Life and Death

It is worth noting that reincarnation is a common concept and is found in many religions, with the exception of modern Christianity. But modern Christianity is founded on the Bible which was canonized at the Synod of Nicaea in the 4th Century and reincarnation per se was officially stricken at the Synod of Nice in the 6th Century, where the teachings of Bishop Origen were declared heretical. Origen was one of the early powers of the Christian Church who believed in reincarnation and rationalized it on the basis that if we are created at conception and upon dying we become an eternal spirit then that implies that we existed prior to birth, live, die, and live after death and thus logically are reborn, otherwise the entire process seems pointless. Bishop Origen was defeated in a power struggle with the Church Hierarchy as were the Gnostics who didn’t believe in a priesthood. The decision to outlaw reincarnation was driven by the desire of the early priesthood to secure their power because if our souls have an unlimited opportunity to live and evolve spiritually, the priests could no longer threaten us with damnation and hellfire if we do not do as they dictate.

Prior to this purging of the Bible it was still part of the Christian faith and remained part of the Gnostic beliefs and is found in the Druze Christians today. However, remnants of this philosophy remain in the Bible:

And the disciples asked him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"
But he answered them and said, "Elijah indeed is to come and will restore all things. But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also shall the Son of Man suffer at their hand."
Then the disciples understood that he had spoken of John the Baptist." (Matt. 17:10-13)

Then there is this passage:

This is the one ... there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist ... And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. He, who has ears, let him hear. (Matt. 11:11-15)

But the Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient texts are being translated and with these translations some of these purged teachings and beliefs are coming to light once again. Recent translations from ancient scrolls contain text that points to reincarnation, for example:

"Jesus said, 'If they say to you, From where have you originated? say to them, 'We have come from the Light, where the Light has originated through itself.'" The Book of Thomas, Nag Hammadi Texts.

This passage has some interesting points in that it tells us that we come to the Earth from the Light but more interesting yet is the implication that Light is God and that God was self-created. This is addressed in early Jewish texts collected in the Kabbalah and paralleled in the Nag Hammadi texts under “The Origin of the World”. This is a very lengthy text but begins by noting that everybody both gods of the world and mankind say that nothing existed prior to “chaos” or the beginning,and that they are wrong. That chaos was derived from “darkness” which existed always and before the creation of chaos. That all of the immortal beings (souls) had been created out of the infinite and that it was “Wisdom” that divided mankind from the things above.

This concept of an eternal all knowing and always existing God is at the root of most religions, but beyond that lays several other equally interesting concepts. First that the Heavens and Earth were created for man and that all of our reality is essentially a thought projection, that all of the souls in the existence were created at the same time and are eternal, that our physical bodies are actually prisons for out energetic spirits, and that we come to Earth repeatedly to learn and expand out spirituality. However, we are given free will and this means that whatever we do individually and collectively is our responsibility and not driven or willed by God. Our individual conditions are self-determined and the result of decisions made in this lifetime as well as others.

Science and scientists are busy attempting to demonstrate that science has all of the answers and that God doesn’t exist. Unfortunately the evidence for Karma and reincarnation as well as the evidence for God continues to grow as science moves inexorably to the only logical conclusion that science cannot disprove God and that God may be the only answer. It seems logical that reincarnation exists and that we come to Earth repeatedly.

Hell, Near Death, and Science

At this point it seems that we know that the origin of life was a random event brought about by the chance collision of various atoms, that the diversity of life is the result of evolutionary processes, and God is simply an invention by the credible and ignorant. We also know that Heaven and Hell are also inventions of man no matter how ancient the concepts and finally, we know that the resurrection of Jesus and his bodily ascent into Heaven were not only impossible but the whole idea borders on the laughable. But then Quantum Physics enters the picture and this beautiful picture so carefully constructed by scientists begins to wobble like a bobble head in a storm, as the need for a first cause manifests itself, followed by the uncertainty of atoms, photons, and other particles that make up our reality. Then there is the growing body of evidence that not only are we – Homo Sapiens – pure energy but that we – that is our ego’s – persist after clinical death.

The research into these Near-Death-Experiences (NDE’s) certainly indicate that our physical bodies are very analogous to a coat that merely houses us for a short period and that is cast off at death but the person wearing the coat survives in an energetic form. At this point, it seems certain that this survival or apparent survival is not the result of any psychological, physiological, or pharmacological process. But not unexpectedly, this conclusion raises even more perplexing questions. For example it has always been believed but not proven that consciousness and memories are localized in the brain and that thoughts or consciousness are produced by groups of neurons or neuronal networks, that is these functions are brain dependent and that these cannot exist without a brain. However, during a period of clinical death the brain function ceases and the EEG is flat, yet those people who have experienced an NDE retain memories and accurately describe events occurring around them during this period of clinical death, in effect they continue to function without an operable brain. For the moment let’s assume that recent research indicates that life does indeed continue after the death of the body but that it exists in an altered and energetic form.

Therefore, if we assume that life continues after clinical death that only answers one question while posing many others. In one study only 18% of the people in the study reported some recollection of events after clinical death and in another study only 10% reported an NDE, while 82% had no recollection of any event during clinical death. In those cases where an NDE occurs the overwhelming majority are positive but a percentage (1% to 15%) report negative experiences and within this group a small percentage report seeing demons or similar negative images. However, there does not seem to be any correlation between the person’s life experience and the positive or negative NDE and it those cases where a person has had multiple NDE’s some have been positive and others negative. In effect these people who have had an NDE experience that might be described as Heaven and Hell so what about Heaven and Hell?

Based on research mankind has had a belief in an afterlife since before written history but Heaven and Hell are relatively recent man made concepts, especially Hell with its colorful assortment of imps, devils, and demons. If these are not creations of God, and they appear to not be, then why do people experience them? More importantly, why do 82% not experience anything during clinical death? Furthermore, some comment on meeting Jesus during these experiences. Why Jesus? Why not Buddha, Mohammed, or even Zeus, why Jesus? Is this because that person expected to meet Jesus in the afterlife or is this an example of the inherent “rightness” of Christianity? And of course there is “Hell” which is even more of a human creation than Heaven. Where precisely is Heaven and why would at least some of the NDE’s experience what cannot only be described as “classic Hell”? Are these experiences based on the expectation of the person or are they reflections of the “real” afterlife? Probably we will never know although as research into NDE’s continues it is possible some patterns or correlations may emerge.

While many questions remain and not everyone who experiences clinical death has an NDE, it seems that there is growing evidence that we live in a physical world but a world of illusion. The entire universe is made up of identical protons, neutrons, and electrons, which combine to form what we perceive as our physical reality, but this reality – like the particles – is pure energy – in effect an energetic interconnected field that might be described as a thought projection. This physical reality is time driven but time itself is an illusion and is used solely as a framework for our individual and collective experience. Within this physical – mass oriented – reality we exist as physical beings but that existence is part of the illusion. We are in fact, energetic beings who exist independent of our bodies and of time – in effect we are eternal and our bodies disposable. We may visit the Earth Plane many many times, but death is really a rebirth into another plane of existence.

And this brings us back to the resurrection of Jesus. There are really two parts to this question, the first, can you die and be brought back to life and the second can you be transported physically to Heaven? I think the first question is a self-evident yes, because that is essentially what an NDE is, so yes Jesus could have died and been brought back to life in his physical body. This leaves us with the physical body of Jesus and could it be transported to Heaven? Let’s assume that Heaven is actually a different plane of existence, the one that we experience after death, then yes Jesus could have been transported there. If our bodies are pure energy then the physical body could leave by dropping its mass form and transform itself into pure energy – like light. So while the resurrection of Jesus may never be proven one way or another, it does seem possible. Furthermore, we do indeed appear to be energetic beings, with a soul and a life eternal.

The Resurrection and Life After Death

Life after death has always been a controversial topic and it doesn’t show any indication of being resolved anytime soon. Atheists and by implication evolutionists believe that life on Earth is a random event driven various magical processes like mutation and accidental combinations. For these people death is the end, the body dies, the ego vanishes, and the body rots. This means life has no purpose, no objective, and no motivation to live a moral and just life. Not very inspiring but nevertheless a belief held by many people. However, there are those who truly believe in life after death, that each person has a soul that survives physical death, and that rewards and punishments exist for each soul in the afterlife. Recently, various people, some being scientists, have studied “near death experiences” and have arrived at the conclusion that there is indeed an existence after clinical death. This belief in an after life is widespread and goes back even beyond recorded history and the concept of reincarnation was part of early Christian belief. With the canonization of the Bible, various beliefs were eliminated and reincarnation was one of them. Apparently, the resurrection of Jesus was felt to be sufficient proof of life after death, but of course this presupposes that the resurrection did in fact occur as described.

There is no doubt that Jesus was a real person and contemporary writings state that he was crucified. Of course the only other details are provided by the Bible and not any independent source. According to the Bible, Jesus was not only crucified but that he predicted his death and his resurrection. Witnesses, quoted in the Bible, state that he was crucified and a Roman soldier pierced his side with a lance. It is also noted that he asked for and was given “gall” which has been described as being various things ranging from vinegar to a soporific. It is also worth noting that the number of witnesses was small, so there was no large crowd. Pilate demanded proof that Jesus was dead and posted a guard at his tomb to insure the body was not taken.

At this point the story takes on a very bizarre twist because Jesus was declared dead and buried but after three days the tomb was found open, the shroud intact, and the body of Jesus missing. How the stone sealing the tomb got moved is said to have been accomplished by “angels”, but the Essenes were known to have referred to various members as angels so these mortal angels are probably the ones who opened the tomb, but what about Jesus? We can consider several possibilities. First, that some one other than Jesus was crucified. While this is possible it seems rather farfetched because Jesus was kept under guard and substituting a volunteer would have been exceedingly difficult. Secondly, Jesus was in fact executed and the body taken away and hidden. The ten subsequent sightings of Jesus in the flesh would then have been the imposter. This is possible but would have been hard to accomplish because the witnesses knew Jesus very well and would have been able to spot someone pretending to be Jesus. The third alternative and most probable is that the “cup of gall” was in fact a soporific, the lance wound superficial (and premeditated), and Jesus was revived and spirited away.

Of course the fourth alternative is that Jesus did in fact die and was in fact resurrected in the flesh and carried bodily to heaven. This view of the resurrection is the cornerstone of Christianity and was probably easier to accept when “heaven” was viewed as a physical place located “up there”. But given what we know about the universe today, heaven as a physical place is much harder to accept and thus we are still left with the body of Jesus and the question that if we die and live eternally after death, where is Jesus today?

There are several things that raise questions regarding this entire story. First, crucifixion was not a punishment handed out to everyone but was generally reserved for enemies of Rome. Pilate, resisted punishing Jesus and was coerced into it by the Sanhedrin, so it is possible that he imposed the crucifixion penalty in order to pacify the Jews, but what about the thieves? Was thievery a crime against Rome? A more plausible explanation is that Pilate did in fact see Jesus as a rebel leader and an enemy of Rome and that the thieves were in fact also rebels. This would then explain why Pilate demanded proof Jesus was dead and why a Roman guard was posted at the grave site. But what happened to these guards? How long were they there? If they were still there three days later, why didn’t they see the tombstone move, the grave open, and Jesus walk out? Most likely the soldiers were already gone – if they were there at all. The entire description of the resurrection lies in the Bible and the only independent accounts merely note that Jesus was crucified. It would seem even today, that if a criminal was executed, certified dead, buried, and then was resurrected, it would be headline news, yet no Roman source even mentions that Jesus was seen alive after his death or that even he was believed to have escaped death.

Jesus was seen in the flesh ten times after his death and urged his disciples to touch him – indicating that he was in fact alive, warm, in the flesh, and not a ghost. This seems like incontrovertible proof that if this did in fact happen, Jesus did in fact not die on the cross. The Bible is not a very reliable source of information because it was canonized in the fourth century and was heavily edited. Therefore, the entire resurrection story remains unproven and relies on faith, not facts. But the fact that the resurrection of Jesus is rather suspect doesn’t make eternal life false. Indeed, the disciples were simple uneducated men who may have had a difficult time grasping eternal life or life after death without some sort of proof, which Jesus may have arranged.

While the Bible stories may be more fiction than fact, the reality is that life after death has been an aspect of religion since the advent of man. Recent studies indicate that there does appear to be eternal life and that our physical bodies are mere shells for the people we really are. We do indeed move from a physical to spiritual state and back again. We may not be resurrected in the physical body but we do continue in spirit until we choose to manifest yet again on this physical plane.