Reincarnation and
its purpose

As we know, there is a fundamental difference between the words reincarnation and resurrection.

The idea that dead people could come back to life was part of the Jewish dogmas, under the name of resurrection. Only the Sadducees, devoted of a sect founded by Sadoc about the year A.D. 248, whose belief was that everything would end with the death, didn’t believe this.

The Jews, on the contrary, accepted that a person could revive, without knowing precisely how such a fact could happen. That’s why many people believed that Jesus was one the prophets that had returned. They designated as resurrection what Spiritism denominates as reincarnation.

Resurrection itself, which implies the return of a dissolved body to life is scientifically impossible. If applied to people that had an apparent death, like Lazarus or the Jairo’s daughter, it becomes evident the misuse of the word, because, since death doesn’t exist, doesn’t make sense to mention resurrection, but ressucitation, name given by Medicine to a series of actions by which, making use of manual procedures and proper equipament, life is recovered – or the conscience of the individual apparently dead. 

Reincarnation means something different, because it’s the return of the Spirit to the corporeal existence in other body especially formed to it, which has nothing to do with the previous body.

The idea of reincarnation is well defined in the question 166 of The Spirit’s Book:

– How does a soul that has not reached perfection on Earth complete its work of purification?  “By undergoing the trial of a new life.”

a) How can a soul start a life anew? Are you referring to the changes it experiences in a new life in the realm of spirit? ”Purification does require change. But, in order to bring about true inner transformation, the soul needs the trials of a new physical life.”

b) The soul, then, has lived many lives in the physical realm? “Yes, we have all had many lives. Those who preach the contrary lack real awareness and, in this respect, misinform you with their conjectures.”

c) The soul, after leaving one body, takes another one. In other words, it reincarnates itself in a new body. Is this your meaning? “Yes.”

It’s clear that the purpose of reincarnation is to allow the Spirits to reach the goal for which they have been created: perfection. The concept of reincarnation is, therefore, closely related to the concept of incarnation, that is, the passage of the Spirit through a carnal or corporeal existence, subject covered by the question 132 of the same work:

– Why do spirists incarnate? “God has established incarnation as the means through which spirits eventually become perfect. Spirits themselves experience incarnation in different ways. For some, it is a process of purification; for others, an opportunity to fulfill a mission. But whatever the individual experience, reaching perfection requires that every spirit undergo the entire range of experiences particular to existence in a material form. The value of the purification process resides in accumulating these experiences. Besides purification, incarnation has a second and no less important function. It allows spirits to perform their proper share in the work of creation. To accomplish this work, the spirit takes on bodily form; a form that enables it to function in the environment in which it is called to live. Under these conditions, the spirit benefits doubly. It contributes to the universal good through performing its own special work, and at the same time, it furthers its own advancement through the process of purification.”

With these teachings, it’s not hard to understand the following words said by Jesus to Nicodemus: “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again”. (John, 3:1 to 12.)