Adam, that's a very interesting insight on the origins of a single life vs. reincarnation. That's certainly something to ponder.
I'll point out that, where the soul is concerned, it is always eternal, both in Eastern and Western religions. It seems to me that, for those religions that believe in reincarnation, "heaven" has a much higher cost of entry. You reincarnate until you achieve the highest levels of consciousness before you die. For Christians, Jesus' sacrifice effectively acts as a filter for God, causing him to see us in the light of that perfect sacrifice (the doctrine of Justification). That perfect sacrifice perfects us in God's eyes, allowing our souls entry straight into heaven when the earthly body passes away. Viewed in that way, it can be argued that having to repeat your earthly existence many times over is much more harsh than only having to do it once. The main sticking point with reincarnation, however, isn't so much the concept, which is a good one, but more whether or not you believe God/Buddha/Spirit/etc would require or even allow it. You could argue both sides of that ad infinitum.
Now the concept of being reborn is totally different. Being reborn involves making a mature, conscious decision to put aside the ways of this world and follow Christ. There's no relation to reincarnation there.
In regards to why the Church doesn't believe in reincarnation, you're probably right, ethereal, that only having one chance encourages better behavior, but Justification would tend to have the opposite effect. Reincarnation could partially explain, however, the more laid back approach to advancement of society in the East (i.e. more social stability) vs. the constant development and change we see in the west. After all, if you've only got one lifetime to get things done, you'd better start gettin'.
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