Can Christians ever create enough positive Karma?

Question

Can the type of Christian that comes here to YA! create enough positive Karma to keep themselves out of a Buddhist Hell?? It seems that the worst sort of Satanist has a better chance of reaching Heaven, by his Karmic retribution, than the Christians who come here.

Christianity doesn't teach Generalization??

By golly, by the last 2 hours I just spent here, you sure could have fooled me.....

Buddhism does teach us to understand the law of cause and effect, and the law of karma in the physical world....that is where I am drawing my conclusions from. I see no way to get such prideful, judgmental people into a Heavenly realm via their Karma......

Answer 1

Based on the way the answers are going today, I highly doubt it.

)O(

Answer 2

First of all "hell" isn't Buddhist, it's a product of a deluded mind, it's not some constructed spot in the ground or something. LOL

Second, Christians don't believe in karma. Their faith is based on a dualistic philosophy that is vastly different in their approach to the reality around them, whereas Buddhism isn't about the world revolving around some non-existent "self", but rather we're supposed to strive for a more altruistic approach to reality.

Third, "heaven" (like the concept of "hell") is a mental construct, therefore there is no creator god or "satan" so (apologizing to Satanic worshippers here) we don't believe in that either.

The concept of karma is a law of cause and effect that is out there, whether people believe it or not, but only people who (no matter what religion, philosophy, walk of life) work towards subduing the deluded mind that believes in some non-existent, inherently arising "self" and sees the truth that all things come into existence due to causes and conditions (therefore NOT inherently existent) and cultivates altruism CAN put an END to the cycle of samsaric existence....

BUT that means one has to understand the concepts that the Buddha taught about the logical conclusions he came to, about "rebirth", "samsara", "altruism", "wisdom"... and so on and so forth and blah blah blah...

Does that clarify things a little wee bit? I used to ask the same questions as a kid... and I understand where you're "coming from". If not, poke away and I'll answer what I can.

_()_

Answer 3

Isn't that a sweeping generalization?

Does Buddhism teach to pass judgement on others?

I know in christianity it does not.

What defines "good" karma?

Feeding the hungry?

Taking care of the planet?

Helping the poor?

Helping someone change a flat tire?

Loving your neighbor?

If so, then a christian that follows his own teaching should have a lot of karma. A lot do. A lot don't.

Are christians the only prideful people here?

Let me ask you, is it not pride to sit there and pronounce a judgement that christians don't have enough karma to make it to a Buddhist heaven?

That's the same as me saying that if you are not christian then how could you possibly be moral. I don't believe that one bit. Everyone can be moral.

To sit there and ask a question like that is passing a judgement and getting others to answer your question to confirm your judgement.

However, to answer your question and go beyond your generalization, a lot (but not all) of christians who post answers on this Q&A thing have a lot to learn about the simple principle of loving your neighbor. That includes being respectful. Answers the questions based on your belief, that is fine. But be respectful.

Answer 4

at the beginning, maximum Christians do no longer have confidence in karma, so it is amazingly a pointless question for the regular public of them. 2d of all, no person else creates adverse karma? I very much doubt that. So why are you purely choosing on Christians? Thirdly, you're stereotyping and generalizing all Christians here. Many Christians DO act morally. those that don't think of they are. you need to persuade them that they are being immoral in the previous this question even concerns.

Answer 5

"Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven!" This was a popular bumper sticker in the mid 70's or so, and it is appropriate here. We believe that Jesus Christ died for all the bad karma in the whole world, past, present, and future, because otherwise, no, we could not create enough good karma on our own. The point of the law was that it was a tutor unto grace (see Romans Chapters 1 through 8). That is, it taught us that our own good works were insufficient, and that they would never be enough to reach heaven on our own. Moreover, nobody else, apart from God's grace, had the ability to do it either.

Imagine, if you will, that we are lined up outside a court of eternal judgement according to our works. I would be somewhere in the middle of that line, able to learn about the people near me and to communicate with them, and they with me, say. You could imagine yourself in my place. I would not imagine that I would be near any famous person who had either taken a life in an evil manner, or done some other horrid thing that would clearly mark him as really, really worse than the other people nearby. On the other hand, I imagine that I woud not be anywhere near where a particularly selfless, heroic person was, either. So, if I spoke to the person on either side of me, I would not be able to discern any difference between their levels of righteousness- that is, I would not even know which direction the line followed!

So, where do you draw the line? Certainly, grace would be needed, because by Romans 3:23, "All have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God"- that is, whoever is in the line knows that (s)he has not been a perfect person. It does not matter how many times one thinks one could do it over- how would one get forgiven for the times one was wrong in the first place? Grace would be needed, regardless. Besides, one could never get it right without help.

Now, for what Christians are supposed to do that is "good": We are to love one another as Christ has loved us. We are to forgive! That means, we are to show grace to others, even as we have received. See 1 Corinthians, Chapter 13 for a pretty rigorous definition of the kind of love we are to show. We do not do it to earn our salvation, but just because we are grateful for what He has given us, and because He gives us the grace to do it. We are not perfect, but He is.

Answer 6

There is not enough Karma in who whole world for anyone to achieve right standing with God. The only way for there to be any hope is if God Himself were to come down and shed his own blood as a ransom for many.

Answer 7

I make a good tropical punch. No karma though.

Answer 8

Considering the way they treat others, no.

Answer 9

no