Why it is wise to believe in Rebirth

[Coemgenu]

@DKervick

I sought out Buddhism because I became convinced that hate is not conquered by hate, and that the only way to freedom and the end of suffering is to put down the rod of violence, gradually relinquish all attachments, including conceptual ones, unravel the delusions of egoism, and make a place for pure, selfless and universal love in my heart.

I also like this, and if you find rebirth truly and utterly profoundly impossible for you ‘believe’ in, in any way, I don’t think that anyone would advocate that you should

@DKervick

torture yourself by thinking the Kamma Man is going to get you, or feel ashamed because pious defenders of orthodoxy […] tell you you are a Bad Buddhist.

And if that has been your experience, generally, that’s pretty unfortunate. Internet condolences, I suppose I can offer?

But this

@DKervick

no actual evidence

IMO relies on a very particular ‘actual’. Consider it in light of other statements:

@DKervick

actually believing any of them given our current state of knowledge seems like wild speculation

@DKervick

tying one’s spiritual progress up in the quest to get answers to such questions seems utterly quixotic

These aren’t exactly neutral words here. They seem to presume a fundamental assumption that laboratory-nondemonstrable suggestions from any source at all are all equally ‘wild/quixotic’ regardless of any qualifying detail they could possibly have: rebirth is as ridiculous as Elvis’s ghost that I just made up, uncritically, that is what the underlying belief seem to be. Is this wrong?