The Pre-Nicene Position Of The Church On Reincarnation

 

 The Official Pre-Nicene Position Of The Church On Reincarnation

Twenty Five percent of American Christians believe in Reincarnation (see SURVEY ).   Are these believers being deceived?  Or are they being intuitively moved by the Holy Spirit to embrace truth over man-made dogma?  Can these questions -- questions that are absolutely crucial for every Christian to answer -- be factually proven?  While ignoring the spiritual insights of many Christians, the Church continues to withhold the facts.  Why?  Because many Christians have experienced the Holy Spirit conveying to these sincere believers the a reality which the leadership of the Church chooses to ignore.   And what is that ignored and suppressed Truth?  The answer which the Holy Spirit is revealing, is that the original foundational teaching that has been suppressed by the Church, is the absolutely crucial teaching of Jesus on the pre-existent Soul that evolves to perfection over the course of many lives which Jesus taught his original followers.  Using the Official Proclamation of the third century Church Authorities known as Contra Celsum, it is easy to prove that the most important Gospel teachings were corrupted in the fourth century by a series of Roman emperors who took total control over Church doctrine.  Even the very words that God allegedly spoke to mankind as recorded in the Gospels, were corrupted in order to change the foundational teachings (see The Corruption Of The Words Of God http://BrotherOfJesus.org#CorruptionOfGodsWords ). In addition to historical and biblical facts, this article links to other scientific based articles which present proof of reincarnation.  Every year a greater number of Christians abandon the Church.  Why?  So long as the Church continues to conceal the facts, the Holy Spirit will continue to drive sincere believers out of the Church so they can commence to be guided onto a more Gospel-oriented spiritual path.   

The Foundational Gospel Teachings:  In the approximate year of 178 of our Common Era, Celsus, the Epicurean Philosopher and opponent of Christianity, published a rather embarrassing work in opposition to Christianity known as The True Word or Discourse, which portrayed the Church as a "secret system" which taught the elect the doctrine of the soul that evolves to perfection over the course of many lifetimes, while teaching the unenlightened entry-level Christians the doctrine of Heaven and Hell. It is said that this work was so widely published and used by the Pagan world as an attack on the Church, that seventy years after its publication The True Word was still so widely circulated, that the Church Father Origen was commissioned by St. Ambrosius to refute this attack by Celsus. Who was Origen that he was asked to present the official position of the Church? Origen is called “…the most prominent of all the church fathers” (Encyclopedia. Britannica), and was considered by Jerome to be “the greatest teacher of the Church after the Apostles.” St. Gregory of Nyssa called him “the prince of Christian learning in the Third Century.” In his Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament, by Dr. F. H. Scrivener, one of the ablest of modern-day biblical scholars and critics writes of Origen: “Origen is the most celebrated biblical critic of antiquity. His is the highest name among the critics and expositors of the early Church. He is perpetually engaged in the discussion of various readings of the New Testament, and employs language, in describing the then existing state of the text, which would be deemed strong if applied even to its present condition, after the changes which sixteen more centuries must needs have produced… Seldom have such warmth of fancy and so bold a grasp of mind been united with the lifelong, patient industry which procured for this famous man the honorable appellation of Adamantius.” 

Based upon the above, the published reply of Origen known as Contra-Celsum, to the allegation of the Church being a "secret system" that teaches those who have achieved degrees of spiritual maturity differently than the masses of entry-level believers, must be understood as the official position of the Church. Quoting the Wikipedia with respect to the support of the confirmation of teachings in Origen's Contra-Celsum (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contra_Celsum : "Eusebius admired Contra Celsum so much that in his Contra Hieroclem, he declared that Contra Celsum provided an adequate rebuttal to all criticisms the church would ever face".

The position of the Church was that only the believer who sincerely embraced the teachings of Jesus -- becoming the "good ground" in the parable of the Sower and the Seed (see http://SowerAndTheSeed.Ebionite.com ), could fulfill the purpose and objective of the Gospel teachings.  Preparedness to understand man's higher Soul-Reality, is why Jesus spoke only in parables to the masses of people who lacked the necessary spiritual maturity to comprehend the core Gospel teachings -- i.e., "And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it. But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples" (Mark 4:33-34). Only those who had achieved degrees of spiritual maturity, could the mysteries of the Kingdom be revealed -- i.e., Jesus explained: “Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand” (Mark 4:11-12). Which is why St. Jerome wrote: “The doctrine of transmigration (reincarnation) has been secretly taught from ancient times to small numbers of people, as a traditional truth which was not to be divulged” Why in the pre-Nicene Church were the more spiritually mature taught differently than those who failed to advance? Origen responded to the allegation of Celsus by explaining that: “For there are in the divinity of the Word some helps towards the cure of those who are sick”, meaning the sinners. Origen then clarifies his statement and writes that these sinners are by no means invited to “…participation in mysteries, then, and to fellowship in the wisdom hidden in a mystery, which God ordained before the world to the glory of His saints”.

In his famed work De Principiis, Origin explains who can be a recipient of the Mysteries of the Kingdom and the Gospel of God: “Whoever has clean hands, and therefore lifts up holy hands to God… let him come to us… Whoever is pure, not only from all defilement, but from what are regarded as lesser transgressions, let him be boldly initiated into the mysteries of Jesus, which properly are made known only to the holy and the pure… To those who have been purified in heart, he whose soul has for a long time, been conscious of no evil, especially since he yielded himself to the healing of the Word, let such a one hear the doctrines which were spoken in private by Jesus to his genuine disciples”.  Paul made reference to the inability of entry-level Christians who he, himself, had taught, to understand the spiritual meaning of the Gospel teachings when he said: "...I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal".  It is therefore imperative that modern believers understand Paul's words when he stated to those who he had personally taught: “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor 2:14).  Thus, it is not a "secret system" when it is recognized that teachings such as the pre-existent Soul that evolves to perfection over the course of many lives, cannot be understood by the Christians who fail to advance to an intellectual level where they are able to comprehend man's higher Soul-Reality. 

Within the official reply to Celsus by the Church is this teaching on the pre-existent Soul that evolves to Wholeness and Perfection over the course of many lives: "Is it not rational that souls should be introduced into bodies, in accordance with their merits and previous deeds, and that those who have used their bodies in doing the utmost possible good should have the right to bodies endowed with qualities superior to the bodies of others?... The soul, which is immaterial and invisible in its nature, exists in no material place without having a body suited to the nature of that place; accordingly, it at one time puts off one body, which was necessary before, but which is no longer adequate in its changed state, and it exchanges it for a second". And in his famed work De Principiis the Church Father Origen explains: "The soul has neither beginning nor end... Every soul... comes into this world strengthened by the victories or weakened by the defeats of its previous life. Its place in this world as a vessel appointed to honor or dishonor is determined by its previous merits or demerits. Its work in this world determines its place in the world which is to follow this..."
 

The Religion Of Roman Emperors: The Commissioned Reply of the Church in Contra-Celsum, must be recognized as the official position and doctrine of the Christianity prior to the take-over of the Church by the Emperor Constantine in the year 325AD. And the teachings of Origen and the pre-Nicene Church Fathers on the pre-existent soul were embraced, until they were suppressed in the fourth century when the Emperor Constantine took absolute control of the Church, and until being condemned by the Emperor Justinian in the year 553.  Turning to the historian, this ultra important element to the equation of life that causes the modern Christian to perceive in reverse of both the scriptures and life itself, is made reference to by Edward Gibbon in the footnote regarding the question of the disciples at John 9:2: "The disciples of Jesus were persuaded that a man might have sinned before he was born, (John, ix. 2,) and the Pharisees held the transmigration [reincarnation] of virtuous souls, (Joseph. de Bell. Judaico, l. ii. c. 7;) and a modern Rabbi is modestly assured, that Hermes, Pythagoras, Plato, etc., derived their metaphysics from his illustrious countrymen" (Gibbon; Decline & Fall) -- metaphysics that embraced the concept of the pre-existence and transmigration of the soul. Did the Jews believe in the pre-existent Soul? The Hastings-Scribner Dictionary Of The Bible states: "To affirm that Jews in Christ's time did not believe in pre-existence is simply incorrect"  The Zohar, which is the foundation of Jewish mysticism states: “All souls are subject to the trials of transmigration; and men do not know the designs of the Most High with regard to them… The souls must re-enter the absolute substance whence they have emerged.  But to accomplish this end they must develop all the perfections, the germ of which is planted in them; and if they have not fulfilled this condition during one life, they must commence another, a third, and so forth, until they have acquired the condition which fits them for reunion with God”.   This teaching can rightly be portrayed as the parable of the prodigal son who cannot return to the Edenic Kingdom until he "comes to his senses".  But, because the Church since the Roman take-over has embraced the manmade doctrines of the Emperors who ruled over the religion and its accepted doctrines of belief, the faithful flock has remained entry-level and spiritually disenfranchised throughout the intervening centuries.

Why was the doctrine of the transmigration of the soul removed from Christian teaching and understanding?   Because this core Gospel teaching fell to the same fate as many other spiritual truths which the emperors, such as Constantine and Justinian, did not agree with.   Quoting the Britannica: “Under Justinian all essential features were already formed: Imperial power extended equally over state and Church… Since the emperor ruled the Church there was no longer any independence for the bishops, least of all for the patriarch in Constantinople; they were in every respect subordinate to the emperor”.   As the leader of the Church and its teachings, in the year 553 Justinian convened the 5th Ecumenical Council where, quoting the Catholic Encyclopedia, “…the council opened on 5 May, 553, in spite of the protestations of Pope Vigilius, who though at Constantinople, refused to attend it… before the opening of the council, which had been delayed by the resistance of the pope, the bishops already assembled at Constantinople had to consider, by order of the emperor, a form of Origenism that had practically nothing in common with Origen…”.   Quoting the Britannica: “After the council, Justinian banished the pope to Egypt, and afterwards to an island, until he accepted the Council, which he ultimately did.”   After relenting to the will of the emperor, and finely accepting the decree of the emperor after seven months of imprisonment, it is reported that the pope met with an untimely death before he could even return to the Vatican. Thereafter, any Christian who suggested that they agreed with the early church fathers with regard to the teaching on the transmigration of the soul were put to death.   Any reference in scripture that a person's position in life which they were born into, was in accordance with what one accomplished in the their Soul's previous lives, was edited out.  Can the Truth be confirmed by the modern believer?  Yes.  Quoting from Can I Get An Original Pure Copy Of The Scriptures http://OriginalGospel.Ebionite.com#PureCopyOfScriptures

Demand The Vatican To Provide Original Copies Of the Gospels: When Constantine ordered the destruction of those who opposed the religion of the emperor, many of the more pure copies of scriptures were collected and hidden away in what is now the Vatican archives. The Church of Rome has maintained the position that the Truth in whatever form belongs solely to them -- and these more pure scriptures remain hidden away in the Vatican archives. Therefore, if the Christian world truly desired to return to their original spiritual roots, and really wanted more pure scriptures, they could demand an accounting of these scriptures that remain stashed away in the Vatican.  Historically, the Protestant Reformation was largely the result of the Gospels being translated into the English language, and given into the hands of the believing community by John Wycliffe. The Pope was so infuriated with Wycliffe's teachings and his translation of the Bible into English, that 44 years after Wycliffe had died, he ordered the bones to be dug-up, crushed, and scattered in the river! One of Wycliffe’s followers, John Hus, actively promoted Wycliffe’s ideas: that people should be permitted to read the Bible in their own language, and they should oppose the tyranny of the Roman church that threatened anyone possessing a non-Latin Bible with execution. Hus was burned at the stake in 1415, with Wycliffe’s manuscript Bibles used as kindling for the fire. How corrupt and spiritually disenfranchised was the Church? In his letter to Pope Leo X on September 6th, 1520, where Martin Luther wrote of the Christianity of his day, that the church, “…once the holiest of all, has become the most licentious den of thieves, the most shameless of all brothels, the kingdom of sin, death, and hell. It is so bad that even Antichrist himself, if he should come, could think of nothing to add to its wickedness” (Quoted in: The Great Thoughts; compiled by George Seldes). Yet, as predicted by the Apostle Paul, the AntiChrist not only ruled the Church since the fourth century (see The Church Of The AntiChrist http://Ebionite.com/AntiChrist.htm ) -- but as Paul predicted, the AntiChrist sat on the thrown of the Church and was worshiped as God. And with regard to Paul's assertion that these things would come to pass, the Adam Clark Commentary writes of this passage of Paul's Epistle: “[Except there come a falling away first] We have the original word apostasia in our word apostasy; and by this term we understand a dereliction of the essential principles of religious truth, either a total abandonment of Christianity itself, or such a corruption of its doctrines as renders the whole system completely inefficient to salvation. But what this apostasy means is a question which has not yet, and perhaps never will be, answered to general satisfaction” (from the Adam Clarke Commentary).

In the above I provide the OFFICIAL PUBLISHED position of the Church prior to the violent take over of the Church by the Emperor Constantine. In the case of the Christian Church beginning in the fourth century, to disagree with the doctrines affirmed by the Emperor Constantine, carried with it the sentence of death. Thus, Gibbon writes in the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: ”Constantine easily believed that the heretics, who presumed to dispute his opinions or to oppose his commands, were guilty of the most absurd and criminal obstinacy... Not a moment was lost in excluding the ministers and teachers of the separated congregations from any share of the rewards and immunities which the emperor had so liberally bestowed on the orthodox clergy. But as the sectaries might still exist under the cloud of royal disgrace, the conquest of the East was immediately followed by an edict which announced their total destruction”. Thus, in the same way that whoever did not embrace the religion of the emperor met with the sentence of death, whatever scriptures did not conform to the approved version, was immediately destroyed (see http://BibleCorruption.com  ).  The result is that the very foundational doctrines that are necessary to begin to mentally and spiritually mature beyond an elementary level of consciousness, were not only anathema by the emperors who ruled over the Church -- but have yet to be corrected to this very day. In the same way that the religious doctrines of the pagan emperors were imposed on the church in the fourth century, this remained true into the sixth century when the doctrine of the pre-existent soul was outlawed.  Quoting from http://BrotherOfJesus.org :

Those followers and disciples who walked and talked with Jesus daily -- the very people who he personally taught -- those followers who could ask Jesus any question -- all witnessed to the fact that Jesus was a true holy man who became the Anointed (Messiah/Christ/Enlightened) by fulfilling the Law of God within his own mind and being see The Law Of The Gospels http://TheLawOfTheGospels.com . They affirmed that Jesus (quoting) "...was justified by fulfilling the Law. He was the Christ (Anointed) of God, since not one of the rest of mankind had observed the Law completely. Had any one else fulfilled the commandments of the Law, he would have been the Christ, for they assert that our Lord Himself was a man in like sense with all humanity" (quoted from Hippolytus, Refut. Omn. Haer. vii. 34). Jesus himself taught his followers that any of the prodigal sons who fulfill the Law as he had done, becomes Anointed (Messiah/Christ), and is then able to become At-One with the indwelling Logos/Word?Mind/Son of God that exists at the core of our consciousness. It was the living of the necessary Consecrated Life that Jesus ordained, and the seeking of the Kingdom within, that enabled the historical man Jesus to become the Messiah, and At-One with the Indwelling Logos/Word/Son of God -- a path and teachings that the modern Church totally rejects based upon the pagan doctrines of Roman Emperors. And the reality that Jesus, the man, became the Anointed, and through his Wholeness, achieved a condition of At-Oneness with the Indwelling Logos/Son of God. This is especially demonstrated in the words of Edward Gibbon with respect to the original position of the Ebionite Nazirene disciples of Jesus that he (Jesus) was in “...supernatural union of a man and God... In their eyes, Jesus of Nazareth was a mere mortal, the legitimate son of Joseph and Mary: but he was the best and wisest of the human race, selected as the worthy instrument to restore upon earth the worship of the true and supreme Deity. When he was baptized in the Jordan, the Christ, the first of the aeons, the Son of God himself, descended on Jesus in the form of a dove, to inhabit his mind, and direct his actions during the allotted period of his ministry” (Gibbon; The Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire, V.4, P.366). The later Church of Constantine suppressed the core teaching on how each person must fulfill the Law within their own mind and being, as Jesus taught his original followers (see Spiritual Meaning And Fulfillment Of The Law http://TheLawOfTheGospels.com#SpiritualMeaningOfTheLaw ).

In this life my name is Allan Cronshaw. But in the former life of my Soul, I was known as Jacob/Ya'kov who people today mistakenly call James, the brother of Yeshua who they mistakenly call Jesus, and as the original author of the core Gospel composed in the language of Hebrew Characters (see http://Cronshaw.us  ), my Soul re-entered this world at this time to restore the important teachings that the Church suppressed and removed from the Gospels (see The Restored Original Gospel Teachings http://OriginalGospel.Ebionite.com  ). I was sent to convey to seekers how to enter into the Narrow Gate (see Spiritual Osmosis And The Narrow Gate http://TheLawOfOctaves.com#Osmosis  ). To prepare for the Inward Journey, it is necessary to understand the Cosmology of Mind set forth in the Tree Of Life http://TreeOfLife.Nazirene.org . 

In total opposition to modern Church dogma and the Augustinian doctrine of Original Sin (see Original Sin And Spiritual Osmosis http://TheLawOfOctaves.com#OriginalSin  ),  Jesus taught: "They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Mark 2:17). Before this verse can be understood, we must first understand what it means to be Whole. Which provokes the question: How is Wholeness achieved? Contrary to the dogma of the modern Church, if Jesus is the savior who every person needs for their salvation, then Jesus himself said the Church was wrong, and those who are Whole do not need him. And as a physician, Jesus did not come for the salvation of those who achieve Wholeness and Righteousness, but only for those who are sick and in need of a physician. And in total opposition to Church dogma, what this also means is that at the time the historical man Jesus walked the face of the earth, there existed people who he portrayed as "whole [and] righteous" who did not need Jesus the physician. Jesus openly states that his mission as a spiritual physician is not for them, because they achieved the necessary Wholeness without him.  With respect to the question: Does everyone need Jesus as the modern Christian maintains? While Jesus himself said that those who had achieved Wholeness did not need him as a spiritual physician -- i.e., "They that are whole have no need of the physician..." -- and that with effort, all of mankind is capable of achieving a condition that Jesus portrayed as "whole [and] righteous".  Which means that those people who did achieve Wholeness, were not sick, and in Jesus' own words were not in need of him (Jesus) as a physician to heal them. Which means that the whole foundation of modern Church dogma which was imposed upon the believing community by a series of Roman Emperors (see The Religion Of Roman Emperors http://reincarnation.nazirene.org/#emperors  ), is man-made and in error. And while the Original Gospel Teachings of Jesus are the Truth of all Truths, these Original Teachings are rejected by the modern Church.  

Twenty five Percent of Christians believe in Reincarnation -- see https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2015/10/21/25-percent-us-christians-believe-reincarnation-whats-wrong-picture      

Scientific Proof Of Reincarnation https://reincarnate.life/scientific-proof-of-reincarnation-yes-the-soul-exists/ 

 

The Reincarnation OF Shanti Devi https://www.historicmysteries.com/shanti-devi-reincarnation/

Shanti Devi was born in India on 11th December 1926. She was just four years old when she started to claim that the home she was in wasn’t her real home. She also said that her parents weren’t real as well! Soon, she understood that she could remember her past life. This case got a very thorough investigation, and hundreds of researchers and scholars took part in it during the mid-1930s. This story changed the way science looked at reincarnation. The claims and stories shared by Shanti Devi about her past life dangled an intriguing possibility: could people remember their past lives?  These 15 people took Shanti Devi with them to Mathura. At the Mathura station, Shanti Devi was presented to a stranger and asked if she could recognize the person. She immediately touched the feet of that person and recognized him as the elder brother of Kedar Nath.  When they reached her past-life home in Mathura, she didn’t take a second to recognize her father-in-law within the crowd. People were stunned to see that! She also said that in her past life, she buried some money in a specific location in her Mathura house.   Shanti Devi guided people to that spot, where there was a flower-pot. People searched, but ultimately found no money. Yet Shanti Devi insisted that she did keep money there in her past life. Kedar Nath, her past-life husband, confessed that he took that money after her death. And with all of these facts, her claims were considered to be proved. Dr. Ian Stevenson, the leading authority of the reincarnation investigation, said that Shanti Devi made around twenty-four statements of her memories that were an exact match to that of the verified facts. After interviewing all of the participants, the report in 1936 stated that she was indeed the reincarnation of Lugdi Bai!

 

 

Dr. Ian Stevenson https://www.reincarnationresearch.com/childrens-past-life-memories-and-the-research-of-ian-stevenson-md/

Evaluating the Evidence for Reincarnation https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/out-the-darkness/202112/evaluating-the-evidence-reincarnation  

 Out Of The Mouth Of Babes: https://www.sott.net/.../289827-Out-of-the-mouths-of...? "Multiple researchers have thoroughly investigated cases of children who report past-life memories. In many cases, the details given by a child have been verified to correspond (sometimes with startling accuracy) to a deceased person."

Reincarnation Proof: The James Linegar Case    https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=h82PwADicl8... 

Girl Believes She Was a Pioneer in Her Past Life - The Ghost Inside My Child  https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=nlaNbKIWRcU... 

Amazing Story of World Famous Pollock Twin Sisters - Re Birth and remembering the past https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ7psZXHv2o 

The Gospel teachings on reincarnation can be found at the following links:

Links from my own Spiritual Church Restoration Article: 
Christian Reincarnation http://ChristianReincarnation.org
The Spiritual Castration Of The Gospels http://DevilSpawn.Ebionite.com#SpiritualCastrationOfTheGospel
Go Out No More http://CausalFactor.Nazirene.org#GoOutNoMore
Soul-Evolution - Reincarnation And Soul-Development http://OriginalGospel.Ebionite.com#SoulEvolution
The Cause Of Organic Human Blindness http://OriginalGospel.Ebionite.com#OrganicHumanBlindness
Spiritual DNA And The Allotment Of Talents To The Invited Guests http://OriginalGospel.Ebionite.com#SpiritualDNA
Spiritual DNA And The Sower And The Seed http://OriginalGospel.Ebionite.com#SowerAndSeed
The Intellectual Red Line In The Sand Of Human Consciousness http://CausalFactor.Nazirene.org#TheIntellectualRedLine
Jesus Teaches The Causal Factors Of Life http://CausalFactor.Nazirene.org#JesusTeachesTheCausalFactorsOfLife
The Purpose Of The Natural Laws And The Prison http://CausalFactor.Nazirene.org#ThePrison
Secondary Karma, The Prison, And The Chickens That Come Home To Roost http://CausalFactor.Nazirene.org#SecondaryKarma
The Causal Factors And The Corrupted Teaching On Children http://CausalFactor.Nazirene.org#TheCorruptedTeachingsOnChildren
The Causal Factors And The Talents http://CausalFactor.Nazirene.org#TheCausalFactorsAndTheTalents
Christianity Today: The Religion Of Roman Emperors http://reincarnation.nazirene.org/#emperors