The other night when I wrote about Karma, it really bothered me when someone who considers themselves a Christian stated “Galatians 6:7 teaches that what you sow, you will also reap. Karma is the same thing.” You may believe that, but I am here to tell you, Karma is diametrically opposed to the teaching of the Bible. Maybe you are thinking “How? Doesn’t Karma teach that if you do good, that good will come to you and equally if you do wrong or bad, then bad will come to you?” No, not entirely.
Karma teaches every thought or deed, whether they are good or bad, will have consequences that will determine how an individual will be reborn in another life and what will happen in their next incarnation on earth. So a person who acts violently, for example, could be born many different times into lower castes of humans or even into lower forms of animals and may fall victim to violence himself during those lives as a result of his previous violent life. In many forms of Hinduism, the person cannot escape the cycle of rebirths until they are reborn into the Brahmin or priestly caste. In this way, karma and reincarnation are deeply intertwined. With the appropriate effort, individuals can attain their own salvation (or liberation), which is their release from the cycle of birth and rebirth, though that liberation may take many lifetimes to attain. Rooted in the Law of Karma, Hinduism also teaches that there is a sense of justice that permeates the universe. If the Hindu falls short of karma’s requirements, he or she is condemned to the endless cycle of reincarnation. For the Christian, that sense of justice has been met in the finished work of Jesus Christ on Calvary’s cross. Just in case you didn’t know, “Reincarnation” or “samsara” is the belief in the transmigration of the soul. There is a cycle of rebirth after rebirth after rebirth of the soul. One could be reborn as a wealthy aristocrat or as an animal, a beetle, worm, vegetable, etc. (Eckman, 32)
The God of the Bible isn’t worried about other lives; I have never been anyone other than Rachel, you have never been anyone other than who you are. Your soul has never been a part of anyone else’s life, nor will it ever be. I hear you say “But what about Galatians?” Yes, Galatians…Some might say that karma is part of Christianity because of Galatians 6:7:
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.”
Even though the scriptures teach us that we will reap what we will sow, karma and Christianity are not compatible. We must remember that Galatians 6:7 is talking about this lifetime, not the afterlife. Karma and the biblical idea of reaping what you sow are not the same. The Bible teaches that after this one life we will come to the judgment. Hebrews 9:27 says:
“And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.”
Are their similarities between Karma and Sin and Forgiveness?
Similarities and Differences between Karma and Sin
Similarities:
Both involve moral choices.
Both affirm a relationship between our actions and the results they produce in our present lives.
Differences
Karma (Hindu Concept): Karma does not affect one’s relationship with Brahman, which is the essence of existence within all things. Whether one’s karma is good or bad makes no difference to the fact that we are extensions of the very Being of Brahman. Sin (Christian Concept): Sin profoundly affects our relationship with God in that we become alienated from Him. One of the attributes of God is absolute moral holiness, and our sin reveals an attitude of rebellion against His authority.
The law of karma, which makes morality like a law of nature, does not allow for the possibility of forgiveness. Its consequences are inevitable and inescapable. Because God is personal, and because persons can forgive, God can forgive us of our sins. Moreover, He has done so through Jesus Christ. Let's take a
look at a man in the Bible, a man named Job. the first chapter of Job introduces us to a righteous man, a good husband and father. A holy man who could be counted on to do the right things. And he is exceedingly blessed by God.
But before long everything starts going wrong for him.
• His riches disappeared.
• His children died.
• His health deteriorated.
• And his wife turned into a bitter shrew of a woman.
As if that weren't bad enough… his friends came over to “comfort him”.
Well… they weren't really there to comfort him.
They were there to correct him, and to condemn him.
In the book of Job, these three friends observe Job’s suffering… and tell him that:
1. All suffering is a result of sin.
2. The greater the suffering the greater the sin.
3. Thus Job, you deserve what you’re getting, and you need to repent.
This can all be summed up by his “friend” Zophar’s comment: “IF you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, THEN you will lift up your face without shame; you will stand firm and without fear.” Job 11:14-15
In other words: it’s YOUR fault, Job.
You've sinned, and that’s the reason you’re suffering.
BUT… if you’d just put away that sin, if you’d just allow no evil in your tent, THEN, you’d be OK!
Now, of course, from the beginning of the story WE know that’s not true.
That’s NOT why Job is suffering.
But these 3 friends don’t know THAT part of the story so they’re allowing their Karma kind of theory to guide them in their advice:
We all make these kinds of judgments. We see a man on the street with a sign that says “will work for food” and we just know he won’t work and the money won’t go for food. We see a person living out under a bridge and presume to know how they go there – bad choices. We see a man pushing a shopping cart down the street and we know how he got there.
Now, we may be right, and we would be advised to be cautious on how we help out folks like these, but we need to remember that God places a high priority on our helping the poor and destitute. When we give to them – God notices.
Karma-kind of thinking believes the judgment has already been made.
You've either been judged and found WANTING… that’s why you suffer.
OR you've been judged and found WORTHY… and that’s why you’re blessed.
But the judgment has (pretty much) already been made.
The only way (Karma teaches) to stop suffering is to work off our bad deeds… with good ones. IF you do enough good, you can pay for your sins… and THEN you’ll be blessed.
By contrast, the Bible tells us… none of us are worthy.
We've all sinned.
We've all been found wanting.
You remember this thing kids used to do (form an “L” with thumb and first finger and put it on your forehead)? What it mean? Loser
We've all been losers!
None of us is worthy of blessings from God.
Unlike in the Karma thinking –we can’t do enough good to offset the evil we've done in our lives. We can’t do enough good to be worthy of God’s blessings.
Karma is all about tallying up enough brownie points so that you just MIGHT get blessings. Bad deeds can only be offset by doing enough good deeds to balance things out. BUT no matter how many good deeds you do you can never be sure you've done enough to undo the damage of your past.
Thus, there’s no confidence that you've “made it”.
There’s no joy, no real hope, no sense of freedom… just a continuous sense of doubt… and fear.
And you can tell when a Christian has bought into the Karma mindset.
You ask a believer if they are sure they’re going to heaven.
Most will reply: “I hope I've been good enough…”
What they’re saying is Karma. I hope my good deed have outweighed my bad. That way I can go into the presence of God and DESERVE heaven.
Now, the Bible DOES teach that we have done bad… and that bad in our lives has to be paid for. It has to be taken away for us to be acceptable. But neither you nor I can pay for our bad deeds with good deeds. Neither you nor I can make our lives acceptable by how many good things we do.What is the ONLY way you can get into heaven?
That’s right – by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Your good deeds will not buy you a place in God’s presence.
So if you someone asks you if you are going to heaven… you need to say
“YES”
But not because I deserve to be there.
I’m going to heaven because of the blood of Jesus.
As Galatians 3:27 says “all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”
It isn't by MY righteous garments that I’m saved. It’s because I've put on Christ.
It’s critical that we understand this. Because if we don’t… we’ll never really understand why other people reject Jesus.
You see, the problem for most people is that they really still believe in Karma. They sense the rightness of doing enough good to offset the bad they've done.
They’d rather do it themselves, and they think they can… given enough time and enough chances to do good things.
The very idea that Jesus would have to do it for them, offends them and offends their sensibilities. They feel THEY have to do the good things to deserve God’s attention.
But in their heart of hearts, they sense they’re not quite doing enough. They’re often unsure and uncertain. They understand that what goes around comes around… but they’re not quite sure what’s coming around…And they’re never quite sure they've been good enough… to be good enough.
Friends the truth is:
Karma says: “you’re getting what you deserve. You've slipped and fell and now there’s a price you have to pay.".
Christ says: “You've gotten what you deserve… let me pay the price. You can’t do it on your own. Let me help you.”
Footnotes:
1. Kenneth Shouler, Ph.D. and Susai Anthony, The Everything Hinduism Book, F&W Media, Inc.; Avon, MA; 2009; page 58
2. James P. Eckman, The Truth about Worldviews: A Biblical Understanding of Worldview Alternatives (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2004), 34.
3. Dean C. Halverson, The Illustrated Guide to World Religions, Hinduism, Lion Hudson plc., 2003, page 90. These similarities and differences are taken from this book.
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