Reincarnation

After my second year as an undergrad, I changed my major to Religious Studies. One thing I discovered very quickly is that when you inform others that you are studying religion, they very often want to talk about it. You wouldn't believe how many theological discussions I've had with complete strangers.

One thing that struck me very early on is how many people -- including Christians -- believe in reincarnation. At the time I was kind of an agnostic about matters of life after death, in that I didn't think it was possible to know anything about what happens after we die. When one understands exactly how it is that we come to know anything, it doesn't take long to realise that notions of "everlasting life" can never be anything more than speculation. We, being temporal beings, cannot possibly experience anything of the kind.

Reincarnation is a little different, in that many people do report having memories of previous lives. There are some pretty compelling stories of people who have "remembered" things that they could not possibly have known. Reincarnation is not the only possible explanation for these, of course, but it would seem to be the simplest.

I read a very compelling article on the subject a while back, in an issue of What Is Enlightenment? magazine. I'm still a little skeptical about the idea, but this article certainly inspired me to keep an open mind. I found it online recently, and definitely recommend checking it out: "Death, Rebirth, and Everything in Between," by Carter Phipps.