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Karma? Or something like it?
I'm kind of confused about what I believe in. You see, my family and I don't go to church because my parents want me to make my own decision about what religion I want to be, even though they are Catholic. But I'm not really sure about what religion I am. I'm a strong believer in karma and that things eventually even out and that people get what they deserve eventually(although that's not how it seems to be working out in my life right now...) but anyways, I believe in God but I believe in karma, too. Is that like a contradiction? Can you believe in both? Just a thought.
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Maybe give some free advice about: Spirituality?
A rose by any other name...or what comes around goes around, what you sow you shall also reap, Karma, whatever you want to call it is a common thread of thinking in many religions. Continue to think for yourself and keep an open mind. As you learn more about various belief systems, religions, individual philosophies etc. you will find many common ideas in all that you may or may not agree with. The only common thread that should count for you and become your belief is what you find as truth wherever you find it. It will change over time as you gain information and experience. Your parents are wise to tell you to seek your own faith.
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Yes, that would be contradicting God. First of all, the Bible doesn't mention anything about karma. Karma is primarily a Hindu belief, and I believe maybe Buddhist too.
Secondly, God works as one with the Holy Spirit and Jesus to work in peoples' lives, not a powerful force, like karma.
I believe in basic cause and effect, if you can even call that a belief. ( "If I do this, this may result.") But Karma? It's not that complicated.
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I won't argue with Razhie. :D
I just want to tell you, that the way I see it, there is no law in this world (or out of it) that says you have to believe just one thing exactly.
You can believe whatever you want. That's all that matters.
It's like this, I was raised a Methodist. Those teachings are always with me. So, I believe in that.
However, I believe in Catholicism. I believe in Buddhism. I believe in Judaism. I believe in Jehovah's Witnesses. I believe in Wicca. I believe in Greek Mythology. The list goes on. Any religion or belief any person has, I believe in too. I believe because they do.
I believe in karma as well. What comes around does go around, it just takes time, because we all get what we deserve in the end.
Does that make me a bad person? Nah. I figure it like this, though I don't practice all the religions, somebody does. If they believe in it, who am I or anyone else to say they are wrong for doing so? I don't think anyone is wrong.
Okay, so hopefully that babble made some sort of strange sense.
Point in hand is this. If I can believe in all of these things with a clear conscience (meaning I don't see how this could buy me a ticket to Hell, basically), then why can't you believe in God and karma in the same breath?
Believe what your heart desires. That is why God created you to be a free thinking individual.
Alright. Done rambling.
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Being a theist, which is the fancy word for believing in a single, conscious, creative entity, and believing and karma isn't any sort of rational problem. I don't see why you can’t do that.
However, believing in any semantic God, and by that I mean any Christian, Jewish or Muslim understanding of God, in the strictest sense wouldn’t really allow for the idea of karma. In those religions, I’m quite sure the formal understanding is that you have God's will and that justice is something God dispenses after death. The world of doesn’t have any living has no real justice in it.
Now I know somebody is going argue with me on that, but the basis of the dogma and philosophy about justice in those religions as far as anything I’ve ever read is that justice is a virtue of God and although human beings try to emulate it, true and complete justice can only be dispensed by God after you die. That is philosophically one of the main ways semantic religions deal with the question "Why is there evil in the world?" The idea of karma, where everything sorts itself out in the end and balance is achieved wouldn’t jive with that philosophy. It would remove on of 'God's' main functions in those religions. Instead, any sort of things that looked like karma in the world would either be considered a direct result of someone's sin or simply the will of God.
So basically, as long you don’t claim to be a Jew and believe in karma, I wouldn't have any argument with you. Even if you did claim to follow on of those religions and believe in karma I wouldn’t really have a problem with you, I'd just say I don't think you've thought it through, because the two philosophies do not blend well at all.
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