# 3-Year-Old Boy Remembers Being Murdered In Past Life And Leads Adults To Proof **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 21, 2014, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-year-old-boy-remembers-being-murdered-in-past-life-and-leads-adults-to-proof/688964 "2014-05-21T21:51:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-year-old-boy-remembers-being-murdered-in-past-life-and-leads-adults-to-proof/688964/21 "2014-05-21T23:53:44Z")
> [@Mr\_Quatro](#): > > Go ahead make fun of an old man on dial up … still it would make a good movie, “Kid gets even with Murderer” Been done, but it was first called [Never give a Sucker an Even Break](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Never_Give_a_Sucker_an_Even_Break). It was reincarnated as [The Flim-Flam Man.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061678/) ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-year-old-boy-remembers-being-murdered-in-past-life-and-leads-adults-to-proof/688964/22 "2014-05-22T00:07:05Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > I’m a skeptic and all this silly story does is reinforce my skepticism. > > What is it that makes some people believe every story they read? Just because it’s [online, it must be true](http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-reasons-you-really-cant-believe-anything-you-read-online/)? WTF. Are we not more evolved than that? Do some people _really_ need a handheld guide to the internet to know what to believe? In 2014? (Apparently…but still.) You’ve given me a lot to think about. Now I don’t know what to believe. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-year-old-boy-remembers-being-murdered-in-past-life-and-leads-adults-to-proof/688964/23 "2014-05-22T00:18:12Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > You’ve given me a lot to think about. Now I don’t know what to believe. I feel your pain. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-year-old-boy-remembers-being-murdered-in-past-life-and-leads-adults-to-proof/688964/24 "2014-05-22T00:35:04Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > And exactly how well can 3-year-olds communicate, reason, and lead people? > > A question to those of you who have recently lived with a 3-year-old: can you imagine this person saying “Respected elder, I am now having memories from my previous incarnation. The memories are of a man killing my former self in another village. Come follow me and I will lead you to this man”? > > Am I underestimating the cognitive abilities of 3-year-olds? Yes, you are, really. Three year olds are very limited by their vocabulary, but they are full fledged little humans at that age, logical, and a total delight. Kids that age with a well-developed vocabulary sound more intelligent that most of your office mates; they certainly reason better than many. However, IME and from what I’ve heard, they do NOT have a clear understanding of the difference between reality and imagination. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-year-old-boy-remembers-being-murdered-in-past-life-and-leads-adults-to-proof/688964/25 "2014-05-22T01:03:02Z")
> [@j666](#): > > However, IME and from what I’ve heard, they do NOT have a clear understanding of the difference between reality and imagination. Not unlike some adults I know. ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-year-old-boy-remembers-being-murdered-in-past-life-and-leads-adults-to-proof/688964/26 "2014-05-22T01:20:04Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > […] > What is it that makes some people believe every story they read? Just because it’s [online, it must be true](http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-reasons-you-really-cant-believe-anything-you-read-online/)? WTF. Are we not more evolved than that? Do some people _really_ need a handheld guide to the internet to know what to believe? In 2014? (Apparently…but still.) This is IMHO and what follows is strictly my opinion only. (For various reasons I feel the need to include this disclaimer nowadays.) A lot of people are desperate to find something - anything - to corroborate the lies they have been told their entire lives. Underneath those internalized lies is a lot of fear and even more anger. I for one am relieved to see things like this spread around the Internet. I know that there is no possible way souls can transfer from one body to another. I know that there is no possible way anyone can prove to me that there are any such things as souls in the first place. It costs nothing to me for people who desire to believe such things to do so. I would much rather they believe than to have to face what might erupt were people to actually come to grips with having been played for fools, and been played for more reasons than I care to think about. Now, am I a bit (or more) of a drama queen? Absolutely. Am I a strict adherent to this not calling people on bs? Absolutely not. It’s that I think that a good part of what we do and don’t do, what we believe and don’t believe, how we allow ourselves to act and how we ignore and minimize things is based in fear. Am I afraid? Damn right. I’m afraid right now to hit the “Submit Reply” button for this post. I’m going to, though because in my heart of hearts I truly believe that we have only one life and it’s up to us to do what we will with it. Also, to get it in first - tl;dr. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-year-old-boy-remembers-being-murdered-in-past-life-and-leads-adults-to-proof/688964/27 "2014-05-22T01:40:03Z")
Dr. Eli Lasch was capable of telling such stories, and did so quite openly. eg [http://israelseen.com/2008/03/29/a-new-blog-by-prof-dr-eli-lasch-pediatrician-healer-visionary/](http://israelseen.com/2008/03/29/a-new-blog-by-prof-dr-eli-lasch-pediatrician-healer-visionary/) You can put “Eli Lasch” into the search there at [israelseen.com](http://israelseen.com) and find much more fantastic story telling from Eli. Seems to me Eli Lasch would have used such story himself already, if he believed it was true.\ Also, You can see Eli is into “fantastic stories”, he is no disinterested witness … ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-year-old-boy-remembers-being-murdered-in-past-life-and-leads-adults-to-proof/688964/28 "2014-05-22T02:06:27Z")
> [@jimbuff314](#): > > . . . I know that there is no possible way souls can transfer from one body to another. I know that there is no possible way anyone can prove to me that there are any such things as souls in the first place. . . . To be absolutely fair, it isn’t utterly impossible, not in the “two plus two can’t equal five” sort of way. It would rely upon as-yet undiscovered laws of physics, and would involve some very strange ways of storing information. But…who knows? Maybe there are cosmic standing waves that resonate to the touch of intelligent minds, causing quantum wave functions to alter, etc. etc. Neal Stephenson explores this, a bit, in his oddball sci fi novel Anathem. (Big honking heavy book; don’t undertake it lightly. It reads best if you know and love mathematics.) Arsen Darnay, in his sf novella Plutonium, also takes a science fictional approach to the idea, showing ways it might work. Obviously, such speculation is for entertainment, and perhaps for the growth of abstract philosophical sophistication. At the moment, there is no evidence of the persistence of human memory after death, and all of our understanding of matter, energy, and information tell us there can be no such thing. But…it ain’t absolutely impossible. I like the idea of keeping registries and databases and the like, in an organized “Search for Bridey Murphy.” What harm can it do? (I also like “premonition registries,” where people can have their premonitions date-stamped. So, like, I foresee a big earthquake in Oregon in July of 2014 – and I can prove I’m writing it now in May of 2014 – so if it does happen, I get to say I foresaw it. Again, what harm?) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-year-old-boy-remembers-being-murdered-in-past-life-and-leads-adults-to-proof/688964/29 "2014-05-22T02:16:38Z")
> [@](#): > > The boy allegedly told others that he had been killed by a man with an axe in his past life, and because the people in his community took claims like that very seriously, they asked him what else he knew about that life. This is in the Golan Heights. What kind of community was this, anyway? Since when do either Jews or Muslims believe in reincarnation? Is this some lost colony of Hindus? ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-year-old-boy-remembers-being-murdered-in-past-life-and-leads-adults-to-proof/688964/30 "2014-05-22T02:28:35Z")
> [@](#): > > The 3-year-old apparently remembered the killer’s name, and when they confronted him, the killer reportedly turned white. So it was Michael Jackson? ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-year-old-boy-remembers-being-murdered-in-past-life-and-leads-adults-to-proof/688964/31 "2014-05-22T02:50:38Z")
> [@j666](#): > > Yes, you are, really. Three year olds are very limited by their vocabulary, but they are full fledged little humans at that age, logical, and a total delight. Kids that age with a well-developed vocabulary sound more intelligent that most of your office mates; they certainly reason better than many. > > However, IME and from what I’ve heard, they do NOT have a clear understanding of the difference between reality and imagination. Nope. I’ve got a three-year-old and a five-year-old. Three year olds are not adults with less words. They are great, are capable of much more than many think, but they are still little kids. One thing they are, though, is highly suggestible and extremely eager to have the same thing or be the same as others. If my daughter is sick, so is my son. The can use logic, but they also ignore it at will. I would not characterize them as “logical.” My problem with stories like these is that if the premise were true, that murdered people come back to the same area, then we would expect this to happen much more, not just once. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-year-old-boy-remembers-being-murdered-in-past-life-and-leads-adults-to-proof/688964/32 "2014-05-22T06:32:24Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > This is in the Golan Heights. What kind of community was this, anyway? Since when do either Jews or Muslims believe in reincarnation? Is this some lost colony of Hindus? [Druze.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Druze) They’re a religion/ethnic group native to Lebanon, Syria and Israel. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-year-old-boy-remembers-being-murdered-in-past-life-and-leads-adults-to-proof/688964/33 "2014-05-22T07:18:10Z")
All life-after-death experiences were related by someone who lived, and all past life claimants were born on a definite date. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-year-old-boy-remembers-being-murdered-in-past-life-and-leads-adults-to-proof/688964/34 "2014-05-22T12:58:02Z")
In the version of this story that I heard, the 3-year-old fingers the killer, who is lynched, but is later reincarnated as a pit bull and fatally mauls the 3-year-old in revenge. At which point the 3-year-old… This stuff gets really complicated. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-year-old-boy-remembers-being-murdered-in-past-life-and-leads-adults-to-proof/688964/35 "2014-05-22T13:11:55Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > All life-after-death experiences were related by someone who lived, and all past life claimants were born on a definite date. And…? I’m not sure what point you’re trying to make. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-year-old-boy-remembers-being-murdered-in-past-life-and-leads-adults-to-proof/688964/36 "2014-05-22T13:43:01Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > So it was Michael Jackson? > [@Jackmannii](#): > > In the version of this story that I heard, the 3-year-old fingers the killer So, not Michael Jackson then. If it was MJ, the killer would finger… ah, never mind… ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-year-old-boy-remembers-being-murdered-in-past-life-and-leads-adults-to-proof/688964/37 "2014-05-22T13:50:49Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > […] > I like the idea of keeping registries and databases and the like, in an organized “Search for Bridey Murphy.” What harm can it do? > […] My point as well. And, as I note, could possibly do some good. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-year-old-boy-remembers-being-murdered-in-past-life-and-leads-adults-to-proof/688964/38 "2014-05-22T15:03:06Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Turning white is common proof of guilt in most jurisdictions. Especially if you’re not white to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-year-old-boy-remembers-being-murdered-in-past-life-and-leads-adults-to-proof/688964/39 "2014-05-22T15:10:20Z")
> [@j666](#): > > Yes, you are, really. Three year olds are very limited by their vocabulary, but they are full fledged little humans at that age, logical, and a total delight. Kids that age with a well-developed vocabulary sound more intelligent that most of your office mates; they certainly reason better than many. > > However, IME and from what I’ve heard, they do NOT have a clear understanding of the difference between reality and imagination. The best thing _ever_ is to tell a three-year-old something completely outrageous and wrong with a totally straight face. You can see by their expression that what you’re telling them sounds completely wrong but this is their beloved Uncle Dewey Finn telling them this; it must be correct. Even better if you can get them to repeat whatever you’ve told them to their parents or grandparents. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-year-old-boy-remembers-being-murdered-in-past-life-and-leads-adults-to-proof/688964/40 "2014-05-22T16:03:37Z")
> [@j666](#): > > Yes, you are, really. Three year olds are very limited by their vocabulary, but they are full fledged little humans at that age, logical, and a total delight. Kids that age with a well-developed vocabulary sound more intelligent that most of your office mates; they certainly reason better than many. > > However, IME and from what I’ve heard, they do NOT have a clear understanding of the difference between reality and imagination. When do they decline into the irrational morons that populate our workplaces? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-year-old-boy-remembers-being-murdered-in-past-life-and-leads-adults-to-proof/688964.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-year-old-boy-remembers-being-murdered-in-past-life-and-leads-adults-to-proof/688964.md?page=3)