“ We can either emphasize those aspects of our traditions, religious or secular, that speak of hatred, exclusion, and suspicion work with those that stress the interdependence and equality of all human… Karen Armstrong
“ Of all the great world religions, Christianity should value the body most. After all, it taught that God had in some sense taken a human body and used it to redeem the world; everything about the phys… Karen Armstrong
“ Islam is a religion of success. Unlike Christianity, which has as its main image, in the west at least, a man dying in a devastating, disgraceful, helpless death. Karen Armstrong
“ I did not want to appear before the world as pathetic, deprssed, and psychologically ill. So I erected a barrier of words and wit around myself, so that nobody could see how needy I really was. Karen Armstrong
“ Every fundamentalist movement I've studied in Judaism, Christianity and Islam is convinced at some gut, visceral level that secular liberal society wants to wipe out religion. Karen Armstrong
“ When they have contemplated the world, human beings have always experienced a transcendence and mystery at the heart of existence. Karen Armstrong
“ Well, logos is science or reason, something that helps us to function practically and effectively in the world, and it must therefore be closely in tune and reflect accurately the realities of the wor… Karen Armstrong
“ If it is not tempered by compassion, and empathy, reason can lead men and women into a moral void. (95) Karen Armstrong
“ Yet the experience of reading a novel has certain qualities that remind us of the traditional apprehension of mythology. It can be seen as a form of meditation. Readers have to live with a novel for d… Karen Armstrong
“ Then, as now, there would always be people who preferred the option of devoting their religious energies to sacred space over the more difficult duty of compassion. Karen Armstrong
“ In each of the early surahs, God spoke intimately to the individual, often preferring to pose many of his teachings in the form of a question - 'Have you not heard?' 'Do you consider?' 'Have you not s… Karen Armstrong
“ Advocates of evolutionary theory since Thomas H. Huxley (1825–95) have found altruism problematic. Karen Armstrong
“ There are many opinionated religious people who would do well to heed Paul’s warnings to the strong who were intimidating the weak with their overbearing certainty. Above all, we need to take seriousl… Karen Armstrong
“ A theology should be like poetry, which takes us to the end of what words and thoughts can do. Karen Armstrong
“ Inhabitants of countries that were colonized by the Europeans in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries knew how profoundly distressing it was to watch a cherished way of life disappearing and beloved… Karen Armstrong
“ We shall often find in our story that the religious behavior of people who have not been major beneficiaries of modernity articulates a strongly felt need for the spiritual, Karen Armstrong
“ Understanding different national, cultural, and religious traditions is no longer a luxury; it is now a necessity and must become a priority. The Karen Armstrong
“ We need myths that will help us to identify with all our fellow-beings, not simply with those who belong to our ethnic, national or ideological tribe. We need myths that help us to realize the importa… Karen Armstrong
“ We are absolutely right to condemn the suicide bomber's targeting of innocent civilians and mourn his victims. But as we have seen, in war the state also targets such victims; during the 20th century,… Karen Armstrong
“ Religion is a search for transcendence. But transcendence isn't necessarily sited in an external god, which can be a very unspiritual, unreligious concept. Karen Armstrong
