I've had more than one individual enthusiastically relate to me that karma is a concept that Jesus espoused, and therefore it must be a law of God that operates in our universe. Such Bible quotes as, "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Gal. 6:7) and, "With the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again" (Luke 6:38) have been used as evidence to support this. How would a Christian Scientist respond to this assertion?
A1 As a former Hindu, one of the first things I noticed when I became a Christian is the similarity of certain key points in many religious philosophies. One is the idea that when you commit to and carry out a good intention, the result will also be good. This defines, in part, the concept of karma.
However, the notion of karma diverges from Christianity when it states that people are stuck living with past mistakes and are only released from the effects of those mistakes after a certain period of time or after going through a process of redemption and correction. Crimes, natural calamities, and disease, therefore, often lead people in this part of the world to believe that suffering is due to sins committed in the past or in a previous life.
