The Day My Classmates Almost
Burned Me on a Stake (Part 1)

A grade 12 classroom of 30 students stared back at me with astonishment, disbelief and anger. The subject of my presentation and 80-page essay? Reincarnation in Christianity.

It wasn’t so well received by my Catholic peers.

“This is crazy,” said the teacher. “You need to get down on your knees and pray for understanding.”

“That’s what got me here,” I replied.

“Really, John…” said a chubby student. “Who really believes in reincarnation?”

“The majority of people living on this planet,” I replied.

A year earlier a classmate had died of a brain tumour. Trying to find answers to such mysteries I had discovered reincarnation and the law of karma.

But I’d been brought up Catholic. Since day one, I’d been taught that after death you either end up in hell or paradise for eternity.

Yet when I started reading the Bible I realized it contains many references to the doctrine of many lives (and says nothing against it).

Opening some history books soon revealed that for the first 500 years of Christianity reincarnation was widely accepted.

I thought my Christian classmates would be thrilled to know the truth. Instead, they were ready to burn me at a stake. They’d had been guaranteed paradise and here I was suggesting that salvation took a little more effort than regular Sunday worship.

Next article I’ll fill you in on how I avoided a public stoning.

(Click Here to Read Part Two)

About the Author: John C. A. Manley writes meaningful science fiction and fantasy novels with a spiritual backbone. You can get a free subscription to his MetaphysicalSF email newsletter and free sample chapters from his novels. Click here to find out more....