In his book Against Celsus, he says: "Is it not more in harmony with reason to say, as Pythagoras and Plato did, that every soul does not enter a body by chance or without cause, but rather enters according to the merit of the deeds it has previously performed? Is it not logical that souls which used their bodies to achieve the greatest possible good for others should have the right to obtain bodies endowed with higher qualities than the bodies of others?" He expressed similar views in his book On First Principles.

A question from Miss Dima Al-Sadr: "Greetings, my teacher. Origen says: 'Every soul does not enter a body by chance or without cause, but rather enters according to the merit of the deeds it has previously performed.' My question is: would it not be more consistent with Divine Justice for every soul to remember those deeds from previous lives so that it may take heed and return to righteous work? Furthermore, does the phrase 'every soul' mean that God subjects all humans to this experience, or is it applied only to some? And what is the Divine Wisdom behind this?"

The Answer: If remembrance were beneficial, God—Exalted is His Might—would not have withheld it from souls. Imagine if the oppressed continued to remember the oppression of the oppressor, whether it was an atrocity like adultery or a criminal act like theft; in that case,