Karma

[kavalamyself]

Do you believe in "karma" ? Is there a "Catholic" word for this belief? Like, "what goes around comes around?" Or this is just purely an Eastern thought/belief?

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='kavalamyself' post='1792689' date='Feb 27 2009, 07:20 PM']Do you believe in "karma" ? Is there a "Catholic" word for this belief? Like, "what goes around comes around?" Or this is just purely an Eastern thought/belief?[/quote]
It has nothing to do with Catholic thought. We get one soul and one chance to get it right - this is not a rehearsal and there are no repeat performances.

[Nihil Obstat]

I guess at a very basic level it's somewhat related to God as a final judge, but the similarity ends there.

Eastern philosophies and religions are very focused on the self, not God.

[CatherineM]

I have always believed that what goes around comes around. Kind of a Golden Rule kind of thing.

[rhetoricfemme]

Definitely what goes around comes around, whether in this in this life or whatever God has planned for us afterward.

Technically, I don't believe in Karma. Though I do toss the phrase around now and then.

[Nihil Obstat]

It's convenient, because everyone knows what it means, and I have a hunch that there's an element of it in natural law, but I suppose it's most important to keep the differences between Eastern philosophy/religion and Christianity in the front of your mind.
We don't, obviously, believe in karma as a sort of cosmic force. We do believe that to some extent what goes around comes around, but only because of God's will.

[ardillacid]

ka

[Tony]

"karma" is purely a superstitious and deceitful thing and gives someone a reason to feel good just because something bad happened to a person they have a vandetta against. its like this magical revenge type thing. "karma is a (you know what)"

[bonkers]

Don't believe in Karma, even if god did exist, people who spend their entire lives doing bad things have the opportunity to repent on their deathbed, while many "good" people die in immediate circumstances, such as car crashes, or because of someone elses stupidity. I suppose we could create our own karma, but there is the unfortunate matter of the law to deal with. Sigh.

[kavalamyself]

Sometimes I believe in it.

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='kavalamyself' post='1793649' date='Feb 28 2009, 03:16 PM']Sometimes I believe in it.[/quote]
Sometimes I think its just God's sense of humor.

[kavalamyself]

Yeah, well, thanks for all the answers and opinions. This came up last weekend. One of my roommates and I went to visit an order that was founded out of another order (not like a daughterhouse but more as in a splinter group). Anyway, the original order has gone the way of the libs while the new order has returned to the faithful (as in orthodox, but not eastern) church. So the first group is totally falling apart, with the nuns getting older and no new vocations while the newer one is flourishing. The first group will most likely close. One of the nuns we visited with said something about it being "karma" and "what goes around comes around," and "that's what they get." I didn't think that was very Catholic (not to mention Christian) but then I wondered if she was using the word karma as more of a general term because we all know what it means? So that kinda stuck with me and then later when I thought about it, I realized that I sort of do believe in it but I would never have said that word because I identify it with eastern thought/life and not Christian. But THEN I thought maybe it is just a simplified version of the golden rule as someone mentioned. It's crazy trying to really be a true Catholic living in a world where we use words that come other religions and we don't always think about that. And hearing a nun say that really surprised me and it got me to think a little more deeply.

[Nihil Obstat]

I try to avoid saying it.

I also avoid saying good luck, when I'm really thinking about it, for the same reason. Obviously I say that when it's convenient to, but I don't believe in luck either for similar reasons.

Karma is on par with reincarnation and yogic type meditation in terms of Catholic orthodoxy, as far as my thoughts have taken me.

[Nunsense]

Karma is a dangerous concept because it implies that we live many lives and either get rewarded or punished in this life for sins or good actions that we performed in a previous life. This is totally heretical.

The idea of "instant karma" is also prevalent today, that is, wrongdoers will get punished in this lifetime for evil they do in this lifetime (and rewarded as well). But this all implies a form of justice based on man's understanding, and not God's, since only God knows the hearts of man, and Jesus asked us NOT to judge each other.

I, too, try to avoid using words like karma and luck because they deny God's divine plan of salvation through Jesus Christ. Sure, this could be nitpicking, but it is the subtle and invasive secularism of our society that is increasing man's separation from God. We should never forget to give Him all power and glory and credit.

Edited March 1, 2009 by nunsense

[add]

Catholic Charity Is karma,
ie: what ever you do for the least of my brothers that I will do unto you tenfold.

[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.