinking they do. Not if we take reincarnation in its usual meaning. That is to live another life, not the same one with the same identity, or to return as a ghost or in the corpse but following revivification.

 

[Robban]

Interesting... I had never thought about the possibility that those people lived normal lives and died of natural causes a second time after being raised to life. I had always imagined them with spiritual bodies similar to the resurrected Jesus where they might appear normal and then disappear into thin air or walk through a wall like a ghost. I assumed they appeared to people and promptly went on to heaven.

So you imagine something more like the raising of Lazarus as opposed to resurrection of Jesus. I wonder if there are any Christian traditions about what happened?

Elisha became ill and died, 2 Kings 13:20,

further 2 Kings 13:20-21.

 

[Robban]

Elisha became ill and died, 2 Kings 13:20,

further 2 Kings 13:20-21.

Not reincarnation,

But Power.

As far as reincarnation of a soul goes it maybe best left for those who can accept it.

 

[cloudyday2]

Elisha became ill and died, 2 Kings 13:20,

further 2 Kings 13:20-21.

Apparently the Hebrew is ambiguous, and the story can also be understood to mean that Elisha walked from the tomb (rather than the newly deceased person). Early Christians compared Elijah with John the Baptist and Elisha with Jesus due to understanding the Hebrew the other way.

 

[cloudyday2]

These two incidents do not tell us anything about reincarnation, however, if that's what you are thinking they do. Not if we take reincarnation in its usual meaning. That is to live another life, not the same one with the same identity, or to return as a ghost or in the corpse but following revivification.

My purpose was to point-out that if human life requires a PARTICULAR physical body (therefore incompatible with reincarnation with its multiple physical bodies) then we need to give some thought to what we mean by a physical body. The gospels seem to suggest that the resurrection body of Jesus was not identical to his previous body. (However, maybe the body was identical. Maybe the ability to disappear and enter locked rooms was due to miraculous power being applied to the same old physical body. And maybe the lack of recognition by Mary at the Empty Tomb was due to tear in her eyes or something.)

 

[ViaCrucis]

My purpose was to point-out that if human life requires a PARTICULAR physical body (therefore incompatible with reincarnation with its multiple physical bodies) then we need to give some thought to what we mean by a physical body. The gospels seem to suggest that the resurrection body of Jesus was not identical to his previous body. (However, maybe the body was identical. Maybe the ability to disappear and enter locked rooms was due to miraculous power being applied to the same old physical body. And maybe the lack of recognition by Mary at the Empty Tomb was due to tear in her eyes or something.)

The Christian doctrine of resurrection has always understood two things:

1) A continuation of bodily identity, hence Jesus' body which was crucified is what rose on the third day, hence the showing of the wounds of crucifixion to prove to His disciples that it was really Him. The same holds true for our future resurrection.

2) A transformation of the body, resurrection is more than bodily resuscitation, it is a radical transfiguration and transformation of bodily existence from what we know now to something more than we can possibly understand--hence Jesus appearing before His disciples from seemingly no where.

St. Paul describes bodily resurrection in the 15th chapter of his first letter to the Corinthians, the distinction he makes between the present body and the future resurrection body is by describing the present body as mortal, corruptible, and "soulish" with the future resurrection body being immortal, incorruptible, and "spiritual". Now these terms "soulish" and "spiritual" probably need some clarification, what Paul is doing is describing, in a sense, the kind of life of the body--"soulish" referring to the body being governed by the baser, animal appetites; and "spiritual" because in the resurrection the body is quickened by the power of the Holy Spirit, compare with what he says in his letter to the Romans that if the Holy Spirit dwells in us then we shall likewise be raised up like Jesus.

Likewise in Philippians 3 Paul refers to our present body as "lowly" but that at Christ's coming we will be resurrected and have a body like His "glorious body".

So resurrection is the restoration of the body to life, but it's more than simply a resuscitation of the body it is a profound and radical transformation of the body, not of its composition (flesh remains flesh, matter remains matter), but rather of its, we might say, mode of operation. From what we are familiar with now, with all the frailty and weakness we all know due to the body's subjugation to death and decay; to something beyond our present comprehension that cannot die and cannot rot.

Another allusion Paul uses is to planting a seed, now when you plant an acorn you get an oak tree (you don't plant an acorn and get a elephant); there is a continuation of seed to full grown plant, but what germinates and grows is so much more and wonderful than the seed that is planted. A mighty oak grows from a meager acorn, a tiny mustard seed grows into a large shrub, etc. What is sown and buried is small, weak, lowly--but what rises is magnificent. The body is sown mortal, it is raised immortal. The body is sown corruptible, it is raised incorruptible. The body is sown "soulish", it is raised "spiritual". What dies is meager, what rises is magnificent.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Robban]

Apparently the Hebrew is ambiguous, and the story can also be understood to mean that Elisha walked from the tomb (rather than the newly deceased person). Early Christians compared Elijah with John the Baptist and Elisha with Jesus due to understanding the Hebrew the other way.

When a King dies his power ends,
when a Prophet dies his influence begins.