I do not believe in reincarnation. To think that people will come back as other people or animals has no basis in the holy scriptures.

The idea of rebirth was also entertained by some Ancient Greek philosophers. Many modern Pagans also believe in reincarnation as do some New Age movements, along with followers of Spiritism, practitioners of certain African traditions, and students of esoteric philosophies. It later became a part of the Kabbalistic teaching, especially the Gnostics, Manichaeans, and the Carthari. In AD 533, reincarnation was declared a heresy by the Council of Constantinople. Reincarnation in Buddhism. Reincarnation in Taoism. Reincarnation in modern thinking. http://www.comparativereligion.com/reincarnation.html http://www.pastlifetimes.net/psychic_phone_readings_psychic_research_empowered.htm Edgar Cayce claimed to be in touch with many of his past lives. http://www.skepdic.com/reincarn.html There are eight words used in the theosophical philosophy in connection with Reimbodiment, which are not all synonymous, although some of these eight words have almost the same specific meaning. They are: Pre-existence, Rebirth, Reimbodiment, Palingenesis, Metensomatosis, Transmigration, Reincarnation. http://www.crystalinks.com/reincarnation.html QUOTES FROM FAMOUS PEOPLE ABOUT REINCARNATION http://www.reincarnation.ws/ From the Totem Pole our American Indians to the hideous effigies of Deity in Asia; from the Chinese Joss to the beautiful Altar in the Christian Cathedral, the same fact is in evidence, that from somewhere down through the remote and obscure ages, humanity has been invested with the truth - the truth that there is another life. http://altreligion.about.com/library/texts/bl_reincarnationir.htm Today belief in reincarnation is popular in New Age and Neopagan circles. http://nostalgia.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reincarnation Under hypnosis, numerous people recall the details of previous lives, even to the point of taking on the personalities of their former selves - and speaking in foreign languages! http://paranormal.about.com/library/weekly/aa041700a.htm Cases of children who claim to remember previous lives. http://www.prebirthexperience.com/The%20Life%20Beyond.htm http://www.scientificexploration.org/jse/v19/n4/bookReview-Life-Before-Life.html http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780553574852&view=excerpt Past-life recall of adults: Recognition of people at first sight; Recollection triggered by objects, pictures or books; Recollection triggered by similar situations; Recollection under extraordinary circumstances. http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/rein/tendamcontents.htm A large number of books on para-psychology describe cases of persons who claim to remember previous lives: http://istina.rin.ru/eng/para/text/639.html http://www.answers.com/topic/ian-stevenson Leon Denis and Gabriel Delanne became the main pillars of the reincarnationist school in France. The general evidence they relied on was fourfold: (1) infant prodigies, (2) spontaneous recollection of past lives, (3) exploration of memory under hypnosis, and (4) the claims announced of coming reincarnation. http://www.answers.com/topic/reincarnation A LAWYER PRESENTS THE EVIDENCE FOR THE AFTERLIFE: Victor Zammit. LEADING BRITISH LAWYER ACCEPTS AFTERLIFE Dr. Aubrey Rose, a leading British Human Rights lawyer, has stated in his recent book "The Rainbow Never Ends" that he totally accepts the evidence for the existence of the afterlife. From some twenty years of afterlife research: There is nothing more important, nothing as critical, as significant and vital as communicating with afterlife intelligences which has now become the greatest discovery in human history." http://www.victorzammit.com/ As one study in Northern India showed, reincarnation memories were reported only once out of 500 people interviewed. Thus, reincarnation cases are not as common as Westerners have a tendency to think, although higher rates of reincarnation memories have actually been documented among some indigenous peoples, including Native Americans. http://www.esalenctr.org/display/confpage.cfm?confid=9&pageid=93&pgtype=1 AMNESIA - The universality of reincarnation and the preservation of psychological structure: A biological theory. http://www.geocities.com/athanasiafoundation/amnesia.html Repressed memories of past life experience can lead to depression in the aging population, according to a professor at Kansas State University. http://www.mediarelations.k-state.edu/WEB/News/NewsReleases/listdepression41201.html Mine is a case of rebirth. I remember the major events of my past life. My mother tongue was the same in my past birth.

I believe in reincarnation. To me it makes at least as much sense as going to magic happy land or eternal torment land. If a soul is immortal (not that there's science for this, but religions tend to assume it), why should it be in a body for 80ish years out of eternity and not for the rest? That said, I don't believe people have memories other than maybe lingering impressions. Maybe you like egyptian-style jewelry because you spent some time there, maybe it's just a coincidence. Maybe you don't like tomatoes because you spent a lifetime when it was common "knowledge" that they were poisonous, or maybe it's because you just don't like them. Am I, personally, a reincarnation? Sure, probably, it strikes me as more likely than being a brand-spanking-new soul, but I'm not going to run around claiming I was Martin Luther because I was good at German in school or anything like that.

Ignorance of former lives is no proof that reincarnation does not exist. Memory is no test of prexistence. We do not remember the nine months of existence as embryos. How then could we remember the lives in different bodies with different brains and nervous systems. If we remembered all the hard knocks of our former lives, we might be disinclined to experience a fresh outlook with a new chance. Human suffering is not a sign of God's anger with mankind. Rather it is a sign of man's ignorance of Divine law. Until we learn, we are destined to come back and repeat this dream.