"It
seems reasonable to conclude that the so-called ban concerning
the doctrine of reincarnation is the result of an historical error
and contains no ecclesiastical authority whatsoever."
The
German author, Peter Andreas, expresses this point of view in
his book, Jenseits von Einstein. Andreas gives attention to the
concept of reincarnation and, particularly, to the manner in which
any consideration of the topic was suppressed within the Catholic
church - not by profound theological study, but by the action
of a Roman Emperor.
In
a chapter devoted to reincarnation, Andreas writes: "The Christian
churches have very little indeed to say about reincarnation. They
can hardly be blamed because the Bible is apparently sadly lacking
in this respect. In fact, we may ask, if the subject of reincarnation
is so important - from the religious point of view - why is there
so little mention of it in the Bible?"
The
few Bible references indicate that from the earliest times supporters
and opponents of reincarnation have waged bitter 'war'. Jesus'
remark to Nicodemus, for instance, "Thou must be born again" can
be interpreted as a reference to spiritual rebirth, according
to the opponents of the idea (of reincarnation).
"Naturally,
the Nazarene must have had his own reasons for not going more
deeply into the subject. Perhaps he believed the truth to be too
complicated for the limited understanding of people then, and
that it was of greater importance to clarify the essence of his
teaching and emphasise the message of love. He did not warn against
belief in reincarnation. Nowadays, there is little doubt that
early Christians gave more credence to the concept of rebirth
than was later the case. The main figure responsible for this
change was no churchman but an ambitious, worldly and powerful
figure Emperor Justinius. In the year 553, quite independently
of the Pope, Justinius had the teachings of the church father
Origen (185-253) banned by a synod. Origen had spoken out in unmistakable
terms on the question of the repeated incarnations of the soul:
"Each soul enters the world strengthened by the victories or weakened
by the defects of its past lives. Its place in this world is determined
by past virtues and shortcomings." De Principalis. "Is it not
more in accordance with common sense that every soul for reasons
unknown - I speak in accordance with the opinions of Pythagoras,
Plato and Empedokles - enters the body influenced by its past
deeds? The soul has a body at its disposal for a certain period
of time which, due to its changeable condition, eventually is
no longer suitable for the soul, whereupon it changes that body
for another." Contra Celsum."
Intrigues
Andreas goes on to describe how Emperor Justinius managed to manipulate
the 5th Ecumenical Council in 553 which resulted in the ban against
Origen: "Strangely enough, there was not one Roman bishop present
at this conference; apart from six African notables there were
only Eastern bishops present. A curious feature of this Council
was that although Pope Vigilius was in Constantinople at the time
of the Council he did not attend. There had previously been conflict
between Vigilius and the Emperor and the Empress Theodora. Justinius
refused to accede to the Pope's request for a stronger delegation
of bishops from both West and East at the Council and then proceeded
to convene the Council himself.
The
Pope did not attend, as a gesture of protest, and as an indication
that he would not be held responsible for the Council. The ruling
monarch did not have an entirely free hand, however, since official
regulations drawn up during the eight sessions of the Council,
which met over a period of four weeks, had to be officially endorsed
by the Pope. This duly took place; the documents, however, only
dealt with the so-called 'Three Chapters' controversy - the work
of three scholars considered by Justinius to be heretics. The
Emperor had already issued an edict against these men. No mention
was made of Origen. Research suggests that suspicions about Justinius
were valid. Neither Pope Plagius I (556-561) nor Pope Gregorius
(590-604) mentioned Origen when writing about the 5th Council."
Ban
But
up to now it has been accepted tacitly that the following is the
official ban of the Council:
"Whosoever teaches the doctrine of a supposed pre-birth existence
of the soul, and speaks of a monstrous restoration of this, is
cursed."
"How
did this come about? No-one can say with certainty, but there
are strong indications that by some ploy the Emperor Justinius
was able to insist on the convocation of a Council, which was
delayed, however, by opposition from the Pope. Eventually the
first meeting of the Council took place on 5 May 553, not before
the Emperor had managed to call several bishops to a meeting at
which he (Justinius) presented his 'Fifteen Anathemata' refuting
Origen's teachings, and gained the endorsement of the attending
bishops.
We
can safely conclude that the Pope, who wished to boycott the Council,
would certainly not have appeared at this meeting, which was precisely
what Justinius had hoped for. The meeting prior to the Council
was used by the wily Emperor to curtail the Pope's powers and
to pronounce a ban on the teachings of Origen. His scheming succeeded
far better than he could have imagined. The church accepted the
ban as valid, having been imposed by the Council, and it then
passed into established doctrine where it has remained for the
past 1500 years. This makes the idea extremely difficult to correct.
The subject of reincarnation has therefore not played any role
in Christian doctrine, in contrast with other religions.
"Thus
it seems right to conclude that the 'ban' on the teaching of reincarnation
is based on historical misrepresentation and has no ecclesiastical
authority. It was in fact a 'fait accompli', brought about by
Justinius, which no-one within the Christian church has dared
to challenge in the course of some 1500 years. What is worse is
that the subject has been totally ignored, as a glance at any
encyclopaedia will show."
