Karma

[MithLuin]

'Karma as poetic justice' is not a dangerous concept. We certainly recognize incidences in real life or in stories where people get their just desserts (good or bad). If it serves as a reminder not to do mean or discourteous things to other people, that's all to the good.

In the sense of a cosmic force that will weigh out all our actions to a nicety in the scales of justice....well, no, I don't believe in that, and would view such a belief as either superstitious or legalistic.

As [b]bonkers[/b] points out, in the Christian understanding, there is no need for these things to all work out to an even balance in this life. God's sovreignty and his mercy leave room for other outcomes. The idea of coming back in another life is reincarnation, a different concept entirely (and outside Christianity).

Sometimes, what goes around is a very long time in coming around.

[Galloglasses' Alt]

Don't believe in Karma. Too much bad stuff happens to good people and vice versa.

And God's judgement can't be considered karma, thats Justice.

As for reincarnation, in the Christian world veiw such a thing is impossible for humans and unneccesary. Everybody has one soul, unique and singular, and that soul can't take another body in another 'life' this side of Heaven.

[elizabeth09]

On how you defined it

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='elizabeth09' post='1813835' date='Mar 22 2009, 01:14 AM']On how you defined it[/quote]
?

[Theologian in Training]

Karma, at its base level, is the belief that someone will get what they deserve because of a wrong that they did. The only way to make things right is to "undo" that wrong by doing something good or the equivalent of the opposite of the wrong done.

The problem I have with it is that it puts us in charge and supposedly gives us the ability to change the outcome of our lives, yet, with us in charge we really don't need God anymore. Also, it eliminates the need for confession, because if all we need to do to "feel better" and less guilty for our sins is to undo a wrong we have done then no need to confess them or to ask for forgiveness, because eventually what we have done will not "come around."

Lastly, it takes the burden off of us, because truly we no longer have to forgive a person because, eventually, "what goes around comes around" and they will get what they deserve. The problem, however, is that that is not true forgiveness but forgiving insofar as you know that they will get what is coming to them, so you forgive them their wrong, while knowing, in the back of your head that eventually something will happen to them to make everything "right" in the world.