|
 |
Jessica Gray
wrote:
|
Hi, guys —
I'm Catholic and have a question.
I've recently watched this show called: Ghost inside my child. It's about these young children that happen to remember their past lives. They remember certain events and people. The funny thing is, when their parents do some research, they find out who their child claimed to be, was indeed a real person and along with real events that happened.
- How can these children possibly know this stuff?
- How would a Catholic explain this?
- Does this have to do with familiar spirits?
Jessica
|
{
How can these so-called past life events have really happened and how do Catholics explain these? }
|
Bob replied:
Jessica,
We don't always have answers for some things. While our faith informs us about much in the universe, there are things that go beyond what we have been told. In short, God only knows. We can speculate, but that is it.
- Could God allow a soul to reincarnate?
I suppose God could do whatever He wants.
- Is reincarnation part of Christian revelation? <No.>
- Are there many errors promulgated in the world with respect to reincarnation? <Yes.>
So, while we can keep an open, and even an awe-struck, curious mind, we must stay grounded in the basics and not turn everything on its head. If there are strange exceptions to some of God's normal rules, it doesn't mean the norms are gone, nor that other belief systems are true. It just means we don't know about everything.
There could be answers that haven't even entered our imagination yet, so don't necessarily buy into anything that isn't fact or proven.
One thing that you can rest on: Jesus Christ. When we are baffled by the curves that the world throws us, just remember, He has it all under control.
Peace,
Bob Kirby
|
Paul replied:
Jessica,
I fully agreeing with Bob's response on mystery and the limits of Divine Revelation. I would just like to add another thought.
God can do anything, except for manifesting logical contradictions. He can't make a square circle or a married bachelor. These things are literally impossible. On the same point, if the soul is the form of the body, as the Church teaches, this would mean that a particular soul can inform only one body and have only one identity.
In other words, if my soul after death were to inform physical matter again, it would be me. It could not be another person or thing. Because we understand the soul as the [form/identity] of one particular human being, reincarnation, in the traditional sense, seems logically impossible.
However, spirits of demons are a different matter. They are not made to inform a particular physical body as human souls are, and can theoretically influence and even possess human beings. There is scriptural evidence for this occurring.
- Could demons be behind the knowledge of information someone seems to have about another person? <Perhaps.>
- Could it be from a mysterious, psychological cause or something else we don't understand? <Perhaps.>
We just don't know.
Peace,
Paul
|
|
|
|