Core meaning:
The belief that a non physical essence (soul, consciousness,l ife force) begins a new life in a new physical body after biological death. The new body can be animal, plant, divine or even some non-organic in some systems.
Major Histories
Indian religions has been the major pioneer of that belief, with religions like Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism
Hinduism
Hindus beliefs in the cyclic rebirth (atman). They believe that life is a journey and when this one ends probably we eventually die we can continue our existence in other forms, like taking up another body to exist like someone else, an animal or even in another realm like heavenly realm or lower but you just keep playing by the book until it finishes.
Scriptural basis:
Bhagavad Gītā 2:22
“As a person sheds worn-out garments and puts on new ones, so the soul leaves the worn-out body and enters a new one.”
Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.4.4
“A person becomes good by good actions, bad by bad actions.”.
Jainism
The Jains believe that every living thing has a soul, it has always existed and will always exist. Unlike the Hindus this soul never stop existing it moves into another body immediately this one dies and this new birth is determined by karma that the soul has collected.
In janism your action binds karma to the soul and karma determines your next birth. The same action continues until your soul is pure.
Now Buddhist has their own belief which reframes it as a rebirth without a permanent self. Thus it's driven by dependent origination and just like Jains it's also determined by karma. Even in my African tradition we also have same believe of reincarnation but does that really makes it true?
Scientific Approach
The believe about reincarnation after death it mostly classified as pseudoscience, here's the reason. When a person dies every organ in the body seizes to function and that's the end of that particular life. We reason with the brain, our thoughts, and minds reasonates from the brain. So when the body dies the brain dies as well and so there's nothing left to move into a new body. And science believes in physical evidence and because there's non there's absolutely no evidence to back it up.
Despite all of this there are still strange cases that science can't fully explain just like the case of
"Ian Stevenson (University of Virginia)"
He studied over 2,500 children between the ages of 2 and 6 who were claiming to have past lives.
Some children gave: Names of individuals who deceased, exact details concerning families they never met.
Information about towns they had never visited.
Birthmarks that match fatal wounds from the “previous life”
Example: A child remembers being a man shot in the chest, and he has a birthmark on his chest in the same place. This makes scientists curious because it's hard to explain through normal psychology.
Jim Tucker (successor of Stevenson)
He focuses on cases of children who remember: violent deaths, accidental deaths
sudden deaths These are cases that have more emotional or powerful memories.
Despite all of this it's still not a prove that one can reincarnate as the mind don't move from one body to another after death (atleast not physically proven)
- Children can say what they heard from their parents, neighbors or within the environment without even knowing where they heard it from
- Cultural bias can make who parents believe that pass it on to their children and try to make it looks like reality thereby leading to imaginary interpretation by the children.
- It can also be a coincidence that sometimes similarities occur by chance
So that being said Science is not saying reincarnation is impossible.
It is saying:
“We cannot accept it until there is strong, repeatable, physical evidence.”
And such evidence does not currently exist.
Extraordinary claims need extraordinary proof.
Summary
*Religion says: The soul continues its journey through many lifetimes.
Science says:There is no measurable evidence for a soul or rebirth.
Some researchers say: Children with past-life memories might be showing something strange that we cannot yet explain.
Critics say: These cases can be explained by psychology, family influence, or chance.
Finally:
What about the Bible view of reincarnation. I'll really want to share that with you in details and also answer your questions if you got any. I can make out time to answer you via Whatsapp, zoom or any means you wish to. For more information about the Bible view of reincarnation visit here