What word should Catholics use instead of "karma" for a certain kind of situation?

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But I’m a lay person that doesn’t go by the urban dictionary.
 
thistle said:
Karma is directly linked to reincarnation which contradicts Church teachings so it cannot simply be separated out into what goes around comes around.
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That’s the origin of the word “karma” for sure. But the current understood definition of the term has changed.

The vastly increased usage of the word indicates it is no longer as closely associated with the pagan faiths of the Indian Subcontinent where the term originated.

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That’s interesting, maybe I don’t get out much but I honestly don’t hear that term used often, but have many times heard it by Hindus in conversations with them.
 
MarthaSo said:
That’s interesting, maybe I don’t get out much but I honestly don’t hear that term used often,
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Fair enough, I’m sure that in different areas the usage of the word varies.

But i see the word “karma” as similar to the word “requiem”, which comes from the first words in the traditional Latin funeral mass but has been used as a generic synonym for “funeral” for quite some time, even among non-catholics in the western world
 
Maxirad said:
CAF members have probably heard some version of the phrase “karma hit him.” What would be a better word to use instead of “karma” for that kind of situation?
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Not very well versed in this but for the sake of charity we should not make this kind of remark to a person who has experienced some kind of retribution in his/her life. Maybe that’s why we do not have word equivalent for it as it is not in our spirituality.
 
“What goes around comes around”, “Cause and effect”, or “Natural consequence”

But in the end I don’t agree with the principle of “karma” as we know it today in our culture. Things and events in our lives are either ordained by the will of God or allowed to happen to us by His permitting will. End of.

If “karma” was real then little children who never hurt anyone would not suffer with cancer. And the evil people we all see would have gotten their just desserts quite a while ago. “Karma” is illogical.
 
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Most people who use in casual conversation use it as an aphorism, not something they actually believe is literally true.
 
Reuben_J said:
Not very well versed in this but for the sake of charity we should not make this kind of remark to a person who has experienced some kind of retribution in his/her life. Maybe that’s why we do not have word equivalent for it as it is not in our spirituality.
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We don’t? How do you explain:
For although they knew God they did not accord him glory as God or give him thanks. Instead, they became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless minds were darkened. While claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for the likeness of an image of mortal man or of birds or of four-legged animals or of snakes. Therefore, God handed them over to impurity through the lusts of their hearts for the mutual degradation of their bodies. Rom. 1:21-24

It sounds to me as if the concept of “natural consequences” is not foreign to our spirituality. Maybe it is in our spirituality to refrain from gloating over those who get what we ourselves deserve, but we don’t pretend there is no such thing as natural consequences or the temporal effects of sin being visited on the sinner.
 
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In Indian philosophy it is not limited to a single life span.
 
Shakuhachi said:
In Indian philosophy it is not limited to a single life span.
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Exactly, which corresponds to thistle’s point upthread that so called “karma” is incompatible with Church teaching.
 
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Of course it is, but that’s not really applicable in everyday conversation because most people have the social awareness to realize that 98% of time it’s used as a stock phrase, not an accurate description of the speakers religious views. Common sense please, people.
 
But that in common phrases is what people think of “Krama” , So what come around goes around fits very nicely.
 
philipl said:
But that in common phrases is what people think of “Krama” , So what come around goes around fits very nicely.
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Doesn’t matter. “Karma” contradicts Church teachings and Christianity in general. It is directly linked to reincarnation. It is not a word Catholics should use.
 
Do you at least agree that words, in general, can mean different things in different contexts?
 
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Maxirad said:
CAF members have probably heard some version of the phrase “karma hit him.” What would be a better word to use instead of “karma” for that kind of situation?
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Retribution is a perfect word if you don’t want to say “karma”.
 
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