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Archive: Karen Armstrong
Faith is not an eternal retirement plan
I personally think it best not to try to imagine what we call 'heaven', because it can only be some kind of projection or wish-fulfillment. We can become so fixated on 'getting into heaven' that all our good deeds become purely selfish - as irreligious as paying into a retirement annuity for a comfortable life in the hereafter. Religion is supposed to be about the loss of ego - not fantasies about its eternal survival in optimum conditions.
By Karen Armstrong | March 23, 2010; 09:39 AM ET | Comments (12)
The Case for 'Faith', not 'Belief'
When we are talking about God, nobody has the last word because what we call God lies beyond the reach of speech. Equating 'faith' with 'belief' is a recent aberration and one that is peculiar to modern Western Christianity.
By Karen Armstrong | October 8, 2009; 04:09 PM ET | Comments (118)
The Hope of Sufism
The Sufis reflect the profound and inspiring pluralism of the Qur'an ~ and all faiths could do with an infusion of this acknowledgement of our common humanity.
By Karen Armstrong | April 26, 2009; 09:49 AM ET | Comments (31)
Calling All Religions to Compassion
The major task of our generation is to build a global community where people of all persuasions can live together in mutual respect. If we do not achieve this, we will not have a viable world to hand on to our children. We must implement the Golden Rule globally.
By Karen Armstrong | November 17, 2008; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (182)
Prayer Helps Us Chip Away Our Egotism
Prayer is really for us; it teaches us to thank, praise, and beg pardon wholeheartedly, without holding anything back.I
By Karen Armstrong | February 5, 2007; 10:07 AM ET | Comments (169)
Original Egalitarian Order of Most Religions 'Hijacked' by Men
Most religious lawcodes were devised in premodern era, when all women were regarded as second-class citizens.
By Karen Armstrong | January 19, 2007; 11:20 AM ET | Comments (335)
A Rejection of A Widespread Idolatry
It may be that the atheism that is taking hold is a rejection of a widespread idolatry which has forgotten that any conception of the divine is bound to be inadequate.
By Karen Armstrong | January 1, 2007; 05:57 PM ET | Comments (112)
Jesus Is a Call to Action
I see the Christmas story and the deification of Jesus not as a statement of historical fact or an abstract religious doctrine. Like all religious teaching it is a call to action.
By Karen Armstrong | December 21, 2006; 10:30 AM ET | Comments (46)
Christianity's Record Not Blameless
All world faiths, including Islam... teach the duty of self-criticism
By Karen Armstrong | November 30, 2006; 01:00 PM ET | Comments (74)
No One Can Have the Last Word on God
The reality we call God, Brahman, Nirvana or the sacred is transcendent. That is, it goes beyond our mundane experience. If we imprison ourselves in dogmatic ideas, we are closing our minds to the divine.
By Karen Armstrong | November 14, 2006; 09:30 PM ET | Comments (46)
