There are definite differences between biblical Christianity and reincarnation. They differ on key doctrinal points. Let’s look at a few.      


Doctrine of God. Reincarnation does not perceive God as being personal, but impersonal. For the reincarnationist, God is not knowable and therefore one cannot have a personal relationship with God. Christianity teaches that God is a personal Being and is knowable. God desires a relationship with the human beings whom He created.


Nature of Mankind. Reincarnation views man as being transient. Man lives many lifetimes seeking ultimate union with an impersonal god. Christianity views man as being created in the image of his Creator (Genesis 1:26) and possessing a unique personality that experiences one life with personal choices (moral responsibility) regarding his ultimate destiny.


Salvation and Atonement. Salvation is achieved through the perfection of many incarnations. The individual must work off the bad karma that keeps him from perfection, thereby completing his own salvation by his own works. Christianity views salvation as a gift from God offering atonement for man, who is unable to achieve it for himself. In the process man retains his unique personality and receives God’s grace irrespective of his merit.


The Person of Christ. Jesus, according to the reincarnationist, is a wayshower; he simply points us in the way to our salvation. Christianity views Jesus as the God-man. He is the unique Son of God. He is man’s only hope for salvation (John 14:6).


The World. The world evolved out of an impersonal force, an energy that reincarnationists believe to be God. Christianity views the world as being created out of nothing by a transcendent personal God who declared it to be good.


Source of Evil. For the reincarnationist, evil is a product from a prior life visited upon this life. Evil will ultimately be reabsorbed back into the impersonal force - god. The Christian sees evil as a free choice by the individual which will ultimately be destroyed by a holy God.

Paul Edwards in his book, Reincarnation: A Critical Examination, makes these observations about reincarnation. Although Edwards is not a Christian, he offers a sound critique of the subject.


           Edwards raises the population problem as a significant issue for the reincarnationist to address. The problem is that “if everyone alive today once inhabited a previous human body, how can the world’s population explosion be explained?” He continues by pointing out that there “are not enough former earthlings to account for today’s population, and each year the problem gets worse.”


           The reincarnationist’s attempt to answer the above objection becomes an exercise in futility that stretches credulity. One solution to this problem is that souls from other planets have populated the earth. Edgar Cayce often referred to the lost island of Atlantis as being the point of origination for many souls who would later appear on earth.


           Another bizarre solution to the problem is that some believe that one soul can occupy more than one body at the same time.


           A second powerful argument against reincarnation according to Edwards is the sudden death of tens of thousands of people in earthquakes or other natural disasters. “A reincarnationist must believe that all the victims were simultaneously punished for past sins. ‘How did this non-intelligent principle (karma) set up the geological forces so as to achieve the desired result with complete precision?’”


           If the law of karma is infallible, how can the six million Jews all deserve the same fate without the reincarnationist questioning the justice of the atrocity?

We have seen that reincarnation is not scientific. It is based on experiential data and does not offer us any help in its justification. Likewise, the “Law of Karma” cannot be considered scientific.


           The reincarnationists’ arguments for their view have been exposed and discarded as displaying poor logic and unfounded faith. The Bible does not teach reincarnation, but resurrection, as the only future state of mankind. Some are resurrected to eternal bliss and others to eternal punishment. The Bible is clear that it is appointed once for man to die then judgment by God (Heb.9:27).


           There are key distinctions between Christianity and reincarnational theory. They are not compatible on any level. It is evident that Christianity is far superior in its treatment of mankind. Christianity offers the only hope for man’s future.