Warning:

From this point, I will intersperse information derived from other sources that cooroborate with what the Dr. Tramont is explaining about reincarnation in early Christian religion and then the other side to the arguement. I am not claiming to be the owner of the following ideas/concepts/statements, nor am I making any financial compensation off the following historical research. The info is of public domain and nobody really owns the historical information and complete citational references in this case are just for egos. They are presented here strictly for educational purposes only. With that disclaimer said, let's continue....

There is a lot of disinformation, especially on the net concerning Christianity and reincarnation. Let's explore the supporters of reincarnation, that state the teachings were removed for political reasons and then from the perspective of bible believing christians.

Reincarnation in early Christianity.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Origen (C.E. 185-254) was the most prominent, most distinguished and most influential of the early church fathers. A significant number of early church pillars such as St. Augustine, Clement of Alexandria, St. Gregory of Nyssa, Justin Martyr, and St. Jerome believed in the doctrine of reincarnation. In his Confessions, St. Augustine ponders the common sense viability of reincarnation:
Did my infancy succeed another age of mine that dies before it? Was it that which I spent within my mother's womb? . . . And what before that life again, O God of my joy, was I anywhere or in any body? Confessions of St. Augustine, Edward Pusey, translator, Book I.

In the 5th century A.D., Emperor Justinian and Pope Vigilius disagreed on whether or not the teachings of Origen should be condemned as heresy. The Pope supported the teaching as being consistent with the teachings of Jesus the Messiah. The Emperor was determined to eradicate the belief even though the Pope and the church believed in reincarnation. The fact that the doctrine of reincarnation had been a part of Christian theology for over 500 years did not sway the Emperor.

Origen lived around 250 AD and wrote about the pre-existence of the soul and in reincarnation. He taught that the soul’s very source was God and that the soul’s was traveling back to oneness with God via Reincarnation.

Emperor Justinian wanted Origen’s writings and teachings to be condemned and destroyed but Pope Vigilius refused to sign a papal decree condemning Origen's teachings on reincarnation. As a result of his disobedience, the Emperor had the Pope arrested and put into jail. In 543, Justinian convoked the Fifth General Council of the Church and told the Pope he would sign whatever into doctrine whatever the council decided. On the way there, under guard, the Pope escaped to avoid being forced to condemn Origen’s writings. The Emperor commanded the council to continue despite the Pope’s refusal to attend.

Emperor Justinian wrote a letter to the Patriarch of Constantinople naming Origen as one of the pernicious heretics. Pernicious means "insidious harm or ruin; deadly or fatal." Justinian then convened a synod at Constantinople in 543 C.E. which issued an edict refuting Origen. Pope Vigilius opposed the edict and promptly suspended all communication with the Patriarch of Constantinople.

When the Pope arrived in Constantinople he reversed/withdrew issuing a document supporting the Justinian edict. Many speculate that this document was issued at the gunpoint of intense political pressure. These speculations are confirmed by the fact that Pope Vigilius withdrew the document 7 years later in 550 C.E.

Justinian called for a meeting of the entire Church in 553 C.E. known as the Fifth Ecumenical Council or the Second Council of Constantinople. The Church was geographically divided into East and West, in general, the West was supportive of Origen while the East wasn't. Justinian himself presided over the meeting because Pope Vigilius had boycotted the gathering as an act of protest over irregularities such as stacking the arrangements for attendance against the West. It was unusal for Justinian and not the Pope to preside over this conclave. Of the 165 bishops who signed the acts of the Council not more than six were from the West because they were not in attendance.

Emperor Justinian in 545 A.D. was able to apply the full power of Rome and his authority to stop the belief in reincarnation.
A group of Cardinal’s and Bishop’s explained that if every soul had once pre-existed with God, then Christ wasn’t anything special to have come from God. These Cardinals convinced the Emperor that if people realized they were the children of God they might begin to believe they no longer needed an Emperor, or to pay taxes, or to obey the Holy Church. But since they reasoned that only Christ had come from God but God made brand new souls at the time of conception and only the Holy Church could bring these souls to God. Without the protection of the Empire or the guidance of the church, all people would be doomed to be forever cut off from God in Hell. This doctrine was very acceptabloe to the Emperor. Once Justinian understood the political danger inherent in Origen’s teachings, the rest was simply an Emperor doing what was in his best interest.

Emperor Justinian had the ruling cardinals to draft a papal decree stating that anyone who believes that souls come from God and return to God will be punished by death. The actual decree stated:

“If anyone asserts the fabulous preexistence of souls, and shall assert the monstrous restoration which follows from it: let him be anathema. (The Anathemas against Origen), attached to the decrees of the Fifth Ecumenical Council, A.D. 545, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, 2d ser., 14: 318).”

Excerpt from (LINK) - How The Early Church Suppressed Paganism & Astrology While Supporting Reincarnation

****Reincarnation was a part of early Christianity. Most all Eastern religions believe in reincarnation, and Judaism is an Eastern religion. Christianity, coming from Judaism, also accepted reincarnation as a basic tenet. Until May 5th, 533 AD. The Emperor Justinian I, guided by his wife, called a council of bishops from the Eastern Empire. They gathered in Constantinople along with representatives from Pope Vigilius back in the Western Empire. At the Fifth Ecumenical Council, the Emperor announced he no longer wished to advocate the belief in reincarnation. This may have something to do with the idea that man can be "immortal" through multiple lives. Although this Council was well documented, the reason behind the Emperor's decision was never noted. After a show of hands, the bishops agreed with the Emperor. They found three chapters in the Bible mentioning reincarnation and decided to remove those chapters. The Pope agreed with the Council but did so only because he did not want the Eastern Empire to appear "advanced" to the Western Empire. Bibles were collected throughout the two Christian Empires, they were burned and completely rewritten removing the offending three chapters. As an outsider, I find it interesting that whims of one man can cause the word of God to be completely rewritten. ****

Excerpt from (LINK) - "When I Die, Can I Come Back?"

****There is strong evidence (e.g. Dead Sea Scrolls) that Jesus of Nazareth was a member of the Jewish Essene Sect. It is speculated often that one of the main reasons the Catholic Church has chosen not to release all the Dead Sea Scrolls for public scrutiny is because they contain unequivocal evidence within them that Jesus was a member of the Essene sect and that that sect strongly believed in reincarnation. Reincarnation was a widely held belief amongst many early 'Christians' (as well as some Jewish sects, the Essenes, the Gnostics and some Pharisees) up until AD 553, when the 5th Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church convened by the Roman Emperor Justinian at Constantinople declared the concept to be "an anathema".

It should be clearly understood that the concept of reincarnation is a serious threat to the power and authority of the Christian Church because it unequivocally renders as irrelevant the self appointed role of the Christian Clergy to "absolve sin and save sinners from descending into eternal hell"****

Recap:

- The Pope refused to attend
- Justinian ran the meeting.
- 1/2 of the bishops, that were likely to support Origen, didn't attend the Council meeting.

Doesn't that sound similar to how our governments of today pass laws?!

Not too many would take the time to study early church history, much more if they were looking for discripincies. The information is out there and if one wanted to validate with what Dr. Tramont and others have said concerning the truth surrounding reincarnation in early chrisitian religion and removed for political reasons, one can do so easily - but be careful, for when you go down the road of discovering truth that may be different from what you've been conditioned to believe, you will never be the same.

The perspective of bible believing Christians:

* Some Early Christians DID believe in re-incarnation it seems (re-incarnation and/or pre-existence of souls)
* The early church DID anathemize this belief - in 2nd Constantinople 553CE
* The early church DID make changes to the Bible for doctrinal reasons (e.g. added the Trinity, changed the words of God at the Baptism)
* The Council of Nicea DID NOT "remove re-incarnation from the Bible"
* No-one has come up with amy passages that were removed.
* No-one can produce any early copies WITH the passages?
* No-one can produce any early Christian writing mentioning the passages
* No-one can produce any early Christian writing mentioing removal of the passages

There is lack of evidence.

* No evidence that Nicea changed the Bible
* No evidence that any council changed the Bible
* No evidence that re-incarnation was removed from the Bible.

Well, those are the excerpts from searches on the net of the common arguements from both sides of the coin concerning reincarnation in early Christian religion.

So you decide what you wanna believe....