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Rating: 
Summary: "Born again" means reincarnation, not conversion!
Review: As a religious Jew who is perfectly happy with his own faith, I rarely read Christian theology. And frankly, I'm turned off by cover art that combines the Cross with the Star of David. An eclectic I am not! But, since the book was sent to me by the publisher in my capacity as a writer/reviewer on reincarnation topics, I decided to give it a try. I'm very glad I did. Admittedly, it took a while for me to get used to the "fundamentalist" style of this author, who is clearly aiming at the more traditional end of the Christian spectrum. But if you want a clear, chapter-and-verse explanation of why reincarnation is compatible with Chrisitianity, this book is the best I have see so far. I was especially impressed with chapter four, "Ye shall be born again," which argues that this line was originally a reference to reincarnation, not to changing one's religion! Puryear's argument goes something like this: In the original Gospel reference (John 3:-13), a Pharisee named Nicodemus comes to Jesus and says, in effect, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher from God, because nobody can do these miracles unless God is with him." The unspoken question is, how did Jesus get to be such a holy man in the first place? Puryear assumes this conversation is not an attack by a "hypocritical" Pharisee, but a sincere question from one religious Jew to another. Jesus then replies to Nicodemus, "Truly, truly I say to you: Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus seems skeptical and wants further clarification. He asks if it is necesary to go back into his mother's womb to be born again, and if so, how is this possible? Now, here is the crux of the argument: Most Gospel readers assume that Nicodemus' question about going back into the womb is said in a mocking tone, simply because he is a Pharisee. But there is nothing in his words to support this. Personal skepticism is there, yes -- but he is not mocking. He addresses Jesus respectfully as "Rabbi," and he says he knows he is from God. Why would he say that, if he were mocking? What if it was a sincere question, and Nicodemus was seeking to clarify if "rebirth" was literally rebirth in the womb, and, if so, how does it happen? Then the next statements by Jesus -- about how one must be born of "water and the spirit," that "flesh begets flesh and spirit begets spirit," and that the wind (in Hebrew or Greek, the same word means "spirit") goes "where it wills," make sense as references to reincarnation. Jesus is not telling Nicodemus to get baptized, he is saying that a soul must be born over and over again to become a Zaddik (saint). Not into his mother's womb again in this life, but into another womb when the spirit goes "where it wills" in the next life. Puryear's explanation of this encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus opened up a whole new way of seeing this story for me. What a fantastic insight! Unfortunately, in spite of seeing the sincerity in this particular Pharisee's questions, Puryear sometimes falls into the old stereotype of Pharisees as nothing but legalistic hypocrites who are too "blind" to see the truth. His case would have been greatly strengthened if he had realized that the "Pharisees" are the rabbis of the Talmud, who practiced forms of meditation and mysticism as well as legal debates about the Torah. In this area of Jewish-Christian relations, Puryear fell short. Still, we must keep in mind who his intended audience is: traditional Christians who take the Bible literally. His goal is not to do textual criticism of the Gospels, but to present a Bible-as-truth argument for reincarnation from within a believing POV. Given those parameters, he does an excellent job with his thesis. If you are a Christian interested in reincarnation, this book may well prove that it is compatible with your own faith.
Rating:
Summary: OUTSTANDING!!!
Review: Fantastic!!! A must-read! I wish I were a Bible college or seminary professor, so that I could give Dr. Puryear an "A"! A must-have for anybody seeking truth! It's phenomenal and stupendous! I can't wait to read the whole book, then read it again and again and again! If you're hungry for truth, get this book! It's very enlightening. One of my favorite books on the planet!!
Rating:
Summary: OUTSTANDING!!!
Review: Fantastic!!! A must-read! I wish I were a Bible college or seminary professor, so that I could give Dr. Puryear an "A"! A must-have for anybody seeking truth! It's phenomenal and stupendous! I can't wait to read the whole book, then read it again and again and again! If you're hungry for truth, get this book! It's very enlightening. One of my favorite books on the planet!!
Rating: 
Summary: A Defense of True Christianity
Review: I first of all question the authority on which this author titles his book a "Better News" than that given by Christ Himself. I was under the impression that "No disciple is superior to the teacher" (Mattew 10:24, and Luke 6:40). The author of this book apparently fails to understand some of the primary tenets of Christianity. It is first of all important to understand this point about Jesus Christ: Jesus Christ is the Incarnate Word as we learn in the opening of the Gospel of John. He is fully God and fully human. This is a mystery far beyond man's ability to completely understand it, but not beyond man's ability to gain great insight from it. It would be a rather sad God that we could completely comprehend. That there are aspects of God that are beyond us is simply caused by the fact that God is God and we are simple human beings. The Eternal Word of God became incarnate in order to redeem us and also to open unto us a mystery into which we are to enter. We learn this in several places in Scripture, but most especially when Christ Himself say that He is "the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE". Therefore, man can only fully understand himself and his ultimate end in the light of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Deity. As we said before, Christ was fully man and fully God. To know what man is meant to do with himself he should look to Christ as the perfect exemplar. The mystery that Christ opened for us to enter into is NOT one of reincarnation. If Christ is the key to understanding human life, as is the claim of true Christianity, then we would have to see reincarnation in Christ in order to find it as a possibility for the rest of humanity. Christ suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day He rose from the dead. He ascended to the Father. There He is seated to judge the living and the dead, and His Kingdom will have no end. This is the Creed that Christians affirm as it is taken directly from Scripture. At no point in that christological account do we find Christ dying and being reincarnated. However, in the Scripture we do find Christ being Baptized. THIS is the "rebirth" of Christianity, and- the point the author misses terribly- this is not merely the changing of a religion, but the reception of the indwelling of the Holy Trinity. Christ is the Life. At Baptism, one has his first initiation into that Life, and so it is, in the realist possible sense, a death to sin and a rebirth in Christ. I am afraid the author has a very poor understanding of Christ and His Church if he argues otherwise. And to use Sacred Scripture to justify his position is a tragedy. Scripture, I'm afraid, gives only two options for the natural death of a man: Heaven and Hell. To think that a man could continue in a reincarnational life on this planet, completely denies the essential message of Scripture, that man has one directionality and one directionality alone, and that is towards God. If man rejects that inward drive toward God, then the second option mentioned above becomes a very real possibility.
Rating:
Summary: A Defense of True Christianity
Review: I first of all question the authority on which this author titles his book a "Better News" than that given by Christ Himself. I was under the impression that "No disciple is superior to the teacher" (Mattew 10:24, and Luke 6:40). The author of this book apparently fails to understand some of the primary tenets of Christianity. It is first of all important to understand this point about Jesus Christ: Jesus Christ is the Incarnate Word as we learn in the opening of the Gospel of John. He is fully God and fully human. This is a mystery far beyond man's ability to completely understand it, but not beyond man's ability to gain great insight from it. It would be a rather sad God that we could completely comprehend. That there are aspects of God that are beyond us is simply caused by the fact that God is God and we are simple human beings. The Eternal Word of God became incarnate in order to redeem us and also to open unto us a mystery into which we are to enter. We learn this in several places in Scripture, but most especially when Christ Himself say that He is "the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE". Therefore, man can only fully understand himself and his ultimate end in the light of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Deity. As we said before, Christ was fully man and fully God. To know what man is meant to do with himself he should look to Christ as the perfect exemplar. The mystery that Christ opened for us to enter into is NOT one of reincarnation. If Christ is the key to understanding human life, as is the claim of true Christianity, then we would have to see reincarnation in Christ in order to find it as a possibility for the rest of humanity. Christ suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day He rose from the dead. He ascended to the Father. There He is seated to judge the living and the dead, and His Kingdom will have no end. This is the Creed that Christians affirm as it is taken directly from Scripture. At no point in that christological account do we find Christ dying and being reincarnated. However, in the Scripture we do find Christ being Baptized. THIS is the "rebirth" of Christianity, and- the point the author misses terribly- this is not merely the changing of a religion, but the reception of the indwelling of the Holy Trinity. Christ is the Life. At Baptism, one has his first initiation into that Life, and so it is, in the realist possible sense, a death to sin and a rebirth in Christ. I am afraid the author has a very poor understanding of Christ and His Church if he argues otherwise. And to use Sacred Scripture to justify his position is a tragedy. Scripture, I'm afraid, gives only two options for the natural death of a man: Heaven and Hell. To think that a man could continue in a reincarnational life on this planet, completely denies the essential message of Scripture, that man has one directionality and one directionality alone, and that is towards God. If man rejects that inward drive toward God, then the second option mentioned above becomes a very real possibility.
Rating:
Summary: A Reconciliation of the Bible with Reincarnation
Review: In one sentence, this book is a masterpiece. It provides a thorough examination of the words of Jesus and uses biblical insight to essentially prove the existence of reincarnation. If you are a student of metaphysics, the New Age, Edgar Cayce, or New Thought, and have conservative religious friends or relatives who are convinced you have somehow gone off the deep end, this book is the one for you and for them. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Rating: 
Summary: Reincarnation Will Become Very Popular Soon
Review: Our understanding of God and Nature is expanding and ideas such as reincarnation should be discussed today seriously. But, it is not the time to think only about retiring from the job, sitting on your duff at home, and waiting for your death and a new life in Heaven or Hell. If reincarnation is true, there is no after life in Heaven or Hell and no end of the world in which God created for us. So, more people ought to open discussion on reincarnation. And this book is a great one to guide such a discussion. Reincarnation is real to me already because reincarnation is consistent with many new and more powerful ideas that are coming online in the field of religion soon. For instance, the good/evil religious dualism will soon be replaced by the identity/difference religious dualism. The new dualism identifies the eternal partnership between God and man. This means that the idea of Original Sin in Christianity is false. Also, the idea that the creation will end is also false. The idea of ending this immense universe and creating new opposing worlds for good and evil people will sell only to ignorantnt people. Further, a new creation theory based on atoms will soon be proposed. With atoms, God's Wisdom and power enters only through the atoms. Thus, say good-bye to the idea of a celestial world above us and its chimera such as Satan, demons, etc. They were merely creations of under-developed human minds. The new ideas are showing that our unlimited God did create human co-creators who have serious responsibilities, who will be fruitful, multiply and subdue Nature, and who will live forever. No person will ever be lost in the new theologies and new sciences that are coming. Laws of reinarnation are natural. Thus, reincarnation is not an intervention process of God. These laws should be identified with the new atomic theory because our immortal spirits, which are our invisible minds, are among the atoms. Since God is infinite and his creation is finite, the relationship between God and man or God and Nature cannot be known with discursive reasoning. To bridge this gap, the author believes that finite things are in God. He thus accepts monism, which must reject the religious dualism Christianity. I believe in the dualism of Christianity, but not the good/evil dualism. With the new ideas I discuss above and with reincarnation, I expect Christianity to become highly rational, in the image of our God, who is pure reasoning. I thus expect Christianity to grow unbelievably in the near future. This is a good book. But it went to far beyond the subject of reincarnation.
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