The only way to show a true respect for God is to act morally while ignoring God’s existence. Karen Armstrong More Quotes by Karen Armstrong More Quotes From Karen Armstrong Fundamentalists are not friends of democracy. And that includes your fundamentalists in the United States. Karen Armstrong not-friends united-states democracy A mode of knowledge rooted in silence and intuitive insight which gives meaning to life but which cannot be explained in rational terms. Karen Armstrong atheism silence giving God [is] not the exclusive property of any one tradition. The divine light [cannot] be confined to a single lamp, belonging to the East or the West, but enlightens all human beings. Karen Armstrong east light west Here in America, religious people often prefer to be right rather than compassionate. They've lost the Axial Age vision of concern for everybody. Karen Armstrong religious america people If it is written and read with serious attention, a novel, like a myth or any great work of art, can become an initiation that helps us to make a painful rite of passage from one phase of life, one state of mind, to another. A novel, like a myth, teaches us to see the world differently; it shows us how to look into our own hearts and to see our world from a perspective that goes beyond our own self-interest. Karen Armstrong our-world self art If we want to create a viable, peaceful world, we've got to integrate compassion into the gritty realities of 21st century life. Karen Armstrong peaceful compassion reality Some people simply bury their heads in the sand and refuse to think about the sorrow of the world, but this is an unwise course, because, if we are entirely unprepared, the tragedy of life can be devastating. Karen Armstrong sorrow people thinking Zionism was originally a rebellion against religious Judaism and the PLO Charter was essentially secularist. But because the conflict was allowed to fester without a resolution, religion got sucked into the escalating cycle of violence and became part of the problem. Karen Armstrong violence problem religious The first person to promulgate the Golden Rule, which was the bedrock of this empathic spirituality, was Confucius 500 years before Christ. Karen Armstrong golden years firsts [T]he family is a school of compassion because it is here that we learn to live with other people. (68) Karen Armstrong compassion people school Respect only has meaning as respect for those with whom I do not agree. Karen Armstrong agree Let us bring something new to the table. Let us use our pain always to remember the others, bring them into the conversation, and get beyond the stereotypes and prejudices that create injustice all over the world. Karen Armstrong pain tables world When you feel compassion, you dethrone yourself from the centre of the world. Karen Armstrong compassion feels world there is no ascent to the heights without prior descent into darkness, no new life without some form of death. Karen Armstrong ascent new-life darkness A science can diagnose a cancer and can even find a cure for it, but it can't, and a scientist will be the first to say, it's can't help you to deal with the stress and disappointment and terror that comes with a diagnosis, and nor can it help you to die well, like Socrates, kindly, not railing against faith, but in possession of your own death. For these imponderable questions people have turned to mythos. Karen Armstrong cancer stress disappointment Myth was regarded as primary; it was concerned with what was thought to be timeless and constant in our existence. Myth looked back to the origins of life, to the foundations of culture, and to the deepest levels of the human mind. Myth was not concerned with practical matters, but with meaning. Unless we find some significance in our lives, we mortal men and women fall very easily into despair. The mythos of a society provided people with a context that made sense of their day-to-day lives; it directed their attention to the eternal and the universal. Karen Armstrong origin-of-life men fall Compassion has been advocated by all the great faiths because it has been found to be the safest and surest means of attaining enlightenment. It dethrones the ego from the center of our lives and puts others there, breaking down the carapace of the selfishness that holds us back from an experience of the sacred. And it gives us ecstasy, broadening our perspectives and giving us a larger, enhanced vision. Karen Armstrong perspective compassion mean Pain is something that's common to human life. When we ignore it, we aren't engaging in the whole reality, and the pain begins to fester. Karen Armstrong pain common reality Ever since the Crusades, when Christians from western Europe were fighting holy wars against Muslims in the near east, western people have often perceived Islam as a violent and intolerant faith - even though when this prejudice took root Islam had a better record of tolerance than Christianity. Karen Armstrong fighting christian war We are addicted to our egotism, our likes and dislikes and prejudices, and depend upon them for our own sense of identity. Karen Armstrong likes-and-dislikes prejudice identity
