Well, I have heard some intriguing stories about reincarnation.

What stops me, though, is how does one explain the largest population increases. How could everyone be reincarnated souls when the population has steadily increased since man first appeared.

I used to not believe in it, but when I started thinking about 3 year olds who could play the piano like Mozart and five year olds who can build rockets, then it seems a bit likely.

My view on this is simple i’ll hold my counsel until my day of reckoning comes.Then the truth will out.

That would require the existence of a “spirit” of some sort which carries on between bodies.

I don’t believe in a spirit of any form, I don’t believe in reincarnation.

It’s a nice idea to think about, but the niceness of something has no bearing on its truthiness.

I vote yes. I really like it here and would like to come back.

I decided to believe in reincarnation because what if what you believe in is what you get. Like if you are an atheist and you believe you cease to exist-and you do. Or if you believe in the mainstream Christian afterlife of worshipping at God’s feet-eternity is a long time to spend on your knees. No I believe that if you live a good life you come back to a better existence and I’m shooting for Hawaii.

From my experience, it makes absolute sense. Especially when you consider what @Self_Consuming_Cannibal said. Theres really no other reason other than reincarnation. It takes lifetimes to achieve that kind of ability. Another reason I believe in it is because of the belief that humans have souls. Souls never die so it would make sense that we would keep coming back in different forms.

@Sarcasm
While I do believe in spirits, I find your answer intelligent and articulate. +5lurve

i think the concept is quite a strange thing. a weird compromise between faith and logic, a rejection of dogma and an embrace to superstition.

as most of the people who believe it are buddhists and a lot of them dont believe in god. its kind of a belief for people who are not really all out full on dogmatic but still some what superstitious and religious.

as a concept, i my self personally think its badly flawed. i think science has reasonably shown that humans are a biological thing and that all biological thing are perishable and probably one of the ‘least permanent’ things around.

i dont think our gift of intellect really separates us from the animals and shows we have a soul or are gods chosen people any more than a birds capability to fly shows it is gods chosen soul owning pile of proteins.

the kindest thing i can really say regarding reincarnation is this: if matter can not be destroyed, and if every atom in our body has been here since the beginning of time, and every atom in our bodies will be here in some form for all eternity, that maybe, maybe, if all these atoms have come together at this very moment to make us, then maybe, some time in the coming eternity they will come together out of chance once again.

I think it’s a lovely fantasy.

How is it naturally possible? Once you die, you’re gone.

Reincarnation would stink if it did exist. I want to be a unique me, not just a recurrence of some other person from long ago, not just a copy of some person before me. I also would want there to be only one me, the thought of someone else “being” me the future is disheartening. Being a copy of someone else takes away from individual value…and the possible future “plagiarism” makes me mad.

Also, reincarnation would be a rotten deal because one would have to start all over again and again. Think about it: you would have to repeat all of life’s difficulties and tragedies over and over again. Also, having to start over would take away the satisfaction of having lived a good life.

Does that make sense?

You are unique, not a recurrence. You’ve been ‘you’ forever.

I like the idea of it. Especially the idea that we stay near the souls that we love in each life over and over again. But, I doubt reincarnation actually exists. I tend to believe when you die your dead.

@poisonedantidote, but if you’re using science as a basis, then you accept the scientific premise that energy cannot be destroyed, it can only change form.
So if the animating energy no longer inhabits the shell, or body, what happens to it? Would it not be logical to use the Jewish “guff” as a sort of resting place for the energy between lives? Going back and wearing another body for a period of time?
The Tibetan Book if the Dead is also known as (Forgive my poor memory) loosely translated as ”...preparation for between.” The belief being that death is at first confusion to the spirit and preparation is necessary for the departed spirit. I used to think in my head that Jesus was Christianity’s answer to that preparation. That dying as a Christian was the equivalent to what the Tibetan’s did, so to speak.
I also believe that the bible mentions reincarnation in a few different places. You just need to be able to catch it, as it seems to state it rather baldly, to me anyway.
Where was I going with this?
I guess that science would seem to point to the distinct possibility of reincarnation. Ok, what am I missing?

You are an eternal being. your body is born and your body will die, but you do not die.
Your spirit, your soul is infinite. This is who you are, this awareness, that is beyond birth and death.
But alas as the body perishes you simply take another body to continue your work, your journey. It is the same you that takes another different body, following the laws of the physical universe where you must go through being a child and growing up each time.
When we are very young we can remember what we did last time, but with the passage of time and so many thoughts we are engaged in, we tend to forget.
However, through past life regression therapy, or call it whatever you want, we can go back and view different lifetimes…

@Trillian I think the guf is only for unborn souls, not that souls return to it. Remember we are waiting for the guf to be emptied for the messiah or something like that?? I really don’t know the exact thinking on it.

Here’s my take.

For me, it’s hard to believe in a God that seemingly creates and/or allows conditions of cruelty and obvious inequities in the world. But if everyone experiences various incarnations to experience whatever that soul needs to experience, then there seems to be some method to the madness. Otherwise…

…what’s the point?

@SABOTEUR I like what you said, but the thing is I don’t think there needs to be a point. I rarely ask why.

@JLeslie I stand corrected. Thank you.

Been there, done that.

I think it’s a good way to control a population, especially one that has little in the way of material comfort and reward in this life, and instill a drive toward virtuous moral behavior, which essentially means that people cause less trouble for one another, but there’s no reason to suppose that it has any objective validity.

hmmm, objective validity in a belief system… wink

I think it is no different to those who beleive they will spend eternity in heaven, just a way for people be able to cope with their inevitable death.

I believe in neither reincarnation nor souls.

“There’s no reason to suppose that it has any objective validity” means “there’s no good reason to believe in it.” So—no belief system.

Then does it go that there is no objective validity in any belief system for you? My point was that the words belief system erase the very meaning of objective.

I didn’t mention a belief system. I said, essentially, that the notion of reincarnation is a tool for controlling people’s behavior.

It was me that brought up belief system, because this is for a lot of people.

seems like a perfectly feasible idea to me.

Yes, I realize that. But the fact that you regard it as a belief system has nothing to do with my saying it has no objective validity. We are not starting from the same point. Your disagreement with my view does not necessarily make mine illogical or inconsistent. Your words “belief system” do not erase my meaning of “objective” at all.

Yes I know it is apples and oranges. Always appreciate conversation, though.

I was a fervent believer during my previous incarnation, but I think it’s absurd this time around.

Well I believe when you pass on, your life force will be become one with the universe. I believe in heaven and all of that so I think we will operate on a higher plane of existence. I guess that could be a form of reincarnation… The problem with any of ideology is we have no scientific backup. We can’t pull someone back after being dead for a couple days and ask them what happened. Although I believe that each living create has a soul we cannot prove what is really going on that makes us live and not just stay alive. It’s all about faith and whoever here believes in reincarnation then that’s good enough for me.

@Trillian i would say science does not point to the possibility at all. the energy of the brain is not magical, its simply electrical. without the physical organic body the electrical energy of the brain is no more going to be born in to a second life than a broken light bulb will.

science does not work on the basis of assumptions, you may speculate and interject but assumptions are never part of it. im no scientist, im just an amateur fan, but i know enough to know that there is no evidence for a soul. but i do know there has been a lot of work done on how people reason them selves in to this kind of belief, and what kinds are more likely to go for others.

feel free to believe what you like, but dont think science will back you up on this one. any real search for evidence will leave the believer wanting.

In the multiverse it happens all the time.