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Revision as of 05:10, 4 February 2004 by Harris7 (talk | contribs) (misc links, rm some redundant text)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Born again is a common term in contemporary religious dialogue, referring to a transcending personal experience—or the experience of being spiritually reborn as a "new" human being. In psychological terms, being "born-again" is perhaps analogous to a perceptual state of hyper-salience; where one experiences a extreme and jarring change of perceptions, causing a re-awakened and renewed sense and understanding of oneself and their relationship to the world/universe.
Christian concepts
To be born again in Christianity is synonymous with spiritual rebirth and, in many denominational traditions, salvation. The term is used somewhat differently in different Christian traditions.
The Christian use of the term is derived from the third chapter of the Gospel of John, where Nicodemus asks Jesus what he must do to be saved:
- Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God."
- Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born again."
- Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit."
- -John 3:1-5 (New Revised Standard Version)
Note that some translators consider "born from above" to be a better translation than "born again"
Most Christian denominations would agree that a true Christian must be born again, based on the above passage, and thus that those who are true Christians are in fact born again, whether they describe themselves as such or not. The Roman Catholic church, for example, considers that "Baptism is ... the sacrament by which we are born again of water and the Holy Ghost" . However the term is most frequently used by Evangelical Protestants, where it is often associated with an intense conversion experience and an encounter of the individual with the power of God. Some would deny that those without such an experience are true Christians, based again on the above passage. It is common to find that Christians who describe themselves as born again consider those who do not to be counterfeit.
The idea of born again carries with it the theological idea that a Christian is a new creation, given a fresh start by the action of God, freed from a sinful past life and able to begin a new life in relationship with the Holy Spirit.
Born Again is also the title of a book by Charles W. Colson, which describes his experience of becoming a born again Christian.
General Usage
Self-described born again Christians are often the most enthusiastic, devoted and outspoken, and hence the phrase has come to be used to describe any dedicated and enthusiastic supporter of a cause - e.g. born-again Conservative, born-again sports fan, born-again skeptic etc.
Alternative Interpretation
It is interesting to consider that those who have a near-death experience often experience the sensation of passing through a tunnel. Some have observed that as the physical act of birth entails passage through a physical "tunnel" &ndash the birth canal &ndash the spiritual act of birth may consist of passage through a spiritual equivalent.
In the Bible passage quoted earlier, Jesus stated that "no one can see the kingdom of God without being born again." If the rules of logic are properly applied to this phrase, it would be possible to be "born again" and not necessarily see the kingdom of God.
A contemporary speaker might say that one cannot see the Eiffel Tower unless one goes to Paris. But, one could go to Paris and never visit the Eiffel Tower. Similarly, Jesus makes it clear that no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again, but does not explicitly state that being born again means that one will see the Kingdom of God (while that might indeed be the case, it cannot be logically inferred from the Bible text).
Therefore, one possible interpretation is that a person is not "born again" by saying a "sinner's prayer" or observing some rite of a church &ndash indeed, there are no specific instructions given in the Bible for entering the state of being "born again" &ndash but that instead, a person is "born again" at the time of death (for most people), or perhaps for a small minority of people, during a near-death experience or an intensely spiritual experience. This would not conflict with what Jesus told Nicodemus in any way.
It's also worth pointing out that Jesus had responded in the way he did after Nicodemus had said, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God." Those who believe that being "born again" is synonymous with "salvation" ignore the fact that Nicodemus was not asking how to obtain forgiveness from sin, but instead was observing that Jesus was doing things that he could only do in the presence of God. Jesus' response, therefore, probably had nothing to do with the modern concept of salvation, but rather was instruction for Nicodemus as to what must happen to him before he could see the kingdom of God in the same way that Jesus did.
Note that Christian fundamentalists would most likely reject this interpretation, not only because they believe that being "born again" and having "salvation" are the same thing, but also because they believe that it is impossible for a person to be saved after the moment of physical death (although it is quite questionable whether anything in the Bible directly supports the latter assertion). Therefore, the idea that for most people, spiritual birth comes after the moment of physical death would disagree with fundamentalist dogma.