Hear Me, Karma! Oh. Wait.

Per request, this week's post is on the topic of karma. Now, this is a common superstition. It's thrown about frequently albeit generally facetiously. However, since it bears a slight resemblance to Christianity, it may be that Christians can have a hard time defending against this false idea. The concept that good is rewarded and bad is judged is clearly a biblical concept. That much cannot be denied. The ultimate dichotomy between karma and Christianity is the agency. Karma, originating in Eastern Mysticism, is the product of a blind, all encompassing, and transcendent force that guides the universe. This force is often called Brahma. Blessings and curses are administered by this force to doers of good and evil. I struggle with this because I don't understand the eastern mystic's concept of right and wrong. The eastern mystic proclaims that all things are one. One could argue that if all things are one, there are no distinctions such as right and wrong. Despite this, Brahma manages to reward the good and punish the bad without being a personal being. Christians need to fight this idea upon these grounds. The God that Christians worship is not a blind force. Yahweh is a personal and sentient being who creates, loves, and judges. There is an ultimate moral standard we will be judged by on the Final Day, but God is also actively pursuing judgement in this life. A simple example is that bad decision have bad consequences. That is God's practical way of achieving judgement in this world. However, God also weaves much greater and more complicated punishments. These are based upon his creative, personal, and holy nature. We do not and need not always see them, but His holiness demands that they be there. Oddly enough, Christianity is also very different from the concept of Karma because of the Christian concept of mercy. Is a blind force going to experience pity or mercy? It can't. A personal God, such as the one we have, is abounding with mercy and love. The sun shines upon the righteous and the wicked. Christ died to pay for the sins of wicked sinners (Me.) From our God's abounding mercy, we too are enabled to commit acts of mercy. This is an entirely foreign concept to Brahma. It draws no divisions, for there are none.

In short, Karma is a foreign concept from Christianity because it relies upon a far off and impersonal being. Such an identity (if it can be called that) is entirely foreign from our God. Therefore, He administers justice fairly based upon an absolute moral standard and yet His being abounds with mercy too.

God Bless,

Stanley