Christ or karma

Definitions of karma

The above link takes you to the actual definitions of karma most people do not mean any of these definitions when they invoke the name of karma in their or another’s circumstance. Especially in the United States, karma has come to mean getting what you deserve. This and other pop culture definitions have become popular because we feel less of a need to have any idea of what we are talking about. Do not get me wrong, the world society in general and the U.S. in specific, have increased knowledge exponentially. With the internet going mobile and global it is possible for people who do not have running water to have access to quantities of information only dreamed of a short time ago. The speed with which we are bombarded with information every minute of our lives has led to a kind of informational malaise. We take much of the information given to us at face value and usually do not dig past a superficial understanding. If what we think we know is incorrect it is of little importance to many of us, as long as that incorrect knowledge will fit into the standard popular cultural interpretation of life events.

The current popular idea of what karma is and what it means is a perfect example. It is hard to engage a group of people in a conversation for long without someone essentially telling us that everything will work out in the end because karma will pay everybody back for what they have done. This has become especially annoying because the praises of karma seem to be expressed just as much by your average Christian as anybody else.  To be a Christian is to, by definition, live your life by the revealed Word of God. Even a very basic understanding of the Bible would lead one to disbelieve any of the definitions of karma, even the made up pop culture one. I am a Christian and can say that there are very few people as annoying as a Christian who has no idea what they are talking about. It is one thing to not bind yourself to a belief system and surf through the minute by minute tsunami of available information without of clue, but to have a specific all-inclusive knowledge base, the Word of God, and be clueless to what it says, but pretend to have many of the answers to life’s questions is excruciating. Encountering someone who is that clueless but pretends not to be is at once like hearing your fingernails on a chalkboard and having those fingernails pulled out one at a time. 

We do not have enough room here to explain in depth how the Bible contradicts any of the ideas of karma but take heart. If you read the New Testament for, on average, twenty minutes you will come to understand how the Bible disagrees with Karma - the differences are just that basic.

No, I am not saying that Christians have to be all knowing representatives of the theological and philosophical Christian world view but we should have at least a basic understanding of the Bible which will filter out anything that is blatantly contrary to the Christian idea.                     

Please my brothers and sisters, just in case someone expects you to say things that are true, and actually assesses what you say, have an idea of the meaning of the concepts you proclaim. It is hard enough with people attacking the Christian life when it is accurately represented. We cannot afford to add any pop culture concepts to the Word of God. Its Christ or karma it cannot be both.

Poet Ntwadumela