Comparison And Analysis Of Deuteronomy, Chapters 20-8
Whether one institutes religious beliefs into their daily life or not, the basic principles of Deuteronomy and karma are always present and active. In the broadest sense, the Deuteronomist History is a collection of books about the former prophets of Hebrew. For the comparison and analysis of Deuteronomy, The Book of Deuteronomy, chapters twenty-seven and twenty-eight, will be used. These two chapters focus on the blessings and curses depending on one’s choices in life. The karma theory, inherited by Buddhism, “States that any moral act, good or bad, will bring about a correspondingly positive or negative result, either in this or in a future lifetime …. To encourage good deeds and the avoidance of bad ones” (Strong 28). The philosophies of karma run parallel to Deuteronomy in the sense that both sins and good deeds will have consequent reactions from God. To come to a full understanding of how both of these ideologies are woven into our lives, it is best to compare the two and analyze how they relate to our present-day struggles.
When The Book of Deuteronomy addresses evil, it discusses it in the form of a human sinning and going against God. The sources provided on the karma theory tend to focus on the negative aspects of karma, but it is briefly stated that there is positive karma. Chapter twenty-eight states the ‘Blessings for Obedience,’ where “The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he has sworn to you, if …show more content…
you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways” (Deuteronomy 28:9). This is a reflection of what we would consider good karma; if one does a good deed, you shall expect a good deed or upbringing to come your way.
One the other hand, The Book of Deuteronomy heavily emphasizes what will happen if you perform evil deeds or go against God’s will. Chapter twenty-eight of the Book of Deuteronomy warns:
The Lord will send upon you disaster, panic, and frustration in everything you attempt to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me (Deuteronomy 28:20).
Such acts of evil deeds would reflect what is to be expected from bad karma. As with karma, one does not typically expect to suffer eternally, they expect for negative consequences to hit them when it will hurt the most. In a personal interpretation, I feel as if the karma theory has more degrees of suffering and evil than Deuteronomistic History does. In Deuteronomy, if you sin then punishment is expected. Whereas with karma, there is several stipulations. The karma theory introduces a different approach on consequences. While your bad karma can be received in your life time, it can also wait until you have been reincarnated; for, “evil deeds of body, speech, and mind result in rebirth as an animal” (Strong 30). In Stories of Karma, one excerpt told the story of a man who had been blind since he was twelve years old and he prayed for his vision to return. In a dream, a man spoke to him and said “However, because you stole the oil for the lamps, you have become blind and will not be able to see again during this life. You should immediately uphold the Lotus Sutra and expiate your past sins” (Dykstra 266-267). This excerpt exemplifies how although the man had not sinned, he was being punished in his next[current] life. Deuteronomy tends to focus on the present, while karma adds the factor of reincarnation. Although, when examined in more detail, Deuteronomy explains that your actions cannot only affect you, but your offspring too; “If you do not diligently observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, fearing this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God, then the Lord will overwhelm both you and your offspring with severe and lasting afflictions and grievous and lasting maladies” (Deuteronomy 28:58-59).
Both ideologies studied can be applied in a positive way to our daily struggles that we experience in our lives.
Understanding the philosophies of karma and Deuteronomy can help us through periods of suffering and pain if we know what has caused it. Realizing you have sinned and knowing you have done God wrong can make the punishment easier and you are able to accept the consequences and be forgiven. Unfortunately, we may not initially understand why we are receiving bad karma as it could be the consequences of an evil deed done in a past
life.
In the first week of class we addressed the problem of evil; that is, why does it [evil] exist if God is the all-seeing and all-being person we claim he is? The Book of Deuteronomy supports one of the reasons as to why suffering and evil exist: The reason God’s people are suffering is because God is punishing them for their sins. His people have sinned and he is punishing them in order to make them return to him to ask for forgiveness. Ultimately, if you return to God then the suffering will be alleviated. The Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 28 in particular, reiterates this idea by rewording it in several verses. Clearly stated under the section titled Warnings against Disobedience: “All these curses shall come upon you…because you did not obey the Lord your God, by observing the commandments and the decrees that he commanded you” (Deuteronomy 28:45). It can safely be said that the Book of Deuteronomy supports the reasoning of suffering of that being the followers of God suffer because they have sinned. Other solutions to suffering offered in the bible are that: People who do what god wants, are the people who sometimes suffer—in other words—the innocent people suffer. The people who turn to God, suffer the most and God allows it although he could stop it. The sources on the karma theory also give further explanations for theodicy. In the first week, one reasoning of suffering was given—although quickly proven wrong—in which evil happens because of free will. Even though the belief of free will was proven to not be sufficient, the karma theory supports that we exercise our freedom of free will and we are not ‘robots.’ After all, we are humans and we will do as we please; then we will also pay the consequences for our actions. After extensive evaluation and comparison, one can conclude that Deuteronomy and the karma theory run parallel to one another. Recognizing their similarities and differences allows us to apply the values to our daily lives and create a new positive perspective. Knowing that our sins will lead to strife will encourage a faithful and fruitful lifestyle.
When The Book of Deuteronomy addresses evil, it discusses it in the form of a human sinning and going against God. The sources provided on the karma theory tend to focus on the negative aspects of karma, but it is briefly stated that there is positive karma. Chapter twenty-eight states the ‘Blessings for Obedience,’ where “The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he has sworn to you, if …show more content…
you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways” (Deuteronomy 28:9). This is a reflection of what we would consider good karma; if one does a good deed, you shall expect a good deed or upbringing to come your way.
One the other hand, The Book of Deuteronomy heavily emphasizes what will happen if you perform evil deeds or go against God’s will. Chapter twenty-eight of the Book of Deuteronomy warns:
The Lord will send upon you disaster, panic, and frustration in everything you attempt to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me (Deuteronomy 28:20).
Such acts of evil deeds would reflect what is to be expected from bad karma. As with karma, one does not typically expect to suffer eternally, they expect for negative consequences to hit them when it will hurt the most. In a personal interpretation, I feel as if the karma theory has more degrees of suffering and evil than Deuteronomistic History does. In Deuteronomy, if you sin then punishment is expected. Whereas with karma, there is several stipulations. The karma theory introduces a different approach on consequences. While your bad karma can be received in your life time, it can also wait until you have been reincarnated; for, “evil deeds of body, speech, and mind result in rebirth as an animal” (Strong 30). In Stories of Karma, one excerpt told the story of a man who had been blind since he was twelve years old and he prayed for his vision to return. In a dream, a man spoke to him and said “However, because you stole the oil for the lamps, you have become blind and will not be able to see again during this life. You should immediately uphold the Lotus Sutra and expiate your past sins” (Dykstra 266-267). This excerpt exemplifies how although the man had not sinned, he was being punished in his next[current] life. Deuteronomy tends to focus on the present, while karma adds the factor of reincarnation. Although, when examined in more detail, Deuteronomy explains that your actions cannot only affect you, but your offspring too; “If you do not diligently observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, fearing this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God, then the Lord will overwhelm both you and your offspring with severe and lasting afflictions and grievous and lasting maladies” (Deuteronomy 28:58-59).
Both ideologies studied can be applied in a positive way to our daily struggles that we experience in our lives.
Understanding the philosophies of karma and Deuteronomy can help us through periods of suffering and pain if we know what has caused it. Realizing you have sinned and knowing you have done God wrong can make the punishment easier and you are able to accept the consequences and be forgiven. Unfortunately, we may not initially understand why we are receiving bad karma as it could be the consequences of an evil deed done in a past
life.
In the first week of class we addressed the problem of evil; that is, why does it [evil] exist if God is the all-seeing and all-being person we claim he is? The Book of Deuteronomy supports one of the reasons as to why suffering and evil exist: The reason God’s people are suffering is because God is punishing them for their sins. His people have sinned and he is punishing them in order to make them return to him to ask for forgiveness. Ultimately, if you return to God then the suffering will be alleviated. The Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 28 in particular, reiterates this idea by rewording it in several verses. Clearly stated under the section titled Warnings against Disobedience: “All these curses shall come upon you…because you did not obey the Lord your God, by observing the commandments and the decrees that he commanded you” (Deuteronomy 28:45). It can safely be said that the Book of Deuteronomy supports the reasoning of suffering of that being the followers of God suffer because they have sinned. Other solutions to suffering offered in the bible are that: People who do what god wants, are the people who sometimes suffer—in other words—the innocent people suffer. The people who turn to God, suffer the most and God allows it although he could stop it. The sources on the karma theory also give further explanations for theodicy. In the first week, one reasoning of suffering was given—although quickly proven wrong—in which evil happens because of free will. Even though the belief of free will was proven to not be sufficient, the karma theory supports that we exercise our freedom of free will and we are not ‘robots.’ After all, we are humans and we will do as we please; then we will also pay the consequences for our actions. After extensive evaluation and comparison, one can conclude that Deuteronomy and the karma theory run parallel to one another. Recognizing their similarities and differences allows us to apply the values to our daily lives and create a new positive perspective. Knowing that our sins will lead to strife will encourage a faithful and fruitful lifestyle.