The Case Against Reincarnation: A Rational Approach [Paperback]

At last, a long awaited study of the controversial subject of reincarnation and its bedfellow karma. Fact or fiction? Hitherto, books on the subject have generally supported reincarnation as a reality. James Webster's new book challenges most eloquently alleged cases of reincarnation which to some offers part explanation of the purpose of life, however, the reincarnationists ignore rational scrutiny.

The author quotes cases of spirit overshadowing, spirit attachment, false memories and the frailty of hypnotic regression which can be confused with evidence of reincarnation or past lives. Sometimes these manifestations are of a third person in the Spirit World projecting thoughts of their past life through the aura of the unwilling subject in the present.

Webster also quotes from the research of numerous intellectuals from the fields of philosophy, psychiatry and science along with conrtibutions from the pioneers of spiritualism and psychical research, past and present. Most interesting are accounts of the work of Dr. Carl Wickland, an American psychiatrist whose work in spirit attachment is becoming recognised in modern psychiatry. Dr. Wickland helped patients who had been mentally disturbed by confused thoughts of being reincarnated or holding attachments of persons in spirit attempting to reincarnate.

A history of the doctrine of reincarnation from India is discussed with its cruel justification of the caste system by privileged members of society to keep the status quo, to its arrival and influence creeping into Spiritualism via Theosophy.

The book has some amusing cartoons drawn by the author's brother Tony which pictorially illustrate the absurdity of the doctrine of reincarnation.

Unfortunately protagonists of reincarnation are too often not aware of alternative recognised explanations or choose not to present them in their works. Therefore students of the subject seldom have enough information to make reasoned judgements of the subject. This milestone book is a must read and represents a definitive reference for students of spiritualism and philosophy.

I highly recommend "The Case Against Reincarnation .... A Rational Approach".

Hi James,

I am currently in the process of reading your book which presents solid empirical evidence for the possibility of overshadowing and confrontingly questions the fabric and integrity of the whole notion of reincarnation which has been created as a controlling mechanism by various belief systems to culturally influence and direct the masses, particularly the Indian caste system.

I currently sit on the fence with this one, but I am drawn evidentially and intuitively to the real possibility that discarnate influences rather than multiple human incarnations are more rationally plausible.

Also there seems to be empirical evidence suggesting that children are vulnerable to discarnate manipulation due to their lack of ego boundaries (i.e. imaginary friends) . There is also a suggestion that adults who are of 'fragile state of mind' and who have no real sense of who they truly are (e.g. schizophrenics and bipolar sufferers) can be particularly vulnerable to discarnate overshadowing due to their ego uncertainty.

rob smith

`The Case Against Reincarnation' by James Webster is the first book to critically examine the doctrine of reincarnation from a rational point of view. Many books on reincarnation are written by religious devotees of one kind or another who accept the idea of reincarnation as an article of faith but present it to the reader as an established or `scientific' fact. Other books are written by people who cannot make up their own minds about the issue and end up confusing the reader.
However, the reader of James Webster's book will find no shilly-shallying about reincarnation. Through a steady process of rational discussion and enquiry, we learn that reincarnationism is one of the greatest hoaxes ever perpetrated on an unsuspecting world. Although the author does not say so explicitly, it is clear that the agenda of reincarnationism in the West has been to enrich its proponents through a sustained campaign of titillation, cynical obscurantism and the production of fantastic explanations under the guise of `scientific' or spiritualist thought.
This remarkable anthology presents a wide range of authoritative evidence and testimony from some of the most famous and important names in the history of the spiritualist movement. It leaves the reader in no doubt where the author stands on this issue.

Chapter 1, by James Webster, "Reincarnation - the Tender Trap" shows how the doctrine titillates the unwary by offering simple and attractive explanations. The work of Edgar Cayce is critically examined.

In Chapter 2, Harry Boddington, pioneer spiritualist, traces the origin of reincarnationism in the spiritualist movement to the breakup of the Theosophical Society into its various sections. From then on, the doctrine seems to have spread around the globe like a mutating virus infecting every spiritualist organisation in the Western Hemisphere.

In Chapter 3, Carl Wickand, MD, medical scientist and psychiatrist, recounts the terrible effects of reincarnationist belief on people `passing over' to the next life and how they become `lodged' in the auras of people still on Earth in the mistaken belief that they have reincarnated.

Chapter 4. `Reports and Quotes' contains shorts extracts from a variety of different sources, past and present, providing the reader with a rich assortment of views from some of the founding members of the spiritualist movement such as Emma Hardinge Britten, Thomas Brevior, William Howitt, Anna Blackwell, Alexander Aksakof, D.D, Home, Revd Charles Tweedale and others.

Chapter 5 on Albert G.E. Mobey, T.Eng. (CEI), a personal friend of the author, reproduces some of his letters to the Psychic Press criticising the doctrine of reincarnation. Albert Mobey is a technically-minded spiritualist and has worked in the area of EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) and infra-red photography for safe filming in a fully darkened séance room.

In Chapter 6, Derek Anton-Stephens, psychiatrist, provides an interesting discussion on the meaning and origin of so-called `past life' memories.

In Chapter 7 the author, James Webster, examines the strange case of Jenny Cockell, and in Chapter 8 the Druze and reincarnation.

In Chapter 9 Arthur Oram, parapsychological researcher and writer on `spiritual systems theory', outlines his views on the theory of reincarnation.

Chapter 10 examines the evidence from philosophy, religion and the spiritual teachings of Jiddu Krishnamurti, and Buddhists against the doctrine of reincarnation.

Chapter 11 contains a `Formal Refutation of the Doctrine of Reincarnation' by a present day scientist, Stephen Blake M.Sc.(Lond). The Refutation is based on a small number of axioms and, by a process of logical deduction, shows that reincarnation and human immortality cannot both be true. Since Spiritualists, by definition, believe in human immortality, they should automatically reject the doctrine of reincarnation.

In Chapter 12, `Both Sides of the Pond', two spiritualists, one in Britain and the other in the USA, outline their views on reincarnation.

In Chapter 13, `Reincarnation or Ray-Incarnation' the reader is provided with a long and memorable extract from the writings of Charlotte Waterlow, M.A., M.B.E. Here, she takes the argument against reincarnation onto the home ground of reincarnationists, the writings of Helen Blavatsky.

Chapter 14, `A Meeting With Colin Fry', contains a fascinating account of a séance attended by the author and his wife. At this séance a spirit personality called `Magnus' is questioned about the doctrine of reincarnation.

In conclusion the `The Case Against Reincarnation' is a memorable work and probably the best and most original book on reincarnation I have ever read. I thoroughly recommend it to all truth-seekers who have rejected the `trust me' formula and the authority of self-appointed `experts'. For all those who want to examine the basis of their beliefs, this book will show the way.