The Day My Classmates Almost Burned Me on a Stake (Part 1)
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Image from Reincarnation: The Key to Christianity | |
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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)
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About the Author: John C. A. Manley writes spiritual science fiction and fantasy novellas. He's been practicing Kriya Yoga since 1996. For three years he lived in a yoga ashram (monastery) in the mountains of of Southern California. He currently lives in Stratford, Ontario with his wife Nicole and son Jonah. Click here to subscribe to his MetaphysicalSF Email Updates (or fill out the form below). |