What does the recycling of the soul through numerous lives imply for the human condition, the nature of the individual and the fate of the race?
There is a reason why mankind exists, we are not an end product of physical or spiritual evolution but part of a continuum that has been going on for 3.5 billion years (perhaps far longer) and will continue for millions of years to come. There is a spiritual realm. Souls exist and are capable of living outside a body for long periods. In truth, it is likely that the natural state of the soul is as a form of coherent (sticks together) energy that is most comfortable when it does not have a body. The body is like the uniform of the student and is not permanent form.

Evolution: change, growth, improvement, refinement and survival is a law of the universe and happens at every possible level of existence. Mankind is evolving - all of us, towards something we can not yet imagine.
I believe that souls are coming in to existence, that souls are evolving up through the animal phylums, and the souls of individual humans all reincarnate so there is an inexhaustible source of souls. There is, also, the possibility that souls travel between worlds and dimensions, but if they do, I suspect it is only when the soul is ready for a change of classroom.
We never escape our fate- our Karma. One of the great questions of human life is why do the young and innocent suffer & die when monsters like Hitler and Osama Bin Laden live into middle age, sometimes, even old age? Christ said those who live by the sword will die by the sword but there are many violent men who die in bed in old age. Some mass murderers, for instance, are never caught. How can God allow such injustice? This question has caused despair for generations of mankind and life rarely seems fair to us.
The truth is that God allows us free will - He allows us choices because He wants us to choose to be his friends and lovers as free creatures. The universe is just, however, and, it is through the law of karma that the universe carries out its justice.
The Earth and by extension, the entire universe, is a class room and no one can fully understand the lessons of another student. We do not know what future lives a Hitler or a Bin Laden will live, or how many centuries it will take them to choose the light. We are here to learn, study and excel and Karma is the teacher. What you give is always reflected back to you, both good and bad, so always work towards the good. It will make life easier in the long run. Goodness is not good only for others, it is good for you, personally, it is self interest that causes us to choose the Light of God and Love. It is wise to strive towards holiness, love and goodness.

Suicide is always a very great evil... we are here for a reason, suicide is running away from the lessons, but no one ever truly escapes and their actions will follow them like hounds for many centuries. It is better to be courageous, face the hard lessons, and learn.

While Karma is a very complex issue to contemplate, it can loosely be described as the results of our actions. It is rarely as simple as cutting off someone's hand so your hand is cut off but Karma is the discipline that all souls must absorb if they are to evolve. There is good karma, an example might be a couple has been married before and been very happy and kind to one another, so in future lives, they may meet again and choose to live another happy life, together. They help each other to grow and mature as souls. Another example might be if someone has sacrificed their lives for others & for their beliefs in past lives, they will be given spiritual advancement because of their service to the race.

Because of my choice to be Christian, my interpretation of reincarnation is different from the Eastern philosophies. I believe that we are meant to serve mankind, to help our brothers and sisters to evolve. Therefore, leaving earth & mortal life behind is not a necessarily good thing. I do not seek Nirvana and have no need to return to my source of being forever. Christ, who is our brother and master, has not left us alone. He is right here, in the realms of the spirit, helping all of us to evolve into what he is. Those who follow him do not need to stop reincarnating, no, we need to grow into mature Christian souls who can help all of mankind become more loving, more Christ-like. There are centuries of work, fun, and effort ahead. As Christ said, he came to give us life more abundantly and as he also said we will do greater things than He because He is in eternity praying and aiding us - He said that it is enough for a student to become like the master... and, this, is our ultimate fate, to become like Him in all things. We are meant to be ONE with Him, the spirit of Love and God, united forever in a spiritual marriage of mutual love.

Each life reflects our past lives. What I mean is until a soul becomes a mystic and begins to release the ego (die to the self), letting go of everything that holds it back from soul maturity, we are fated to live through every bit of our karma. Christ is the Lord of Karma and has the power to release us from our personal karma, to some degree, but that is only when we become his friends and serve in his kingdom. I believe that in each new life we must mature as animals, growing up and then mature a little further as souls, using our adult lives to become mystics and die to the ego or self - but, I also suspect that the more lives we live as mystics the easier the surrender becomes. (though, I can not say it has ever been easy for me!)

When Christ spoke of dying to self so the greater self might live (what does it profit a man if he loses his True Self?) and that we must follow him to the cross, He was speaking of allowing the death of the ego the process of self-knowledge and becoming that makes a person an awakened soul. This soul is living life within and through the body as the consciousness most in control .

..It is as if the soul is controlling the 'car' and the smaller ego, the self, is cooperating with the soul's, and through the soul, God's, desires. Before this process is completed, the ego (lesser self) is like an usurper king who thinks he is the ultimate king of the world. He must be deposed for the true King to rule, and this process is called the dark nights of the senses & soul in Christian mystical literature. Needless to say, it makes for a mammoth and very painful battle in which the individual is fighting within himself for dominion, not only that, but he is both the battlefield and both armies during the battle! The first levels of this process is somewhat similar to the same processes that modern therapy uses to help people through a time of crisis.

Abortion is wrong - an evil, because it is murder. I am absolutely sure of the soul's existence within the body from the moment of conception. The body is created as a vehicle of karma and bears within itself the fate of the individual. Perhaps, an example is necessary: Lets say a person mistreated an invalid in a past life. In a future life he must be born in a body with a physical deformity to learn, first hand, the suffering he caused another in a past life. This is a rough example of what I trying to explain. I remember being in my mother's womb before birth as a soul and choosing to stay and live, in my case, it was not abortion but illness that threatened my young life.

Within the deepest parts of the mind/soul/consciousness of a person the memories of past lives are buried. For some, as Socrates said, these memories are more accessible, for others, less. Sometimes, these memories surface in dreams, day-dreams, visions, proclivities, skills and imagination.

Murder is always wrong, unless it is in self defense or war because we must never think we know what the fate of fellow student should be, murder is an evil in so many ways, but one reason is that we are arrogantly cutting a life short. We never know each other's karma. That is something that only the Universe and God can do.

When a woman chooses abortion she is linking her soul to the soul of the fetus for centuries to come. Only when some crisis beyond simple expediency is also occurring is abortion an acceptable action. I suggest for those who do not want children to use birth control, in this way, conception never happens and the soul of the babe is never encased in flesh.

It was wise to see life not as one short life but as one incredibly long life within different bodies. The bodies are like clothes. Some are male, some female. Different lands, times, places, cultures but the basic nature of individual only slowly changes. There are visits to eternity between lives, that can be thought of as vacations and rest periods, before we return to the class room that is mortal life and strive, again, towards our ultimate fate. Therefore, no one ever truly dies. As Bruno said, if I am not here I am somewhere else, if not somewhere else, well, I am here! (wise fellow that he was!)
All of us are born, live and die, only to return when it is time, and, so, return in good time to the class room.
This enough for today. There is so very much to say on this subject !