I think a belief in reincarnation necessarily must assume a managing force behind it, call it God or not. The usual idea is that this force aims at perfection and therefore has to recycle our souls until they are perfect. This does not convince me at all, for the following reasons:

• if we have been created by a perfect force, our imperfections cannot be of universal nature


• if we were to be perfected at the end of time, we would still have been imperfect most of the time


• the average quality of souls on earth does not seem to increase from generation to generation


• it is not much of a punishment if we don't remember the sins for which we are being punished


• it is not much of an incentive to further purify ourselves if we are not going remember it in our next lives


• in fact the notion of two persons consecutively sharing a single soul is hard to conceive if they do not share their consciousness.

A very small number of persons claim to remember past lives, but even if they should have some knowledge we cannot explain yet, we cannot conclude that souls have been shared.

Metaphysical ideas cannot be proved, but metaphysical concepts can be checked for intrinsic consistency. An abstract concept of God is not subject to logical critizism, and I personally find it a suitable way of thinking about mankind and the universe. (Dave MacKenzie on 21 Nov 10 - 11:06 AM seems to recognize his own concept of God in Dawkins' statements!) But the more attributes are attatched to such a notion, the more feeble the building may become.

As I wrote before, conflicts are immanent when it comes to practical consequences of faith. These may be classified as delusions, if they severely inhibit the believer and are not supported by general agreements on morals and logic. Often persons try to legitimate their power or wealth by declaring it God's will, e.g. as a result of accumulated Karma from former lives, thus hindering other believers from claiming their rights. Such delusions we must try to cure, to help the deluded and to diminish unjust power. If Louis YVI had been Dei Gratia king by the very fact, then Robespierre would have been Dei Gratia revolutionary.

On the other hand, valid moral motivations cannot be called delusions, even if they come as results of questionable beliefs. Maximilian Kolbe's self-sacrifice is a good example.