For item 1., notice that moment-to-moment rebirth and literal rebirth don't have to be 2 mutually exclusive concepts. Both are well supported on logical ground and references from the Buddhist Canon. If you haven't been to a Buddhist temple, I'd recommend you pay a visit and have some friendly chat with the monks there to get more insight into this important concept.Kaiel wrote:
1. I've seen it said rebirth is not literal, that we go through rebirth every moment based on our karma from the last. My take here is the wise Siddhartha would of used simpler language, like you actions yesterday effect who you are and your well being today. Terms like deva and asura and hungry ghosts used for nothing more than describing a mental state seems like metaphorical overkill.
3. I've also seen it said there is no soul, but a subtle self, or luminous mind, or mind stream. Now to me this sounds like a soul,many religions have different takes on what a soul is, but the gist of it is a part of you that continues on after. The Tibetans go on to describe the actual events while Inbetween lives, how is this anatta, yet I would expect these monks who should be well versed in Buddhas teachings
For item 3., notice Buddhism doesn't deny a conventional, temporarily labeled "self". We still recognize a Mr. Kaiel who raises good questions about Buddhism. But it stops there, this conventional self is not permament, composed of many many constituents, and most important of all: being subjected to sufferings like aging, sickness, lamentation, stress, death, etc. The "self" is just a label like a "car" is a label temporarily assigned to a structure with 4 wheels, engine, electrical systems, frame,etc. The "self" is not "real" because it constantly changes. Your body cells constantly die off and being replaced with new ones. So technically speaking, Mr. Kaiel 5 minutes ago is not the same as Mr. Kaiel now. Most of his cells already been replaced and he gets slightly older 5 minutes later. So, if there's a real, absolute, and immutable "self" to be defined, where do you find it? Which Kaiel out of the hundreds or thoudsands of "Kaiel instances" is the "real" Kaiel? Same logic can be deduced for the "soul". When a husband loses his temper and acts like a lunatic, his wife would say "you are not yourself anymore". If he has a real and immutable "soul", which one is it? The calm version, the wrathful version? So, afterall, what got carried over to one's next life? That which is "the gist of a part of you that continues on after"? Kamma!
As Chownah mentioned, keep on learning more about Buddhism (ref: http://www.accesstoinsight.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;), practice meditation, spend more time with it, and you'll be able to find out more answers for yourself. Good luck..