2008 Woodie Awards
Scholar Makes Scientific Case for Reincarnation
Phillip Brooks
Issue date: 2/10/06 Section: News
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For two consecutive days, Dr. Christopher M. Bache, professor of philosophy and religion at Youngstown State University, challenged Hendrix students and faculty to consider the idea of reincarnation and the empirical defense of the theory. On the evening of Jan. 26, Dr. Bache presented a lecture entitled, "Reincarnation and Humanity's Future," where he presented the argument as a case-by-case study based on empirical evidence, and, by using the works and studies of parapsychologist Dr. Ian Stevenson as a model, Dr. Bache presented the modern theories on reincarnation.
"Dr. Bache provided a lot of evidence in favor of reincarnation," sophomore Will Tanner said. "I knew there was evidence, but I never approached it objectively. While I consider myself a skeptic, I was impressed by the way Dr. Bache presented his case. We do need to get the evidence out there."
"The evidence we're seeing is exceptionally strong," Bache said.
According to Bache, Dr. Stevenson examined about three thousand cases around the world and concluded that ten percent were valid, with the strongest cases tending to come from parts of the world were the majority of people already believe in reincarnation.
"We attribute this to the fact that other cultures may try to repress such cases in their societies," he said.
Most case studies concerning reincarnation occur among small children who often have faint recollections of unexplained events before their time, Bache said. Cases among adults tend to be rare and children often lose these memories around the time of their eighth birthday.
"As the soul continues to live within the body the mind begins to try to explain why it has these strange memories," Bache said. "Also parents of the children are often hostile toward these tendencies in their children. We think this may be why few adults remember their past lives. Only about five percent of children who experience these memories are able to hold on to them into adulthood."
It's worth noting that most modern research on reincarnation is done on a purely empirical level. According to Dr. Bache, experts such as Dr. Stevenson have not offered any theological perspectives on the idea of reincarnation. Dr. Bache himself does, however, offer some insight into the spiritual implications of reincarnation.
"Dr. Bache provided a lot of evidence in favor of reincarnation," sophomore Will Tanner said. "I knew there was evidence, but I never approached it objectively. While I consider myself a skeptic, I was impressed by the way Dr. Bache presented his case. We do need to get the evidence out there."
"The evidence we're seeing is exceptionally strong," Bache said.
According to Bache, Dr. Stevenson examined about three thousand cases around the world and concluded that ten percent were valid, with the strongest cases tending to come from parts of the world were the majority of people already believe in reincarnation.
"We attribute this to the fact that other cultures may try to repress such cases in their societies," he said.
Most case studies concerning reincarnation occur among small children who often have faint recollections of unexplained events before their time, Bache said. Cases among adults tend to be rare and children often lose these memories around the time of their eighth birthday.
"As the soul continues to live within the body the mind begins to try to explain why it has these strange memories," Bache said. "Also parents of the children are often hostile toward these tendencies in their children. We think this may be why few adults remember their past lives. Only about five percent of children who experience these memories are able to hold on to them into adulthood."
It's worth noting that most modern research on reincarnation is done on a purely empirical level. According to Dr. Bache, experts such as Dr. Stevenson have not offered any theological perspectives on the idea of reincarnation. Dr. Bache himself does, however, offer some insight into the spiritual implications of reincarnation.