Do any ex JW' s/ God believer's, Agnostics or Atheists believe in Karma? And WHY?

by rip van winkle 24 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  rip van winkle

  Thanks everyone for your input.

  I don't believe in karma. Doesn't explain anything. It's also, (like believing as a jw), magical thinking. Believing that the Universe balances everything. Superstitious.

  Buddhists believe how they lived in their past life affects the outcome of the next, etc. Does that really make sense? Having no knowledge of an alleged prior life , is it reasonable to expect that the Universe would have me pay for past mistakes? Talk about living in a fantasy world.

  As for reap what you sow, infants die from disease, starvation, accidents and so forth. Are they also reaping what they are sowing?

  If we're talking about certain decisions or choices one makes in life, ok. But how do you explain life's injustices? The innocent who was killed in a car accident? The man who knew he had Aids and infected people on purpose? The murderer who gets off on a technicality? Or in Cofty's 1000 page thread( ok, its in the 100's, but might as well be thousands) those who lost their lives in the Tsunami. Natural disasters. So, are they natural or repayment of some error on the part of each of those people who died? Then why would they get another chance at life? Religious superstition.

  What about the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Did all those people who died reap what they sowed? Were they terrible people in their past lives? What about the terrorists? Do they get worse in every life or better?

  Anyway...

  If I smoked cigarettes and have lung cancer, I've reaped what I sowed.

  What about the non-smoker who develops lung cancer? Was it because of a past life?

  Any Shirley Maclaine's in the jwn house? Someone who remembers their past life as a beautiful Egyptian princess or Samurai Warrior?

  Anyway, sorry for not addressing you individually and for taking a few days to return.

  Btw-I do enjoy karmal( sic).
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  rayelynnlee

  I like the idea of karma. Do good and good will happen to you. But I don't believe in it.

  I think people throw that word around without really meaning it or thinking about what it really means.
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  rip van winkle

  Hi rayelynnlee! Welcome and thanks for your input.

  The golden rule is a nice idea too. However, there are good people who suffer and bad people who prosper.
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  OnTheWayOut

  Good people get struck by violence or cancer. A comet or meteorite can completely destroy your planet or at least your dinosaurs. Often, the rich get richer on the backs of the workers and die happily of old age without any guilt over their lives. The things that happen are often random and often contrary to what would seem like justice.

  But as some have mentioned- cause and effect is there also. Reaping what you sow is there also. I said "often" for the rich, but not always. There are uprisings over dictatorships, there are miserable old rich people in fear that those workers will kill them. There are people who make the best of their low station in life and really are happier than others in higher stations.

  You could call it a type of karma within the realm of humans where good people seek good associates and feel good about their role in the universe, while miserable people find many more reasons to be miserable, violent people find more reasons to be violent, etc. etc. etc. So it can seem that a high number of coincidences occur that make living seem like karma at work.
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  LisaRose

  I don't believe in Karma, in the sense that there is some force that rewards good behavior. I believe that if you are a good person and treat others well then you are more likely to be happy because others will respond (in general) to that, and your life will be easier than if you were a jerk. But you could still get hit by a bus and die, there is no cosmic scorecard.
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  EndofMysteries

  Here are 23 examples of 'instant' karma caught on video

  http://www.ebaumsworld.com/pictures/view/83709059/
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  DJS

  Combine what Phizzy, SOP, OTWO, Cofty and especially LisaRose (well stated) said. That's what I believe. I use the word karma a lot, but it isn't in reference to majic, an unseen cosmic force or superstition.
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  KateWild

  When justice ensues that's serendipity, a pleasant surprise. In this world there is far too much injustice to say that it's all Karma. In my family personally we have done nothing to deserve the injustice we have faced. As far as the ones who have caused it, are concerned, I don't think they will suffer any consequences to their actions.

  If you you drink a bottle of vodka and have a headache the next morning that is not karma, it's plain reality.

  Kate xx
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  DJS

  Kate,

  I experienced a lot of harm upon my somewhat crash and burn departure from the Borg, and my children experienced a lot as well. None of it was fair, but since I had been an elder I knew that the dark side of the Borg existed and was capable of evil. So I put it in its appropriate place, and used it as fuel along with the anger I felt to make my life and the lives of my children everything that it could be. There were stumbling blocks along the way but after 20 years all 3 of us are very happy, accomplished and successful. Very.

  Your pain, and the injustices you feel because of the dark side of the Borg, hurt all of us. As to the Borg's minions who caused the pain to me and mine?? I haven't given it a lot of thought but I occasionally hear updates about them from other ex-JWs. After 20 years most of them have fared badly to very badly. Their evil wasn't limited to me and mine. Karma. Keep your head up, walk tall and proudly and don't give the nasty little men any more control over your emotions than they deserve.
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  compound complex

  Hi rip:

  I like K in movies and in literature, but I have learned to separate reality, as I perceive it, from fantasy, as I or other writers imagine it.

  Nice topic!

  CC