The Case for Reincarnation by J. Allan Danelek

Author:J. Allan Danelek
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: past-life, reincarnation, rebirth, spirituality, soul, metaphysics, paranormal
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.
Published: 2010-06-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

The Role of Evil in Reincarnation

We like to imagine the spirit realm as a place of light and love, which of course it is. Unfortunately, this makes it difficult to imagine how those attitudes or behaviors we perceive to be “evil” can coexist. After all, if God is love and God is all there is, then how can evil exist in any context?

Yet we know that evil exists, despite the best attempts by some to define it out of existence. Yes, it is a byproduct of fear and the sense of separation, but that makes it no less real nor does that mitigate the consequences we all experience as a result of it. To suggest evil isn’t real is merely to play games with what is, in the end, a very important force within the process of reincarnation. Before examining this issue further, however, it might first be helpful to better define what evil is.

Evil is a word that everyone imagines they understand, yet when pressed for a firm definition it quickly becomes obvious that it has as many different meanings and applications as does the word love—another word that is so overused that it has lost nearly all of its true meaning. Generally, evil is thought to be an act—or, sometimes, an attitude—that is at variance with a society’s generally agreed-upon set of moral imperatives. In effect, it is the position that there are certain behaviors, actions, or thoughts that the larger population in general considers to be so unacceptable and inappropriate as to be considered “evil.”

This, however, is where things start to get tricky, for quite often what behaviors, actions, or thoughts the larger population considers to be evil vary from culture to culture and even from one era to another. For example, sexual promiscuity has traditionally been perceived to be an evil in most cultures, but what makes it so? The promiscuous person is engaging in an action—sexual intercourse—that is commonly done by the majority of adult human beings. If occurring within the traditional context of monogamous marriage, it is considered a natural and even a healthy form of human expression. Yet this same activity, when performed outside the social institutions of marriage and monogamy, makes the act evil. The act itself is technically no different whether performed within the context of marriage or in the context of a one-night stand, yet when done outside the properly designated social conventions makes it considered a sin by many and a great evil by some, thereby demonstrating that, in most cases, it is the culture that determines which things are to be considered good and which things are to be considered evil.

To further reinforce this point, suppose one lived in a society in which sexual expression of all kinds was given free rein. In fact, imagine that in this “culture of love” it was considered inappropriate—even sinful—to withhold the free expression of one’s sexual nature. In this case, such a society would decide that evil resided in people’s refusal to indulge their passionate nature as that nature demands.

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