Does the Bible and Medical research talk about reincarnation anywhere? How can we know this is our only life?"

Reincarnation is the teaching that after death, the soul goes to a holding place and then enters a new human body. Some believe we are incarnated into animals, plants, and even inanimate objects. This cycle continues over and over again for thousands of years until the person supposedly learns what he or she needs to learn, and then the reincarnation process ceases.

Belief in reincarnation is a central tenet within the majority of Indian religions such as Hinduism, Sikhism, and Jainism. In the West, some New Age movements, along with followers of Spiritism, also adhere to reincarnation. For the Christian, however, there can be no doubt: reincarnation is unbiblical and must be rejected as false. If reincarnation is true, then there is no Day of Judgment, no need for the cross, and no need to trust in Christ.

Hebrews 9:27 clearly tells us that we die once and then face judgment. The Bible never mentions people having a second chance at life or coming back as different people or animals. Jesus told the dying criminal on the cross, “Today you will be with me in paradise,” not,

“You will have another chance to live a life on this earth.” The Bible teaches that believers go on to eternal life while unbelievers go on to eternal punishment.

People need Jesus because reincarnation does not remove sin. It works with karma, the idea that your past lives of “goodness” or “badness” affects the quality and position of your next incarnation. The purpose of reincarnation is to help you develop perfect karma by which you might achieve a union with the “divine consciousness” after you have learned whatever it is you are supposed to learn.

That might sound good, but it makes no sense. Think about it: if this is true, each person had a first incarnation. That means that each person then had perfect karma since he had no previous life and had done nothing wrong. So, if he had perfect karma and didn’t learn what he was supposed to learn in his first life, what makes him think that after hundreds of incarnations with accumulated bad karma that he will be able to achieve the perfect state of union with the divine consciousness? And then there’s the issue of final authority. When it’s time to reincarnate, who or what is the cosmic authority figure that decides whether you’ve been good or bad? These religions have no God who judges nor a gauge by which we are judged by. It’s like having a justice system without a judge; it makes no sense.

But what does make sense is that there is one God who has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ and the only way to have our sins forgiven is to trust in Him and not our own efforts through various lives trying to achieve perfection. That’s why you need Jesus, because reincarnation is not only false, it is empty because you just can’t win.

Aside from Jesus, no one has ever been perfect. Because of this, no one could ever be good enough to escape the supposed cycle of reincarnation. After death we face judgment, meaning that there is no second chance. That’s why you need a Savior. On the day you die, you will not go back to the end of the line to try again; you will be judged. Without the righteousness of Christ, you don’t stand a chance.

Reincarnation: Its Background
Reincarnation comes from the Hindu-buddhist philosophy of soul transmigration. This is the "religious" concept of the eternal birth-death-birth cycle, where a soul moves from body to body. The status of each successive body, whether human or animal, is the direct result of the quality of the life the soul led in the previous body. Thus, a "good" life results in rebirth to a higher quality form, and a "bad" life results in rebirth to a lower quality form. This forward and backward progression is based on the Law of Karma, a central foundation of Hinduism and other Eastern-based philosophies. As most of us know, Karma teaches that good deeds are rewarded and bad deeds are punished. The ultimate goal in this Karma cycle is for the soul to progress to the highest level of existence and become one with the universe. Reincarnation is taught side-by-side with pantheism, the belief that everything is God and God is in everything. Reincarnation and pantheism are the central doctrines of Hinduism and occultism, variations of which have grown popular in the Western world in recent decades.
Reincarnation: Its Impact on Western Thought
Reincarnation appeals to Western "religious" thinking, such as the New Age philosophies, because the life cycle concept provides people with unlimited chances to get life right. With reincarnation, we have no imminent or compelling reason to figure out the meaning of life with respect to God and fellow man. We can feel our way through existence, and, if need be, "get it right in the next life." Remarkably, recent surveys reveal that nearly 60% of Americans believe reincarnation is possible. Not only has reincarnation entered Western thought through various New Age teachings, reincarnation has surfaced in the Christian church and certain "Christian" variants. Actually, the Bible is sometimes cited to support a belief in reincarnation, or at least the possibility that reincarnation can coexist with Christianity. The remainder of this piece will address four biblical citations used by reincarnationists to support this misguided doctrine.
Reincarnation: Its Misuse in Christianity and Elsewhere
Reincarnation in Matthew 11:14: Reincarnationists cite Jesus' statement in Matthew 11:14 that John the Baptist was Elijah. However, this is not the complete context of the scripture. Luke 1:17 tells us that John the Baptist would precede Christ "with the spirit and power of Elijah." In addition, John the Baptist himself denied that he was Elijah in John 1:21. We must also remember that Old Testament scripture teaches that Elijah never experienced physical death (2 Kings 2:11). This fact is again stressed in the New Testament when Elijah appears with Moses at the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:3).

Reincarnation in John 3:3: Jesus tells Nicodemus that to see the Kingdom of God one must be "born again." Here, many reincarnationists declare that Jesus is supporting the idea that a series of rebirths is necessary to achieve life cycle "perfection." Of course, one must read the entire passage to understand the complete context. When Nicodemus expresses his bewilderment about a second physical birth, Jesus immediately sets Nicodemus straight. In John 3:4-5, Jesus specifically refutes the concept of physical rebirth, and is very clear in stating that this "rebirth" is a spiritual one.

Reincarnation in John 9:1-3: This scripture tells of a man born blind and deals with the question of whose sin was the cause of his blindness. Reincarnationists say this biblical question is in line with the Law of Karma. However, the scripture does not end with this question. Rather, it ends with the reply of Jesus -- that the man's blindness was in no way related to sin. Therefore, we see no connection whatsoever with any Karma-like doctrine.

Reincarnation in Hebrews 7:2-3: Reincarnationists maintain that this scripture portrays Jesus as Melchizedek in a previous incarnation. However, a very simple review of the scripture will show that Melchizedek was "made like unto the Son of God," not that he was the Son of God, Jesus Christ. The scripture merely says that there is no record of Melchizedek's birth or death, and that his unique priest-hood was not transferable to another. Melchizedek is only being compared to Jesus, not being declared a previous incarnation of Him.
Reincarnation: What the Bible Does Say
Hebrews 9:27 clearly refutes the doctrine of reincarnation -- "it is appointed for men to die once, and after this comes judgment." Simply stated, reincarnation is not compatible with Christian doctrine. In fact, the Bible clearly teaches that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Reincarnation is the same deception used by Satan in the Garden of Eden when he told Eve, "You surely shall not die." The Bible teaches that eternal salvation from sin is a gift from God through Jesus Christ. Reincarnation is a myth, which teaches that "salvation" will ultimately come to those who have perfected themselves at the end of their Karma-based life cycle.

What does the Bible say about reincarnation?

The whole thrust of the Bible opposes reincarnation. It shows that man is the special creation of God, created in God’s image with both a material body and an immaterial soul and spirit. He is presented as distinct and unique from all other creatures—angels and the animal kingdom alike. The Bible teaches that at death, while man’s body is mortal, decays and returns to dust, his soul and spirit continue on either in a place of torments for those who reject Christ or in paradise (heaven) in God’s presence for those who have trusted in the Savior. Both categories of people will be resurrected, one to eternal judgment and the other to eternal life with a glorified body (John 5:25-29). The emphatic statement of the Bible, as will be pointed out below, is that “it is appointed unto men once to die and after that the judgment” (Heb. 9:27). This statement and the concept that mankind’s creation in God’s image is unique from the animals and even angels stand totally opposed to the idea of reincarnation—dying and coming back as another person or in the form of an animal or insect. The claim of some that they have information of past history is nothing more than some kind of encounter with demonic powers who have been present throughout history.
Below is information from A Handbook of Christian Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli. (InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove).

Six Basic Theories

The human race has come up with six basic theories about what happens to us when we die.
1. Materialism: Nothing survives. Death ends all of me. Seldom held before the eighteenth century, materialism is now a strong minority view in industrialized nations. It is the natural accompaniment of atheism.
2. Paganism: A vague, shadowy semiself or ghost survives and goes to the place of the dead, the dark, gloomy Underworld. This is the standard pagan belief. Traces of it can be found even in the Old Testament Jewish notion of sheol. The “ghost” that survives is less alive, less substantial, less real than the flesh and blood organism now living. It is something like a “ghost image” on a TV set: a pale copy of the lost original.
3. Reincarnation: The individual soul survives and is reincarnated into another body. Reincarnation is usually connected with the next belief, pantheism, by the notion of karma: that after the soul has fulfilled its destiny, and learned its lessons and become sufficiently enlightened, it reverts to a divine status or is absorbed into (or realizes its timeless identity with) the divine All.
4. Pantheism: Death changes nothing, for what survives death is the same as what was real before death: only the one, changeless, eternal, perfect, spiritual, divine, all-inclusive Reality, sometimes called by a name (“Brahman”) and sometimes not (as in Buddhism). In this view—that of Eastern mysticism—all separateness, including time, is an illusion. Therefore, in this view, the very question of what happens after death is mistaken. The question is not solved but dissolved.
5. Immortality: The individual soul survives death, but not the body. This soul eventually reaches its eternal destiny of heaven or hell, perhaps through intermediate stages, perhaps through reincarnation. But what survives is an individual, bodiless spirit. This is Platonism, often confused with Christianity.
6. Resurrection: At death, the soul separates from the body and is reunited at the end of the world to its new, immortal, resurrected body by a divine miracle. This is the Christian view. This view, the supernatural resurrection of the body rather than the natural immortality of the soul alone, is the only version of life after death in Scripture. It is dimly prophesied and hoped for in the Old Testament, but clearly revealed in the New.
For both (5) and (6), the individual soul survives bodily death. That is the issue we shall argue here. We do not take the time to argue against paganism (2) or reincarnation (3) or pantheism (4) here, but only against modern materialism (1), since that is the source of most of the philosophical arguments against immortality in our culture.

Ten Refutations of Reincarnation

Christianity rejects reincarnation for ten reasons.
1. It is contradicted by Scripture (Heb 9:27).
2. It is contradicted by orthodox tradition in all churches.
3. It would reduce the Incarnation (referring to Christ’s incarnation) to a mere appearance, the crucifixion to an accident, and Christ to one among many philosophers or avatars. It would also confuse what Christ did with what creatures do: incarnation with reincarnation.
4. It implies that God made a mistake in designing our souls to live in bodies, that we are really pure spirits in prison or angels in costume.
5. It is contradicted by psychology and common sense, for its view of souls as imprisoned in alien bodies denies the natural psychosomatic unity.
6. It entails a very low view of the body, as a prison, a punishment.
7. It usually blames sin on the body and the body’s power to confuse and darken the mind. This is passing the buck from soul to body, as well as from will to mind, and a confusion of sin with ignorance.
8. The idea that we are reincarnated in order to learn lessons we failed to learn in a past earthly life is contrary to both common sense and basic educational psychology. I cannot learn something if there is no continuity of memory. I can learn from my mistakes only if I remember them. People do not usually remember these past “reincarnations.”
9. The supposed evidence for reincarnation, rememberings from past lives that come out under hypnosis or “past life regression” can be explained—if they truly occur at all—as mental telepathy from other living beings, from the souls of dead humans in purgatory or hell, or from demons. The real possibility of the latter should make us extremely skittish about opening our souls to “past life regressions.”
Please Note: While I would agree with the demonic aspect, I do not agree with the idea of purgatory nor can I agree with the idea of the souls of dead humans communicating with living people. The dead are confined, according to Scripture, and cannot reveal themselves. This is suggested in the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16 and by the extreme surprise of the witch of Endor when she saw Samuel who was dead (see 1 Sam. 28:8f). She claimed to be a medium or one who contacts the dead, but when Saul requested that she contact Samuel and when God brought him forth, it startled her and brought great fear. This appeared to be her first experience with the real thing, i.e., with seeing the dead because this is normally not possible. When people do experience such experiences or contact, what they are seeing or experiencing is better identified as demonic.
10. Reincarnation cannot account for itself. Why are our souls imprisoned in bodies? Is it the just punishment for evils we committed in past reincarnations? But why were those past reincarnations necessary? For the same reason. But the beginning of the process that justly imprisoned our souls in bodies in the first place—this must have antedated the series of bodies. How could we have committed evil in the state of perfect, pure, heavenly spirituality? Further, if we sinned in that paradise, it is not paradisical after all. Yet that is the state that reincarnation is supposed to lead us back to after all our embodied yearnings are over.
If the answer is given that our bodies are not penalties for sin but illusions of individuality, the pantheistic One becoming many in human consciousness, no reason can possibly be given for this. Indeed, Hinduism calls it simply lila, divine play. What a stupid game for God to play! If Oneness is perfection, why would perfection play the game of imperfection? All the world’s sins and sufferings are reduced to a meaningless, inexplicable game.
And if evil is itself only illusory (the answer given by many mystics) then the existence of this illusion is itself a real and not just illusory evil. Augustine makes this telling point.
Where then is evil, and what is its source, and how has it crept into the creation? What is its root, what is its seed? Can it be that it is wholly without being? But why should we fear and be on guard against what is not? Or if our fear of it is groundless, then our very fear is itself an evil thing. For by it the heart is driven and tormented for no cause; and that evil is all the worse, if there is nothing to fear yet we do fear. Thus either there is evil which we fear, or the fact that we fear is evil. (Confessions, VII, 5)
(See also Justin Martyr, Dialog with Trypho [ca. a.d. 180], and Albrecht, Reincarnation, for extended Christian critiques of this idea.)

The following information is from The Bible Has the Answer by Henry M. Morris and Martin E. Clark (Master’s Books, El Cajon).

The first, most glaring dissimilarity between reincarnation and Biblical doctrine occurs in the idea of a recurring cycle of existence. Does each person live many times in the same or different form? The Bible says, “It is appointed for men once to die, and after this comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). The Scripture pictures death as a separation of the soul from the world, Christ Himself describing death as God requiring man’s soul (Luke 12:20). When a saint of God dies, rather than merely being promoted to a higher status for another lifetime, he enters his eternal estate, secured for him by God’s grace. The divinely inspired apostle exclaimed, “We are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). Christ’s record of the rich man and Lazarus shows that both the saved and the unsaved enter their respective rewards following death (Luke 16:19-31).
So then, one’s life is not followed by an indefinite number of succeeding lifetimes. This vital difference established, more tangible differences emerge.
Classical ideas of reincarnation know nothing of a personal God who enters holy relationships with His creatures. In fact, ultimate reality is usually conceived as a cognitive process within man himself, rather than as a personal God.
Further, reincarnation schemes make men’s spiritual advancement contingent upon his mortal efforts, attempting to make merit outweigh demerit. Christianity shows, however, that salvation cannot be earned by sinful man, but rather, it is merited by Jesus Christ’s substitutionary death and resurrection for all who believe. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Also, many theories of reincarnation hold that man’s spiritual, physical, and moral conditions are determined by a former life and therefore not under his control. Physically, this has led to a passive, pessimistic acceptance of untold misery that was actually unnecessary. Spiritually, it is even more devastating. The Bible reveals that no one is bound in his sins against his will, and though born under Adam’s curse, “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Through God’s forgiving grace, “though your sins be as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool” (Isaiah 1:18). Consequently, the Christian does not worry about his merit outweighing his demerit, for his sins have been forgiven, God having promised, “I will remember their sins no more” (Hebrews 8:12).
Finally, some people attempt to equate reincarnation with the Christian doctrine of resurrection, but in doing so, violate the meanings of both reincarnation and resurrection. Reincarnation advances a future life on earth, bound by similar constraints and physical laws, while the resurrection speaks of that time when earthly bodies with all their accoutrements will be transformed and fitted for their eternal estate (John 5:29). Reincarnation holds that matter is essentially evil, while resurrection demonstrates that there is no moral dualism between matter and spirit. Reincarnation posits a future life in a different body (or even a different order of physical life), while resurrection promises that one’s own body will take on a new, incorruptible, glorified form. Describing the resurrection, Paul stated, “It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body . . . it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body” (1 Corinthians 15:42, 44).

It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment. (Hebrews 9:27)

If the Bible is correct, then why doesn't God allow for reincarnation? Consider that the idea of reincarnation may be flawed at its core. Reincarnation is the theory that with enough lives, a person can somehow finally get it right and then be allowed into paradise/nirvana. Many people think they are good enough -- already -- for heaven. (They haven't robbed banks or killed anyone.) With reincarnation, the idea is very similar. The only difference is that it suggests that you'll be good enough...eventually.
Why is such a scheme flawed? Because it doesn't take into account the sinfulness of man. The Bible says that all people have sinned and fall short of God's glory (Romans 3:23), that all have turned from God and gone their own way (Isaiah 53:6), that there is not even one person who does good (Psalm 53:3), and that there is no one who doesn't sin (Ecclesiastes 7:20).
Therefore, what good what it do to come back to earth in a different body? The degree of change would not be enough to make a difference. You live your first life as a sinner who has turned from God, then you come back as a different person who nonetheless is a sinner who turns from God. This endless cycle would give no benefit to anyone.
Since we are sinners, we need forgiveness. Since we all turn away from God, we need to turn back to Him (repentance). This is the consistent message of the Bible.
God tells us to turn to Him for forgiveness and seek Him in order to know Him. If we do that, then heaven begins in this life and can merely carry on into the next life. For He Himself -- not a different place to live -- is what it's really all about.
Even though the Bible refutes reincarnation, it does speak of a resurrection of all people...

"An hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; those who did the good to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil to a resurrection of judgment." (John 5:28-29)

Here is more Scripture regarding that judgment...

And I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it.... And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened....and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds....And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-15)

Want to know how to have your name written in the book of life? Sincerely ask God now for His forgiveness. Jesus died for your sins so that you could be forgiven. But to receive God's forgiveness means turning to Him in sincerity and with a commitment of your life.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? - We have all sinned and deserve God's judgment. God, the Father, sent His only Son to satisfy that judgment for those who believe in Him. Jesus, the creator and eternal Son of God, who lived a sinless life, loves us so much that He died for our sins, taking the punishment that we deserve, was buried, and rose from the dead according to the Bible. If you truly believe and trust this in your heart, receiving Jesus alone as your Savior, declaring, "Jesus is Lord," you will be saved from judgment and spend eternity with God in heaven.