Is reincarnation real?
NO! Reincarnation is a religious concept of the Hindus and Buddhists. They refer to it as “soul transmigration.” It is a belief of the eternal 'birth-death-birth' cycle where a persons soul moves from body to body. Each time they “reincarnate” into a new body (it can be a human body or an animal body) the status or importance of their next body is a direct result of the kind of life (good or bad) that their soul led in its previous body. So if they lived a “good” life they believe that it will result in a rebirth or reincarnation into a higher quality of life, but if they lived a “bad” life then they are reincarnated into a lower life form. They base this belief on the law of “Karma” which is the foundation of Hinduism. The ultimate goal in this Karma cycle is for the soul to “progress” to the highest level of existence and “become one with the universe.” Reincarnation is a sister religion to “pantheism” which is the belief that everything is God – the trees are God, the sky is God, the grass is God, people are God etc. Both of these (reincarnation and pantheism) are also the central doctrines and beliefs of occultism. What a belief in reincarnation does is that it provides the person with unlimited chances to “get life right.” If they don’t get it right this time then they can get it right in their next life, then the next life, then the next life and on and on. So it doesn’t really matter what you do in life or how much you sin, it doesn't matter how much wrong you do, you can do whatever you want because you have unlimited lifetimes to make things right “whenever you feel like it.” The belief of reincarnation goes against the entire teaching of the Bible. The Bible very clearly and concisely refutes the doctrine of reincarnation. The Bible says “it is appointed unto man to die ONCE, and after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Only one life. The Bible says that “the wages of sin is DEATH” (Romans 6:23) not chance after chance and life after life until you get it right. Reincarnation teaches that salvation is not from God through His Son Jesus Christ, but rather, it teaches that salvation is eventually attained by everyone once they have “perfected” themselves at the end of their Karma-based life cycle. It is a dangerous, deadly, heathenistic, paganistic and atheistic belief! Only through the Cross of Jesus Christ can we find perfect peace, and hope, and eternal life.
- Mark Shutts