Part 2 of a 4-part weekly series on reincarnation.
Why not? Largely because of the Byzantine rulers Justinian and Theodora from the sixth century. They were both in the habit of interfering with Christian theology. Theodora even caused the death of the pope.
Justinian delivered the final blow to the Christian belief in reincarnation. He then convened the Fifth Church Ecumenical Council. The Council overturned the teachings of the eminent theologian Origenes of Alexandria concerning the previous existence of human beings. For if there is no such thing as a previous existence, then neither can there be reincarnation.
So from that time on, Christians who believed in reincarnation were considered heretics. Justinian and Theodora did everything in their power to ensure that any teaching concerning reincarnation was removed from the Bible.
Why were Justinian and Theodora so opposed to the doctrine of reincarnation? Well, Theodora had been a prostitute before she married Emperor Justinian. When she had thus risen from courtesan to empress, she could not bear the thought of having to return in the next life as a prostitute or someone who would have to be of service to others.
So, as Noel Langley writes in his book on Edgar Cayce and reincarnation, were Justinian and Theodora eager to remove all references to reincarnation from the Bible. [Noel Langley, Edgar Cayce on Reincarnation (New York: Warner Books, 1976), pp. 184, 186, 197-198].
Next week Part 3 of: Reincarnation: The Doctrine of Divine Justice.
Excerpt from the book The answer you seek lies within you. Available at amethystpress.com
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