Theos-Talk Archives (December 1998 Message tl00091)

In a message dated 11/28/98 12:01:18 AM Eastern Standard Time, theos-
l@list.vnet.net writes:

<< I did not invent the definition of Karma, nor did Mme. Blavatsky.
 It is, she says (and so do the Hindu Pundits) the undeviating law
 that balances all causes with their effects.  No exceptions. >>

Could someone explain why innocents have to suffer from the bad karma set in
motion by others?  I never cease to be hurt by this, and it is an issue that I
struggle with emotionally and spiritually.  It makes logical sense, if I look
at it "scientifically," but it bothers me because it's so unfair!  Is life
just not fair?  How can we live with that reality?  Not just survive, but
thrive?
Example:  why innocent Jews were shot in the back of the head and pushed into
grave pits or gassed to death during WWII, including children.  Why this has
happened to Bosnians more recently, or Rwandans, or the Chinese at Nanking, or
slavery in the Americas.  Such a massive attack of evil and degradation, over
and over.  Unimaginable acts - and I wonder, what drove them to commit these
acts?  Could I also be so driven, given the same experiences or forces at work
in those cases?  It seems beyond fear - it seems like a wallowing in evil.  I
just want to smack people who answer that "God never permits evil unless it's
for a greater good."  The God I believe in would not calculate in this way.

But at the same time, I find this a crisis of my own faith in a way - how can
an essentially good Universe permit such things?  Where is the good and where
is God for the victims?  When people thank God or the Universe for their
blessings - why weren't these other innocents so blessed also?   How can I be
thankful for blessings knowing that they are not bestowed on other souls at
least as deserving as I, if not more so?

And then I see a sunset over the ocean, or note a heroic or loving act, and I
feel at those times deep down that the Universe is good at the core.  I feel
encouraged and inspired.

Any light anyone can shed on this? and/or any good books on this topic you can
recommend?  (I read "When Bad Things Happen To Good People," and was totally
unsatisfied with the author's conclusion, which seemed to be "God makes
mistakes too.")  Should I be reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer or other prisoners of
war?

Y'know, when I think about this late at night, it's probably my greatest
spiritual thorn - and this is the first time I have put it in writing, now
that I think about it.  I've been so afraid even to acknowledge such a large
issue that threatens to bowl me over, along with the rest of humankind.  I
could believe so many wonderful things if I could solve this in my mind
somehow.  Or is it unsolvable? is that the perennial question of humankind -
why does evil exist??  How can people be so heartless and cruel toward their
fellow human beings??
Christine

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