hi, nice to meet ya.  i was also raised baptist and became a non-believer when i got older for the same reasons.  most religious people aren't really digging hard to find the scientific truth of things..  i mean they don't even believe in evolution, which scientists consider about as true as gravity!


i'm convinced reincarnation is real, not because of any special religious feeling, but because the evidence is so obvious.   there's a lot of books on this, but here's ones that blew me away ....

return from heaven by carol bowman
journey of souls and destiny of souls by michael newton ph.d
many lives, many masters by brian weiss
the afterlife experiments by gary e. schwartz (researcher tested the abilities of talented psychics to "read" people in a lab)

for physical proof, you can search ian stevenson.  he's a respected researcher who has documented a ton of cases of reincarnation and the corresponding birthmarks, etc. 

some books like this are more "out there" than others, but i've read every book i could get my hands on, and what's really surprising is how many hypnotists came to the same truths and same kind of stories, separate from each other.  i've read more than one book by hypnotists who accidentally hypnotized someone into a past life - kind of discredits the idea that the hypnotist is leading them!   (many lives, many masters is one such book) 

and just for the record, sylvia browne is a fraud. 

and God is an idea that goes along with this, but this "God" is very different from the Christian idea of God.  the best theory i have of what/who God is is that God is "everything," and we are all pieces of God and are God ourselves (and reincarnation is the journey to become more pure and "Godlike").    so you couldn't really attach a personality or gender to God, except that God is considered all-loving.  obviously reincarnation does away with the idea of hell too.  hell is a pretty funny idea when you think about it - "anyone who doesn't live like i want them to is going to hell!  because i think homos are gross!"   like telling children that santa isn't going to give them presents if they're bad, the church tells girls they're going to hell if they have sex, etc.  to get them to behave the way they want.

also the implications of reincarnation on how to live your life are very different from Christianity, because Christianity doesn't teach reincarnation and truly sowing what you reap.  the goal of reincarnation isn't punishment, but learning from all perspectives, so for example if you killed someone, you might choose to come back and be killed in your next life, to learn the consequences of your actions.  the implications are incredible when you consider that holocaust victims actually chose to die that way and had a purpose in doing so. 

Christianity teaches that God basically has his way with you - he creates you, chooses what happens to you and how you die.  reincarnation teaches that YOU choose all this - putting a lot of personal responsibility on to people..  you can't just say "the devil made me do it." 

also environmentally, a lot of Christians think it's OK to trash the planet because they think Jesus is coming back soon anyway.  obviously if you have to live a later life on the planet, you might care a bit more about preserving it.

Bruce,

Well said. I couldn't agree more.

E.

Hi there,

I just want to say that I'm sorry you're going through such a rough time right now.   The death of my Father is what prompted me to explore information on the afterlife, not any conflict in my religious beliefs, but I know exactly how you feel about needing answers.

Good luck in your search.    The Seeker suggested some great books, a few of them I've already read and I think you should look into them.

Greetings Eclipse,

Welcome!

Our host at this site Bruce Moen is too modest to 'toot his own horn.' 
His books are what brought this site into being, and they are what bring many of us to the understandings we have about the Afterlife. They--- particularly "The AfterlifeKnowledge Guidebook" (or with CDs known as "The Home Study Course"), are the quickest, most efficiently organized, most loving way of finding your way there. No one else has laid out a plan so concisely.

Whoever you read will speak to you more or less, depending on how much you are in tune with their personality. The people who post here will give you a great overview of the varieties of experiences and personalities that look into this type of information.
But Bruce's Guidebook lays it all out in steps that will take you there most directly.

May you have much success in your explorations! I started reading Moen's works about two years ago, dragging along as much fear and confusion as I could stand. It all got cleared up ---These goood people and Bruce's Guidebook completely changed my life, for which I am most grateful, so I hope you too will find the answers you seek!

Bets