Yes, all fundamentalists feel that in a secular society, God has been relegated to the margin, to the periphery and they are all in different ways seeking to drag him out of that peripheral position, back to center stage. Karen Armstrong More Quotes by Karen Armstrong More Quotes From Karen Armstrong The constant reprimands made me hyperconscious of my own performance, and so instead of getting rid of self, I had become embedded in the egoism I was supposed to transcend. Now I was beginning to understand that a silence that is not clamorous with vexation and worried self-regard can become part of the texture of your mind, can seep into you, moment by moment, and gradually change you. Karen Armstrong silence self mind Compassion is not a popular virtue Karen Armstrong virtue compassion Religion is hard work. Its insights are not self-evident and have to be cultivated in the same way as an appreciation of art, music, or poetry must be developed. Karen Armstrong hard-work appreciation art Compassion doesn't, of course, mean feeling sorry for people, or pity, which is how the word has become emasculated in a way. Karen Armstrong compassion sorry mean Compassion is not a popular virtue. Very often when I talk to religious people, and mention how important it is that compassion is the key, that it's the sine-qua-non of religion, people look kind of balked, and stubborn sometimes, as much to say, what's the point of having religion if you can't disapprove of other people? Karen Armstrong keys compassion religious Now I think one of the reasons why religion developed in the way that it did over the centuries was precisely to curb this murderous bent that we have as human beings. Karen Armstrong reason-why way thinking At the beginning of the twentieth century, every single leading Muslim intellectual was in love with the west, and wanted their countries to look just like Britain and France. Karen Armstrong intellectual country looks After I left the convent, for 15 years I was worn out with religion, I wanted nothing whatever to do with it. I felt disgusted with it. If I saw someone reading a religious book on a train, I'd think, how awful. Karen Armstrong reading religious book I had failed to make a gift of myself to God. 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 fundamentalist-religion wiping-out islam Jewish, Christian, and Muslim theologians have insisted for centuries that God does not exist and that there is 'nothing' out there; in making these assertions, their aim was not to deny the reality of God but to safeguard God's transcendence. Karen Armstrong christian doe reality Storytelling is fine as long as you can encourage people to act on the stories. Karen Armstrong stories long people Geniuses are not always pleasant people. Karen Armstrong pleasant genius people The values of Islam are expressed by Muslims clearly. September 11 changed the world, and put Muslims on the spotlight. Karen Armstrong september-11 islam world 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 islam dying men I have a very sharp tongue, I'm very impatient, and it's a lifelong struggle. Karen Armstrong impatient tongue struggle For centuries, the Muslims were able to co-exist perfectly well with Jews and Christians in the Middle East. Karen Armstrong middle-east able christian Let's use our stories to encourage listening to one another and to hear not just the good news, but also the pain that lies at the back of a lot of people's stories and histories. Karen Armstrong pain lying people If we try to hold on to our partial glimpses of the divine, we cut it down to our own size and close our minds. Like it or nor, our human experience of anything or anybody is always incomplete: there is usually something that eludes us, some portion of experience that evades our grasp. Karen Armstrong elude-us cutting mind Even before 9/11 I was gripped by a sense of dread: our lack of criticism about what we were doing in the Middle East - the slagging off of a whole religious tradition. Karen Armstrong middle-east criticism religious
