YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN KARMA, DO YOU?

by Adam Harbinson

There are times when I find it sad to hear people waffling about their faith, trying to sound 'cool'. Like Joe Brown, the so-called 'Godfather of Skiffle music' from the sixties who was on the Heaven & Earth show with Gloria Hunniford a couple of Sundays ago.

I remember Gloria from when her family lived up the road from ours in Portadown half a century ago, and many years later when she was still with the BBC in Belfast she kindly agreed to host a Karate exhibition I had organised. I didn't know her very well, just well enough to know she had her feet on the ground. And as I watched her as she gently jousted with Joe Brown, it was clear she still has. She asked him, or sort of suggested that perhaps he had a faith, and he waxed lyrical: 'Oh yes, I believe there's . there's something . I believe in Karma.' It was clear the poor man hadn't a clue what he was talking about, for when Gloria asked what Karma is, he shot off in an even more waffley tangent.

If you know what Karma is you will agree that you can't believe in Karma, in the sense that you trust it, as a faith. And anyway, the words 'believe in' are grossly over-used, misused and misunderstood.

The Buddhists believe that your Karma is the result of your own past actions and your own present doings: 'We ourselves are responsible for our own happiness and misery. We create our own Heaven. We create our own Hell. We are the architects of our own fate.' That's Karma, and apart from the associated reincarnation, which I cannot accept, it does make some sense. But to say you believe in it is a bit odd.

Here's what I mean. Paul and Silas, early founders of the Christian faith, were in prison; they had run foul of the Pharisees - again. In the middle of the night there was an earthquake that shook the flimsy old building, and the Prison Governor, assuming that his prisoners had escaped was about to fall on his sword. But Paul shouted out, 'Don't harm yourself! We're all still here!'

Now, we can safely assume that the man had seen something in Paul and Silas that impressed him, for he said, 'Sirs, what do I have to do to be like you?' - that's a story in itself, isn't it?

But anyway, here's the point, listen to Paul's answer: no waffle, no trying to be cool, no watering down the message to make it more appealing. He says, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.'

Now he didn't say, 'Believe about the Lord Jesus Christ', for there's no commitment there, he was saying, 'Mr Jailer man, here's what you have to do. You have to entrust your spiritual welfare to a man who was crucified as a common criminal a quarter of a century ago - and then came back to life, proving that he really is someone special.'

Like it or lump it, you have to admit that there's nothing wishy-washy about this life-changing radical Christian message. No room for flaffing around with half-baked theories and off-the-wall notions. The Christian message points to one that you can build your life on; it's centred on a real person.

So next time you feel a bit embarrassed when someone asks about your Christian beliefs, think about some of the stuff that passes as 'cool' these days, and then confidently and firmly say your piece. Only remember this, your faith is based on a relationship with a real person, that's what makes it so different. After all, you can't have a meaningful relationship with an organisation, can you?

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