17 Comments

Your point here is important; Christians are often too dismissive of transmigration on the grounds that it simply "not tradition" and so wrong, failing to actually engage with the arguments. I don't personally have any irrefutable reasons to reject it and so must accept the possibility, although I find the idea incredibly distasteful (one life in a fallen world is enough). The one problem that I see is that if we understand personhood as constituted by relationships, for the salvation of a person those relationships must also be redeemed, and so it strikes me as problematic to say that one must enter a new series of relationships over and over until one is able to achieve righteousness. That appears to imply certain life circumstances, certain relationships, and so indeed certain persons, are not ultimately redeemable. I don't think such considerations are necessarily insurmountable, but it's hard for me to see how multiple lives wouldn't make certain of those lives irrelevant, at best test runs or learning opportunities, but not the network of relationships capable of redemption and participation in the kingdom. It also raises problems around the particularity of certain kind of attachments, marriage being a prime example. If my current marriage is but one in a series of lifetimes, then I have to think the particularity of that love, and the significance that particular, unique attachment creates, is ultimately a kind of illusion, which I don't find acceptable, but I also tend to think of marriage as eternal, which is of course not a universal position.

Anyway, that's a long response. Nice to see a new post!

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Whoa, a new David Armstrong post? How the heck did I miss this?

To what extent is the idea of rebirth tied to dualistic ideas of body and soul? Obviously there are many possible interpretations here (which is part of your point), and the kind of language that ancient theologians and philosophers used often sounds like Cartesian dualism to modern ears mainly because of our own philosophical illiteracy, but I can't shake the fact that some of the language underlying talk of rebirth *feels* like vitalism, or ghost-in-the-machine dualism, and that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. So while I don't see a strong argument against rebirth in the Christian tradition, I don't really see why we should entertain the idea in the first place. We have enough trouble explaining ressurection alone.

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Glad to see your still around, I have made the case, in some of your past posts, that the cross is the end to karma. Our lord Jesus took all the demands of karma and nailed them to his cross(Col. 2:14). The resurrection ends the cycle of death and rebirth once and for all. No more death=no more reincarnation. By not being open to the possibility of reincarnation Christians have missed an opportunity to evangelize Hindus and build upon their traditions.

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Good to see a post from you, David. Keep them coming as you are able.

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I was so chuffed to receive this post in my inbox. There has been a Perennial Digression shaped hole in my soul since you paused your writing. Just to encourage you for when you are able to pick up your pen again; the clarity, breadth and knowledge that goes into your posts make them a joy to read and provides ample stimulation for this curious and restless mind. You have a gift; may you continue to fan it into flame as and when you can 🙏🏻

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It made my day to see this in my inbox. Grace and peace.

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This is brilliant. Much to digest here.

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I thoroughly enjoyed this and I'm looking forward to the necessary rereadings for me to better grasp it. Seeing this pop up in my inbox today was certainly a pleasant surprise.

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Very glad to see this post, even if it's your only one in this Asphodel meadow. Regarding Nemesius of Emesa, are there any unique details about his system contrasted to, say, Plotinus' or Proclus' systems? Would you recommend a book on Nemesius regarding this issue?

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