I read once (I don’t remember where) that the early Christian Church accepted and taught the idea of reincarnation. I don’t know if it’s true – I never checked my sources. According to that account, Church officials in the Dark/Middle Ages decided to stop teaching reincarnation and introduce the concept of Heaven, Hell and the afterlife because people had no incentive to be good. Apparently, they thought “If I have to do this all over again anyway, why should I behave this time?”
As a devout atheist, I have always subscribed to the notion of karma. If you do good things, good things will happen to you. If you do bad things, bad things will happen to you. Simplistic? Sure, but it felt right.
However, I realize that over the past few years, I am beginning to lose my “faith” in karma. Quite frankly, I have begun to doubt whether it even exists. I have seen too many bad things happen to people who, at least in my opinion, don’t deserve it, and I’ve seen too many mouth-breathing, wife-abusing wastes of air skate through life, winning lotteries and seeming to have no problems. Maybe I’m just getting more bitter as I get older.
I know this is a bit more somber than my usual posts, but now I’m curious: Do you believe in karma? Why or why not?
July 28th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
No. Experience.
July 28th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
I think I’m with you. And well said, by the way.
July 28th, 2007 at 7:13 pm
No. Justice is a man-made concept, becoming less influential and substantive by the hour. Cosmically, it never existed and never will.
July 29th, 2007 at 9:45 am
Yes, I think karma (and justice) is a way that man tries to make the world make sense. We want to believe that evil people will be punished, and that good people will be rewarded, but so far I have seen little or no proof of it. But boy, we sure want it to be true, don’t we?
July 30th, 2007 at 8:25 pm
Tsk, tsk. I don’t know about karma, but please name for me the world’s last great cynic? When has a fatalist ever made their mark? Good people who believe in a power greater than themselves have changed the world (Martin Luther King, Rosalind Franklin, Einstein) Bad people who believe in no power greater than themselves have also changed the world (Hitler, Tomas de Torquemada, Pol Pot). Its the eternal struggle. Good vs. evil. Pick a side and go with it.
July 31st, 2007 at 7:58 pm
Well, I don’t know if it’s as simple as good vs. evil. Interesting thought about what is necessary to change the world, however. I guess the question remains: do I want to change the world, and if so, for Good or Evil? Because Good is better for the soul, but Evil pays better. Witness the mouth-breathers, for instance.
And the last great cynic? How about Nietzsche?
Thanks for visiting and commenting!
August 2nd, 2007 at 1:40 pm
Well!! The problems is exactly that Karma happens in the next life. So unfortunately it appears that these people get away with it. Believe you I have had proof that there is an afterlife, but unfortunately I can’t convince the world. I can however wish you love, light, harmony and peace in your life. Like the blog
August 2nd, 2007 at 7:08 pm
Yes, I do believe in karma. What comes around goes around. Other wise, what’s the point?
August 2nd, 2007 at 9:42 pm
Reincarnation … Yes.
Karma … Yes.
Negativity … Yes.
Sometimes it feels we are living the life we were told, as children, that we would have. On the other hand, it seems all those barbaric things we learned in our history books are rushing up to surround us. Sometimes I feel the Earth is spinning a tad faster than normal and we’re all whirling into an darker part of the Universe. It’s so beautiful but man is predisposed to make pages unfold and turning them into something written by a mad person.
Positive Energy …Yes. Perhaps we can turn this around.
Hope … Yes. I am hopeful … I used to be a small angel … No kidding. It still hurts where He pulled my wings out and put a tiny dimple in my chin as He gently pushed me to Earth …
Faith … Yes. I have faith in the power of love.
August 3rd, 2007 at 12:51 am
Purple Lady, Bun Bun, Theresa 111: (Boy! That’s a collection of names and phrases I never thought I’d write sequentially!) I actually envy all of you your faith and hope. I think I had both once, but they faded from lack of evidence that there was any justice or “rightness” in the world. I really would like to believe that there is a reason for everything that we experience, but I’m afraid that the nihilist in me is slowly taking over.
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