>Experience trumps "sound reasoning" every time.... I'm presenting my viewpoint, and my experience--not debating you or trying to twist your arm into acceptance.

I understand your intentions David, and also the value of experience. However, for experience to be introduced into an argument it has to be based on reason, or at least presented using language or conventions that frame it clearly, logically, and add weight to the argument rather than serve another purpose. I am still lost as to your reasoning in saying that all masters came only for their marked souls. Do you have examples of this to share? What is a "marked soul"? (Am I one as I feel I have benefitted greatly from Christian and Buddhist and Hindu teachings?) How did it become so? How does it fit in to the evolutionary scheme? How does it differ from an "ordinary" soul? If masters come only for their marked souls then why the persistent universality of their teachings? If experience trumps sound reasoning every time are you saying that you have personal experience of Jesus' methods and intentions? I would say that every human is a "marked soul".

>Logic will kill you when it come to the subject of inner reality.

An interesting area this. I don't think logic will kill me but I do think it can kill a conversation. In my experience logic and its brother and sister order and justice are universal constants and do not cease to exist as principles when one transfers their qualities to another sphere of existence. The spiritual structure of the universe is as surely based on logic as the material, as the material is the emanation of the spiritual. It is not impossible to reason this, systematically or even by inference. Energy or consciousness and matter are transferable, for one example.

As far as reincarnation is concerned, we can compare and contrast the world's traditions, beliefs and religions and very quickly arrive at the conclusion that reincarnation, and more generally reimbodiment (as this phenomenon applies to all beings which are embodied in material form - animals, plants, planets, even relatively abstract "beings" such as races or cultures, or belief systems), is one of the oldest, widely-held, and persistent beliefs in man's history. Why would this be evident if there is no truth to it? There is also the testament of many young children (recorded diligently by Dr. Ian Stevenson) who have recounted with great accuracy, without the need for the sometimes spurious method of regression I might add, circumstances of their recently experienced previous life. In addition to this, and I wholeheartedly agree with you on this, is the inner conviction that "I have lived before and will again". But simply saying this to someone who has not had this feeling will never convince them that it is true.

For those interested in a very broad, balanced treatment of reincarnation I would recommend Sylvia Cranston's books on the subject: "Reincarnation: A New Horizon in Science, Religion, and Society" and "Reincarnation: The Phoenix Fire Mystery: An East-West Dialogue on Death and Rebirth from the Worlds of Religion, Science, Psychology, Philosophy".

Harry