Judgement, Consequences, and Reincarnation

When I was a small child, I asked my mother one time. “Why do other religions believe things so differently than we do?” We were staunch Lutherans (I am now Catholic) and although my mother had a lot of personal demons which at times made her extremely cruel, she was spiritual and understood enlightenment in a very progressive manner. Her reply was.

“Julie, God is everywhere. As mortals, we have no way of knowing how He presented himself to other peoples and cultures. And you have to remember the Word was written by Men (meaning mankind) through Mankind’s limited intelligence and perspective, so you have to read The Bible and its teachings with an open mind and heart and let God guide you in your understanding.”

She was also very open to reading and learning from the teachings of other religions.

I am a Catholic Christian. That is what resonates with me. And yes, I am very aware that the Catholic Church is not perfect because I recognize that it is run by mankind, but there is so much beauty in the teachings and for me, so much openness to the spiritual experiences I have had in my life, that for me, being Catholic is what I am. Just because I support the Catholic Church does not mean I support the politics of the Catholic Church.

However, this is where I part ways with Christianity. In Hebrews 9:27 it states

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”

This is the verse used by Christians to denounce reincarnation. Keep in mind, in the Kabbalah, reincarnation is accepted (albeit the definition) is different. Here is an article I wrote on Reincarnation in Judaism. But today, I am discussing the Christian view of reincarnation and how it pertains to consequences and karma.

There are two things to take into consideration with this verse:

1. “men once to die” meaning there is no reincarnation. Too many other religions believe in reincarnation and karma, and I have experienced past life regressions showing this statement to be a human misconception. I really feel this is a misconception of the intent probably meaning something more along the lines, we only die once in our life (which is true). Keep in mind, Jesus was resurrected, but in general people do not come back from the dead. If you think about it, resurrection is a form of reincarnation.

2. but after this the judgment” meaning you will be held accountable for your misdeeds whether you attribute that to “karma” or “judgement.”

In regard to reincarnation/resurrection, in the Bible there are three examples of Jesus bringing people back to life which flies in the fact of the Hebrews verse which keep in mind was probably a misinterpretation of intent.

The following day He went into a city called Nain, and many of His disciples and a large crowd went with Him. When He came near the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then He came and touched the coffin, and those who carried it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” He who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He gave him to his mother.

Luke 7:11-15

“While He was still speaking, someone from the synagogue ruler’s house came, saying to Jairus, “Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher. But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, “Do not fear. Only believe, and she will be made well.” When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, John and James, and the father and mother of the girl. All wept and mourned for her. But He said, “Do not weep. She is not dead but sleeping. “They laughed at Him, knowing that she was dead. But He put them all outside and took her by the hand and called, saying, “Little girl, arise.” Her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He told them to give her food. Her parents were astonished, but He commanded them to tell no one what had happened.

-Luke 8:40-56)

And, of course, Lazarus

Then Jesus, again groaning within Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So, they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I know that You always hear Me. But because of the people standing around, I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” When He had said this, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” He who was dead came out, his hands and feet wrapped with grave clothes, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

-John 11:38-44

So clearly, the Bible contradicts itself or rather knowledge sent from above was misinterpreted through the fallible human mind. So now, all you atheists, before you pull yourself up and bask in the glory of your own self-righteousness, this only proves the point that the Word was given to Man and has been interpreted by Man. Man is weak and imperfect. It does not diminish the Bible, its intent and/or its teachings. You are being called to understand that, not use this information to gloat that The Bible is wrong and foolish. You cannot go mano-a-mano with God.

Also, it could be argued that these three people experienced Near Death Experiences and just recovered, and yes, many people have experienced near death experiences where they are clinically dead. I’ve gone through three of them. But when you speak to these people who have experienced an NDE, they will report that they never actually cross over through the portal of light. Although they are in its presence. I strongly feel you are not “dead” until you pass through this portal, basically it is the point of no return.

Now in regard to consequence and karma, the last part of the Hebrew verse states, “but after judgment” I feel this means that once you die, you will face consequences. You will face judgement. You will have a life review where you will be held accountable. I don’t think those consequences are burning in hell. I don’t choose to believe in Satan (my priest would not approve of that) because I feel God would not allow Satan to exist. Satan is the manifestation of “human will choice” which I will talk about in another article. Here is my article “Demons Do Not Exist.”

But let’s get back to the Hebrews verse. Clearly, Christianity chooses not to believe in reincarnation, although they are fine with resurrection (which could be argued is a type of reincarnation) and flies in the face of the verse, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die,”. If you are “resurrected” you will obviously die again.

However, in regard to “reincarnation,” there are far too many other religions who do believe in reincarnation quite strongly with powerful arguments. And that goes back to the advice my mother gave me, “we don’t know how God presented himself to others, or how they interpreted the knowledge he gave them.” There is too much human-based anecdotal evidence indicating otherwise. And like I said, the Bible is fine with the concept of resurrection.

As for “judgement”, I believe that is just another word for “karma” although Christians supposedly do not believe in karma. Buddhism and Hinduism do not ascribe to the idea of “final judgment” but they do believe in Karma which is just a form of judgment where you are held accountable for your behavior in human form

But ultimately, pretty much any faith you have boils down to the same concept. “Treat people like crap and you will pay the consequences.”

That’s not just Biblical, it is across the board.

- Julie O'Hara 2023

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