Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Rteacher]

While anti-theistic, thoroughly materialistic people (including many so-called scientists) predictably reject on the basis of "blind doubt" anything which strongly suggests that life and living beings are essentially non-material, the following case appears to provide compelling proof of reincarnation.
http://www.fox8.com/wjw-reincarnation-txt%2C0%2C1190900.story
http://www.harekrsna.com/sun/news/06-09/news2734.htm
http://soulsurvivorbook.wordpress.com/

[Rteacher]

Here are more complete videos of the ABC show ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72oCyrbgN_I&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1aBip9ge48&feature=channel_page

[bacasper]

I would have liked to see the boy asked directly, "Are you this other James?" Do we know what he has to say about that?

[Fox]

Interesting. Could be reincarnation. Could be a number of "paranormal" things totally unrelated to reincarnation (e.g. old James ghost haunting young James, some sort of racial memory unrelated to reincarnation, etc). Could be totally fabricated.

Not enough to convince anyone who isn't all ready convinced (or wants to be convinced).

[ED209]

The problem with cases like this is that the 'data' is collected by the parents. This can make it incredibly difficult to verify what they are saying is actually what they observed, and not just a story that gets better each time they say it. You also have to look at how bias affects the results, what happens when James makes a mistake concerning his past-life? Are such mistakes reported? A problem also exists that an American child has access to a huge amount of information these days. Coming across the name of an aircraft carrier and a story about aircraft men in the Pacific takes little more than flicking over to Discovery.

What particular in the case of James should convince us it is true, and not just selective thinking, false memories or plain fraud?

After doing some searching on the tinternet I found this article on James.
http://skeptico.blogs.com/skeptico/2005/07/reincarnation_a.html

At 18months he was taken to a war museum. He later had nightmares. His parents took him to a therapist who strongly believes in reincarnation....

James Huston the actual air pilot was shot down in a wildcat not a crosair.
And this comment made me chuckle;

[Rteacher]

Well, it's certainly possible that it's a very elaborate hoax, but I really don't think that's a reasonable conclusion based on the presented facts of this case.

Of course, if one is predisposed to reject the validity of any such account regardless of the fact scenario, collaborating evidence, and body of scientific studies into similar cases, then what can be done?

As to the boy not being directly questioned on the TV broadcast, it needs to be noted hat he was only 6 years old at the time of the ABC show. Understandably, his parents wouldn't want him to be showcased as a freak and subjected to interrogation by a reporter with a TV crew present.

Moreover, as stated by one of the counselors familiar with research into past-life recollections in children, the vivid memories tend to fade away by around age 5 or 6. Most of the boy's remembrances occurred between the age of 2 and 4.

At the time of the recent interview - on Fox - James is 11 years ago. He is present when his parents are recreating the early dialogs with him, and footage is shown of his emotional reaction to arriving at the location where his plane had been shot down. The boy also makes an on-air statement expressing his hope that people accept as fact the very real possibility of reincarnation.

Part of the reason the case seems so compelling is that the parents come across as so genuine and well adjusted. They would have to be world class actors on the order of Meryl Streep and Russell Crowe to come across that convincing.

Of course, it's reasonable to assume that over the last five-or-six years they've done a lot of reading and research into scientific studies of past-life recollections suggestive of reincarnation.

The best-known researcher in that field was the late Dr. Ian Stevenson, former head of the Department of Psychiatry at University of Virginia. He chronicled over 3000 cases throughout the world, using rigorous methodology (and eschewing the use of any hypnotic regression therapy.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Stevenson
http://reluctant-messenger.com/reincarnation-proof.htm

Note that the "glaring flaw" in his methodology referred to in the Wikipedia article is really just the inability of science to appreciate the subtle mechanism involved when the soul - carried by the subtle body of mind, intelligence and false ego - transmigrates to another body.

That process is described authoritatively (though not in modern scientific terms) by Krishna in Bhagavad-gita and in other Vedic literatures.
http://www.harekrishna.com/col/books/KR/cb/chapter7.html
http://vedabase.net/iso/2/en

[Rteacher]

After reading the skeptic's view posted by "ED 209" (whom I've long suspected of being a reincarnation of Mr. Ed, the talking horse ) there do appear to be some discrepancies in the case as presented by the parents and ABC.

However, mistakes and cosmetic cover-ups are practically the norm in ordinary human affairs - and are often amplified by mass media.

It does seem disingenuous of the mother not to disclose the visit to the Flight Museum when he was 18 months old, but it's not entirely clear whether it was her omission or the TV show's editing it out to make the story more sensational.

The boy's apparent confusing "Corsair" with "Wildcat" does not necessarily disprove the reincarnation thesis - especially if the WW II pilot had flown both types of planes (which should be researched).

[ED209]

[bacasper]

[ED209]

[djsmnc]

[quote="ED209"]

[djsmnc]

Here are some possibilities:

Secular humanist perspective: There could have been some sort of memetic transfer that occured. Maybe the child was in the presence of someone talking about the pilot. Maybe there was a documentary on tv. Maybe the kid picked it up subconsciously from some other form of media.

From a pseudo-scientific Judeo-Christian perspective: Maybe the child's unborn soul was in heaven and the soul of the pilot was there too and the unborn soul in the soul creation laboratory picked up some soul energy from the pilot's soul which happened to be a revelation of life on earth.

From a strictly Christian perspective: Perhaps the child was speaking in tongues or had some spritual entity miraculously using the child as a vehicle for this message

From an Islamic perspective: Satan

From a host of Eastern religious perspectives: The child is a reincarnation and now must practice spiritual exercise to reach a more enlightened state

From a Mormon perspective: The child is the next prophet

From a skeptics perspective: The child was given an implanted microscopic speaker behind the ear by Illuminati Zionist Mossad WTC Detonators to carry out encoded messages that instigate emotional media responses. Soon the kid will be trying to convince us to throw out the tinfoil.

[Koveras]

[Rteacher]

From the materialistic science perspective, all the subtleties of mind, life, and consciousness must be explained naturally in terms of particulate matter.

That approach practically necessitates studying and experimenting with the brains of young children in laboratory conditions (isolated from their parents, friends, etc.)

Such skeptics are loath to accept that there is any spiritual dimension to life beyond matter and strongly attack any findings that suggest the existence of anything supernatural (especially an infinitely conscious Supreme Person purported to be the origin and ultimate controller of everthing.)
http://www.skepticalinvestigations.org/New/Skepticsmedia/index.html

[ED209]

If science is so bad why don't you reject Stevenson? Quoting one scientist then rejecting science in later posts, what's going on?


Anyway, that doesn't really interest me. We can't prove reincarnation does not happen. It's unverifiable. But you could for me, clear this up, and explain how this case is a genuine one.