user533: We know Buddhism doesn't have a creator God like most religions, however there is the law of Kamma, a law we cannot see and also we cannot prove, in other words, a law that requires faith and cannot be measured like gravity or electromagnetism.
Once a Theravada senior monk said that: "Buddhists should not say they don't believe in God, because they believe in the laws of nature and Kamma, it works like a God, a higher force, only not a creator God, not a being we pray to"
So, Is kamma "like" a god?

user289: Often intention plays a role in deciding if something is ethical/unethical, has good karmic results, or bad. For example, accidentally killing versus intentionally killing. Outwardly the may look the same.
If intention matters, then karma would need to be able to reason and know our thoughts. These are exactly the sort of things we attribute to god(s).
I think this is in part why karma was eventually personified by King Yama, the judge of the dead.
As other answers have already mentioned, there is an entirely naturalistic way to look at karma. In a way, naturalistic karma is a harsher judge-- killing is killing and has consequences, regardless to intentions.

user796: Karma is to Buddhism as gravity is to physics: fundamental, inevitable, basic, impartial, all-pervading and so basic it's quite hard to explain. The function of gods in religion centres around intention. Karma, like gravity, is a principle of interaction that is utterly without intent. Nor is it the subject of veneration. Given that many gods are not all-pervasive, I don't think that karma has any qualities that are quintessentially godly.

user43: Such a highly dualistic analogy is completely wrong, from non-theistic Mahayana/Vajrayana perspective. His points seem to be that: 

Buddhists believe in karma, and this belief is similar to belief in God.
Karma, like God, is a mysterious force that evaluates our actions and gives us our due.
Person is separate from God; Person is separate from karma.

However, in reality:

Buddhists do not take karma on blind faith. Instead, they know that karma is real, even if somewhat abstract, phenomena that (unlike God!) can be observed, studied, predicted -- and therefore controlled.
Karma is not some kind of transcendental (otherwordly) force. It is a natural tendency of regular action to lead to certain results. Karma does not evaluate our actions against some book of moral rules. Instead, our actions themselves lead to certain results. Our actions IS karma.
It is not like the acting person is one thing, the world is another thing, and karma is third thing. Person is a result of past karma, manifestation of past karma. Karma is just how the world works, so karma is the world. The world and the person are two sides of the same stick.

So no, not at all. Karma is not like God, is not "higher force". Karma is us and we are karma.

user18: Sure, there is a way that karma could be understood as being "like" a god. It is one of the forces that controls the whole of the universe; it has the world in its power:

kammunā vattati loko
The world goes according to karma
-- MN 98

In that sense, it could be understood as sharing a similarity with the concept of god. That's about as far as the similarity goes, though.
The law of karma isn't an entity, it is a regularity of interaction between moments of experience, that certain types of experience (ethically intentional ones) have a creative force, for either good or bad. It is important to remember that the word "karma" just means "action". So, in a way you are asking "Are actions like gods?" which of course is silly. Nonetheless, the law of karma does act a bit like a god would, only a lot more logically.

533: <p>We know Buddhism doesn't have a creator God like most religions, however there is the law of Kamma, a law we cannot see and also we cannot prove, in other words, a law that requires faith and cannot be measured like gravity or electromagnetism.</p>

<p>Once a Theravada senior monk said that: "Buddhists should not say they don't believe in God, because they believe in the laws of nature and Kamma, it works like a God, a higher force, only not a creator God, not a being we pray to"</p>

<p>So, Is kamma "like" a god?</p>
 289: <p>Often intention plays a role in deciding if something is ethical/unethical, has good karmic results, or bad. For example, accidentally killing versus intentionally killing. Outwardly the may look the same.</p>

<p>If intention matters, then karma would need to be able to reason and know our thoughts. These are exactly the sort of things we attribute to god(s).</p>

<p>I think this is in part why karma was eventually personified by King Yama, the judge of the dead.</p>

<p>As other answers have already mentioned, there is an entirely naturalistic way to look at karma. In a way, naturalistic karma is a harsher judge-- killing is killing and has consequences, regardless to intentions.</p>
 796: <p>Karma is to Buddhism as gravity is to physics: fundamental, inevitable, basic, impartial, all-pervading and so basic it's quite hard to explain. The function of gods in religion centres around intention. Karma, like gravity, is a principle of interaction that is utterly without intent. Nor is it the subject of veneration. Given that many gods are <em>not</em> all-pervasive, I don't think that karma has <em>any</em> qualities that are quintessentially godly.</p>
 43: <p>Such a highly dualistic analogy is completely wrong, from non-theistic Mahayana/Vajrayana perspective. His points seem to be that: </p>

<ol>
<li>Buddhists <em>believe</em> in karma, and this <em>belief</em> is similar to <em>belief</em> in God.</li>
<li>Karma, like God, is a mysterious force that evaluates our actions and gives us our due.</li>
<li>Person is separate from God; Person is separate from karma.</li>
</ol>

<p>However, in reality:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Buddhists do not take karma on blind faith. Instead, they know that karma is real, even if somewhat abstract, phenomena that (unlike God!) can be observed, studied, predicted -- and therefore controlled.</p></li>
<li><p>Karma is not some kind of transcendental (otherwordly) force. It is a natural tendency of regular action to lead to certain results. Karma does not evaluate our actions against some book of moral rules. Instead, our actions themselves lead to certain results. Our actions IS karma.</p></li>
<li><p>It is not like the acting person is one thing, the world is another thing, and karma is third thing. Person is a result of past karma, manifestation of past karma. Karma is just how the world works, so karma is the world. The world and the person are two sides of the same stick.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>So no, not at all. Karma is not like God, is not "higher force". Karma is us and we are karma.</p>
 18: <p>Sure, there is a way that karma could be understood as being &quot;like&quot; a god. It is one of the forces that controls the whole of the universe; it has the world in its power:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>kammunā vattati loko</p>
<p>The world goes according to karma</p>
<p>-- MN 98</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In that sense, it could be understood as sharing a similarity with the concept of god. That's about as far as the similarity goes, though.</p>
<p>The law of karma isn't an entity, it is a regularity of interaction between moments of experience, that certain types of experience (ethically intentional ones) have a creative force, for either good or bad. It is important to remember that the word &quot;<strong>karma</strong>&quot; just means &quot;action&quot;. So, in a way you are asking &quot;<strong>Are actions like gods?</strong>&quot; which of course is silly. Nonetheless, the law of karma does act a bit like a god would, only a lot more logically.</p>
