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candleTC -> RE: Past Lives (7/1/2006 9:00:08 AM)
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quote:
was watching a show years ago on re-incarnation. There were christians on it saying there is no such thing. They said there is nothing in the bible which says there are any past lives. At the very end a Jewish rabbi stood up and said "Well actually there is...this word in hebrew or whatever language it was originally written in refers to re-incarnation" (Cant remember the word but apparently its in the old testament somewhere.)
Not going into the "personal experiences" of my own, only because i view them as just that... far to personal to embelish on. Anyway, from a Jewish standpoint, there are many times in the Torah that the mention of re-incarnation are subtlely expressed. The term widely used by jews is simply "gilgul ha'ne'shamot". The literal translation is recycling or transmigration of souls. ( heh. i *did* have to look this up, just to make sure, i wasn't making this up... )
Now, with this being said, there are many traditions that the Jews do when a body dies to make sure the soul does recycle or transmigrate. The first thing that comes to my mind is the Mosuleums that we use to bury our dead. The main reason for that is that Jews as a whole really have a hard time grasping the concept that a soul can travel from deep within the earth. ( well, the original idea of burying them in the caves was the sea level issues... ya dig to deep and there is a lot of water.. ) There is a process called " gathering of the bones" that once the body has decomposed, the belief is the soul is gone. Therefore, they gather the bones, place them in a box and move them to the corner of the grave, hence in all practicality making room for another deceased family member. Once the soul is gone, they do believe that it is recycled into the earth in some form or fashion. Now, we as a whole don't really think that our souls will go into the bodies of insects or animals, per se... believing that these are in fact soul-less creatures. It would be recycled into a form of life that has a soul, i.e.. another human. This process being repeated until the day the said "Messiah" is to make His eternal kingdom.. ( wherever that may be ) Now, me being a messianic Jew ( Jews that believe that christ was indeed the messiah) sometimes has a hard time grasping this concept, with such christian values being placed upon me that as soon as we die our souls will either go to heaven or hell. In truth, the new testament ( or in the messianic vocabulary.. the new law ) doesn't really say much about an "afterlife", in general.
I must add that even though i have had my own experiences, and unfortunetly, due to the old tapes being played in my head over and over, i do bounce back and forth on this issue. Sometimes thinking i am even crazy for believing such a thing... However... there is a scientific stance on this topic as well. I suppose if i wanted to debate Quantum physics for hours upon end, i could also say, that the soul is nothing but an energy force. Energy doesn't die.. it just finds another host. Therefore, with that being said, it would make total sense for our souls to find yet another body, living out yet another life. Energy actually holds memories, and once that energy is living in another host, it would infect said host with all of the memories the energy has carried thus far. Therefore, it wouldn't be the host that lived the past life, it would be the soul. ( follow me so far?? LOL )
In conclusion, i will say this... That this is a topic that i believe many people are passionate about and everyone has thier own personal views and opinions. There is a lot of data backing up both sides of the fence. And like many religions or anything else, that requires deep introspection and thought, it is up to You to decide how you believe. Take what you can from each side and add your own personal thoughts and experiences.
As in the way of deep seated phobias.. i am terrified.. i mean ABSOLUTELY petrified of bridges over large bodies of water. I will/can NOT drive over them. If i am on a road trip, i will always travel with another party... because if the unexpected bridge comes up and i am behind the wheel.. i will pull the car over and let someone else drive, so that i can squeeze my eyes closed, and hold my breath. I have nightmares about fast running water and wake up with a sense of not being able to breath. It's a very real fear for me... why?? i don't know. Maybe one day i will be enlightened. ( LOL )
One more thought, before i finally shut my yap...
quote:
Correct me if I am wrong but isn't Jesus supposed to be reborn?
No, Jesus is not supposed to be "reborn" .. Jesus is supposed to make a mighty re-entrance into the earth from the heavens above. Trumpets sounding, and the whole world will see it at the same time... Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess.. yada yada yada... the "anti-christ" is to be born into the world, claiming He was born from a virgin, blah blah blah... this is how "christians" are to know the difference between the anti Christ and the real one.. ( will the real slim shady please stand up... bah) Not passing on personal beliefs, but only what scripture says....
~beth
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