For the purpose of exploring the claims of religion, let’s assume that there is a physiological mechanism for reincarnation. That’s what it comes down to, after all, because the existence of gods and immortality depends on that. If not for that, there would be no religion as we know it. With that in mind, let’s riff on the history of religion and the implication of its central claim.
To begin with, let's imagine that the physiological mechanism for reincarnation was created by a talented geneticist of unknown origin. Imagine that it's a structure in the brain that records memories in DNA, that can be planted after death in a uterus, like an egg, and fertilized to create a new life. It carries our identity, consisting of all of our memories, from birth do death. It was known originally as the soul.
The elohim about whom the Bible was written knew that the source of their existential advantage was being able to "eat" from the “Tree of Life,” and therefore they forbade their mortal companions to ever eat from it. The eloah, Lucifer, taught them how to do it and with that knowledge, they created heaven and hell, and thus the world we know was born.
The patriarchs of the Bible are said to have lived hundreds of years, with the oldest of them living almost a thousand years. Functionally immortal, they were elohim by definition. Assuming a physiological mechanism for the reincarnation of an individual, they must have lived many lives in the open, keeping their identities intact throughout the centuries. With their demise probably came the end of their ability to live in the open. Perhaps Methuselah is still around, doing this or that as who knows who.
With the knowledge of the elohim, the ultimate reward and punishment was introduced to the world as gods, angels and devils, representing the ultimate in privilege and privation. God is the angel in charge of the process. Angels are those who have been reincarnated and allowed to keep their memories. Devils, or fallen angels, are those who have been reincarnated without being allowed to keep their memories. The process of being made a fallen angel is known as being sacrificed.
Imagine having lived for centuries in community with other immortals, only to have your memories taken away one life. The immortal is effectively replaced with a new person. There is much of the immortal that continues to exist, but with the connection to the immortal memory severed, there is little meaningful continuity. When the Bible talks about infants being sacrificed, this is what it means.
Jesus was “sacrificed” as an infant, but John the Baptist was able to restore his immortal memory. When Jesus brought Lazarus back from the dead, what he actually did was restore his immortal memory. After Jesus was executed, he was given a new life, without his immortal memory. He’s probably still around in that purgatory doing this or that as who knows who.
If reincarnation is a physical fact, one has to consider that much of the conflict throughout history has actually been about controlling the information and consolidating its power. In this world, he who controls Heaven and Hell is God. Perhaps it was a mistake for Lucifer to teach humankind how to eat from the tree of life. But why make a species able to be reincarnated, to create a kingdom of privilege and privation? Perhaps it was the elohim who were mistaken, because it is their exclusivist, supremacist example that humankind emulates to this day. They surely knew how precarious their secret advantage was.
If reincarnation is a physical fact, how could such a thing be revealed, administered, and implemented worldwide? Who gets to live again? How would it affect our species, would we go extinct from boredom of life?
What do you think?