Karen Armstrong Biography
Fast Facts
Born in the English countryside near Birmingham in 1945.
She started out in life as a Roman Catholic and even chose to become a nun as a young woman
She left the convent completely disillusioned to the point of calling herself an atheist.
After years of feeling separated from the rest of society she took steps to bring humanity together by exploring common themes in the different religions of the world.
After people turned against the Muslim faith because of the threat against Salman Rushdie she wrote the first biography of Muhammed that was written specifically for a western audience.
Armstrong has discovered, in her life of beneficial solitude, writing, and public speaking, a fulfilling place and a guiding purpose. But, she says, "I tremble for our world, where, in the smallest ways, we find it impossible ... to find room for 'the other' in our minds."
Karen Armstrong Biography
"To say that anyone we don't like is 'evil' means we never have to examine our own behavior. Karen Armstrong
Karen Armstrong has written some very interesting books on the commonality of the world's major religions. In three of these books, The History of God ( Ballantine 1993 ), Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths ( Knopf 1996 ) and Battle for God ( Knopf 2000 ) she discusses the themes that unite Christianity, Judaism and the Islam faith.
She started
out in life as a Roman Catholic and even chose to become a nun as a young
woman...she left the convent completely disillusioned to the point of
calling herself an atheist. In her late 20's she struggled in her life, even
feeling suicidal at times since she didn't know how to live outside a
regimented life.
Armed with an undergraduate degree in literature from Oxford University she went to work teaching 19th and 20th century literature at the University of London and also she was working on her PhD. Three years later she moved on to another teaching job since her dissertation was not accepted and she therefore wasn't qualified to continue teaching at the university level. She accepted a position as head of the English department of an all-girls school in London.
She was diagnosed with epilepsy shortly thereafter and six years into her work at this school was asked to leave...but she notes that they treated her nicely even in resignation. Her life was " a complete catastrophe" she says, but with looking back at it all now she believes that "it all worked out for the best".
She began her next career in 1982, doing television documentaries...the story that caused her to go to Jerusalem really set her on a new path. She took a second look at her ideas about God and faith. She went from being an atheist to experiencing her spirituality as a "freelance monotheist"...but she has never gone back to being a member of a church.
She agrees with the Buddhist's view of religion... "( it's ) like a raft", she says,.."once you get across the river moor the boat. Don't lug it with you if you don't need it anymore". Throughout her life she has definitely practiced this concept...used each phase in her life to teach her all she needed to know to move on to the next experience.
As she explored the
world's religions her one simple test of the validity of these faiths was
whether or not compassion was a part of their teaching. "If your
understanding of the divine made you kinder ... and impelled you to express
this sympathy in concrete acts of loving-kindness, this was good theology,"
she writes. "But if your notion of God made you unkind, belligerent, cruel,
or self-righteous, or if it led you to kill in God's name, it was bad
theology." Armstrong has discovered, in her life of beneficial solitude,
writing, and public speaking, a fulfilling place and a guiding purpose. But,
she says, "I tremble for our world, where, in the smallest ways, we find it
impossible ... to find room for 'the other' in our minds." biography and biographies home page
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History Of God DVD
Based
on Karen Armstrong's acclaimed book, this feature-length film guides viewers
along one of humanity's most elusive quests.
