[howerd]

Originally Posted by Brian249x

I am of the opinion that we are reincarnated. (The soul, that is, not the ego we believe ourselves to be. That little voice in our head is talking to ...???)

OK I 'get' that it's your opinion Brian but what's the best reason you can give for thinking it's particularly likely to be true rather than simply intellectually satisfying to your need to believe it? Do you have anything that's genuinely verifiable?

Originally Posted by Brian249x

Since this is the special education planet it is assumed that few, if any of us will be moving on to Nirvana.

Again that's another highly contentious claim. What's the best justification you can supply for thinking it's at all likely to be true?

Originally Posted by Brian249x

When one has been through 12 years of Catholic school education, one is never free of the indoctrination. In any event, it does no harm to take out a little insurance in case there is something other than a new chance to work on our unresolved issues, or as you hope, oblivion.

But since there is no remotely reliable way to really know if any supernatural claim is likely to be true how can believing any faith claim is much more likely than any other one? Especially since as you rightly say one is never free from a particular indoctrination? - Not all supernatural claims can be true can they? However they can all be false.

Originally Posted by Brian249x

If you are right, it won't matter what the priest does. If my parents, grandparents, and all the good sisters, brothers, bishops, and priests are right, I don't want to be spending any more time in purgatory than necessary. (I find it impossible to believe that a just and loving God would allow any of his children to remain in everlasting torment. Although it would appear that many of our Muslim brothers are really working on getting some hot coals up their asses for awhile.)

I cannot believe in hell claims either because the it's far far more plausible the story was made up to scare little children away from asking how the claim could really be known to be factual & not fictional? But exactly the same question applies to your methodology for arriving at the opinion about reincarnation or 'this special educational planet'? - Exactly how did you learn it was educational? Did someone you put blind faith in persuade you, in which case why do they? And if you didn't do that & you formed this opinion yourself how exactly did you come to all of these pretty precise conclusions? Extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence don't they? - If not tell my pet unicorn he's wrong about that because I have 100% faith in his claims & you should believe him as well if you really don't require extraordinary evidence!