Wow, doesn't anyone see that
karma IS dogma! Just because
karma is an idea from
Eastern traditions doesn't make it any less
dogmatic of an idea. Take it from me; growing up as a
Hindu child I was fully indoctrinated in all
Hindu dogma: the nature of
God,
reincarnation,
karma,
maya, etc. I was expected to believe such things, and believe them strongly, because they were part of our
scripture and our
tradition.
Is saying: "Your
actions now, through some sort of
mechanism we don't understand, affect your future
lives, and we know this because of
scripture and
tradition" really
that much different from saying: "Although saved by Grace, your
actions now, through some sort of
mechanism we don't understand, will be judged by God and may affect your future
Life, and we know this because of
scripture and
tradition"?
WARNING--Rant:
Sheesh, I hate it when hippie liberal weirdos (God bless them) chant and dance and sing with flowers in their hair embracing Hinduism as some sort of free-loving, open, super-liberal religion! Hinduism is my culture and my tradition, and it is conservative! Hinduism, in general, decries abortion (even though modern Indian society does not *sigh*); embraces austerity, simplicity, and self-sacrifice; and is morally conservative and traditional. Most Hindus I know think
maybe the Kama Sutra is okay for married couples (any other kind of sex is obviously wrong), but it is still pretty weird and disgusting, and is a horrible misrepresentation of our culture. Oh yes and, true, most Indian immigrants to Europe and the US are politically on the left, but I'm not talking politics.