Is there a biblical explanation for some children's ability to supposedly recall past lives?
Ian Stevenson has recorded past life recall of children. In some of the cases he claims to have verified the details of the recall in the corresponding setup. Is there a biblical explanation for this?
Acts 16:16
ESV - 16 As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling.
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Asked February 12 2024
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venkatesan Iyer
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Paula Fether
Seeing that you're asking a Bible site about what the Bible teaches, the clear answer is that no, children aren't recalling past lives. The issue of how they could know details (assuming they weren't coached) is the same as for mediums: the demonic realm. Would God tell them things? It's possible, but making children think they used to be someone else is a deception, which God would never do.
Nan Howard
Admittedly the most compelling accounts have occurred when children are born with identical birthmarks as the deceased they are likened to. Nonetheless, only God is all-knowing about every aspect of the spirit- world. We aren't entitled nor capable of knowing everything. That's why we call it Faith. We trust Him to reveal what we need. But personally, I believe a deceased spirit hijacks a young child and tells the child he is that person. That's how evil rolls: tells you to identify with your thoughts. Example: If someone has gay thoughts, they're gay. Wrong. You are not your thoughts, but God's child. Christians take every thought captive for Him. So I interpret 'reincarnation' as demon possession/hell. He offers the Holy Spirit incarnation for us to be free, not captives. Christ in you, the Hope of Glory.
venkatesan Iyer
My opinion is that a child which claims identity of a (dead) person is a case of one overpowered by an evil spirit. Even religions like Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism do not promote the view that a newborn carries memories of past lives. They will also consider abnormal claims of children (about their identities) as the work of evil entities.
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