and
purifying itself, growing in power and intellectual grasp."

Another argument against Reincarnation is that it is not necessary, for
the reason that Heredity accounts for all of the facts claimed as
corroborative of Reincarnation. Answering this the advocates of the
doctrine insist that Heredity does not account for all the facts,
inasmuch as children are born with marked talents and genius, while
none of their family for generations back have displayed any such
tendencies. They also claim that if Heredity were the only factor in the
case, there would be no advance in the races, as the children would be
precisely like their ancestors, no variety or improvement being
possible. But it must be remembered that Reincarnationists do not deny
certain effects of Heredity, particularly along physical lines, and to
an extent along mental lines, in the way of perpetuating "tendencies,"
which, however, are and may be overcome by the individuality of the
child. Moreover, the doctrine holds that one of the laws of Rebirth is
that the reincarnating soul is attracted to parents harmonious to
itself, and likely to afford the environments and association desirable
to the soul. So in this way the characteristics likely to be transmitted
to the offspring are those which are sought for and desired by the
reincarnating soul. The law of Rebirth is held to be as exact and
certain as the laws of mathematics or chemistry, the parents, as well
as the child, forming the combination which brings forth the rebirth.
Rebirth is held to be above the mere wish of the reincarnating soul--it
is in accordance with an invariable natural law, which has Justice and
Advancement as its basis.

Another argument against Reincarnation is that it holds that human souls
are reborn as animals, in some cases. This objection we shall not
discuss, for the reason that the advanced ideas of Reincarnation
expressly forbid any such interpretation, and distinctly deny its
legitimate place in the doctrine. Among some of the primitive people
this idea of transmigration in the bodies of animals has been held, but
never among advanced occultists, or the leaders in philosophical thought
favoring Reincarnation. Reincarnation teaches the Evolution of the soul
from lowly forms to higher, but never the Devolution or going back into
animal forms. A study of the doctrine of Reincarnation will dispel this
erroneous idea from the mind of an intelligent person.

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