Why Jesus Taught Reincarnation: A Better News Gospel [Paperback]

Admittedly, it took a while for me to get used to the "fundamentalist" style of this author, who is clearly aiming at the more traditional end of the Christian spectrum. But if you want a clear, chapter-and-verse explanation of why reincarnation is compatible with Chrisitianity, this book is the best I have see so far.

I was especially impressed with chapter four, "Ye shall be born again," which argues that this line was originally a reference to reincarnation, not to changing one's religion! Puryear's argument goes something like this: In the original Gospel reference (John 3:-13), a Pharisee named Nicodemus comes to Jesus and says, in effect, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher from God, because nobody can do these miracles unless God is with him." The unspoken question is, how did Jesus get to be such a holy man in the first place? Puryear assumes this conversation is not an attack by a "hypocritical" Pharisee, but a sincere question from one religious Jew to another. Jesus then replies to Nicodemus, "Truly, truly I say to you: Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus seems skeptical and wants further clarification. He asks if it is necesary to go back into his mother's womb to be born again, and if so, how is this possible?

Now, here is the crux of the argument: Most Gospel readers assume that Nicodemus' question about going back into the womb is said in a mocking tone, simply because he is a Pharisee. But there is nothing in his words to support this. Personal skepticism is there, yes -- but he is not mocking. He addresses Jesus respectfully as "Rabbi," and he says he knows he is from God. Why would he say that, if he were mocking? What if it was a sincere question, and Nicodemus was seeking to clarify if "rebirth" was literally rebirth in the womb, and, if so, how does it happen? Then the next statements by Jesus -- about how one must be born of "water and the spirit," that "flesh begets flesh and spirit begets spirit," and that the wind (in Hebrew or Greek, the same word means "spirit") goes "where it wills," make sense as references to reincarnation. Jesus is not telling Nicodemus to get baptized, he is saying that a soul must be born over and over again to become a Zaddik (saint). Not into his mother's womb again in this life, but into another womb when the spirit goes "where it wills" in the next life.

Puryear's explanation of this encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus opened up a whole new way of seeing this story for me. What a fantastic insight! Unfortunately, in spite of seeing the sincerity in this particular Pharisee's questions, Puryear sometimes falls into the old stereotype of Pharisees as nothing but legalistic hypocrites who are too "blind" to see the truth. His case would have been greatly strengthened if he had realized that the "Pharisees" are the rabbis of the Talmud, who practiced forms of meditation and mysticism as well as legal debates about the Torah. In this area of Jewish-Christian relations, Puryear fell short. Still, we must keep in mind who his intended audience is: traditional Christians who take the Bible literally. His goal is not to do textual criticism of the Gospels, but to present a Bible-as-truth argument for reincarnation from within a believing POV. Given those parameters, he does an excellent job with his thesis. If you are a Christian interested in reincarnation, this book may well prove that it is compatible with your own faith.