Karen Armstrong Books

`A History of Jerusalem should be read, not only by travellers and potential travellers in Jerusalem, but by all of us.' Stephen Tummin, Daily Telegraph

Set against the backdrop of June 1944, the narrative explores the profound impact of the loss of Karelia on the Finnish population, particularly the forced relocation of nearly 11% of Finns. Through a family's memoirs, it delves into the struggles faced during the war years, the emotional and physical toll of resettlement, and the broader societal repercussions experienced by Finns from 1939 to the late 1950s. The book highlights resilience amidst trauma, revealing how individuals navigated the challenges of a changing landscape.

The narrative explores the transformative journey of a man recovering from a brain injury, emphasizing the crucial role of family support and personal determination. Chris candidly shares his pre-accident struggles, illustrating that true strength lies not in intellectual prowess but in faith, forgiveness, and resilience. Told also from his mother's viewpoint, the story highlights the importance of embracing one's flaws while striving for independence and acceptance. Ultimately, it celebrates the triumph of the human spirit and offers readers a renewed belief in themselves and their connections with others.

Read and cherished by thousands all over the world since it was first published in 1981, Through the Narrow Gate takes the reader on a spiritual journey that began one September day in 1962 when Karen Armstrong said good-bye to her family at London's King's Cross station and journeyed on to the convent in Tripton to become a nun. Through the Narrow Gate is by turns a book of spiritual revelation and an intimate look at life inside the cloistered walls of the convent.

The memoir offers an intimate glimpse into Karen Armstrong's experience in a Catholic convent, capturing her spiritual journey with honesty and clarity. It explores her decision to enter religious life and provides a unique perspective on the complexities of convent life. Through her vivid storytelling, Armstrong reflects on her spiritual awakening and the challenges she faced, ultimately revealing insights that contribute to her reputation as a respected interpreter of religion.

It is the most persistent myth of our time: religion is the cause of all violence. But history suggests otherwise. Karen Armstrong, former Roman Catholic nun and one of our foremost scholars of religion, speaks out to disprove the link between religion and bloodshed. * Religion is as old as humanity: Fields of Blood goes back to the Stone Age hunter-gatherers and traces religion through the centuries, from medieval crusaders to modern-day jihadists. * The West today has a warped concept of religion: we regard faith as a personal and private matter, but for most of history faith has informed peopleâe(tm)s entire outlook on life, and often been inseparable from politics. * Humans undoubtedly have a natural propensity for aggression: the founders of the largest religions âe" Jesus, Buddha, the rabbis of early Judaism, the prophet Muhammad âe" aimed to curb violence and build a more peaceful and just society, but with our growing greed for money and wealth came collective violence and warfare. * With the arrival of the modern all-powerful, secular state humanityâe(tm)s destructive potential has begun to spiral out of control. Is humanity on the brink of destroying itself? Fields of Blood is a celebration of the ancient religious ideas and movements that have promoted peace and reconciliation across millennia of civilization.

St Paul is known throughout the world as the first Christian writer, authoring fourteen of the twenty-seven books in the New Testament. But as Karen Armstrong demonstrates in this book, he also exerted a more significant influence on the spread of Christianity throughout the world than any other figure in history. It was Paul who established the first Christian churches in Europe and Asia in the first century, Paul who transformed a minor sect into the largest religion produced by Western civilization, and Paul who advanced the revolutionary idea that Christ could serve as a model for the possibility of transcendence

The centuries between 800 and 300 BC saw an explosion of new religious concepts. But why did Socrates, Buddha, Confucius, Jeremiah, Lao Tzu and all others emerge in this 500 year span? Armstrong examines this period and the connections between this disparate group of philosophers, mystics, and theologians.

One of the world's foremost commentators on religious affairs on the history (and destiny) of the world's most misunderstood religion. In the public mind, Islam is a religion of extremes: it is the world's fastest growing faith; more than three-quarters of the world's refugees are Islamic; it has produced government by authoritarian monarchies in Saudi Arabia and ultra-republicans in Iran. Whether we are reading about civil war in Algeria or Afghanistan, the struggle for the soul of Turkey, or political turmoil in Pakistan or Malaysia, the Islamic context permeates all these situations. Karen Armstrong's elegant and concise book traces how Islam grew from the other religions of the book, Judaism and Christianity; introduces us to the character of Muhammed; and demonstrates that for much of its history, the religion has been a force for enlightenment that promoted liberties for women and allowed the arts and sciences to flourish. ISLAM shows how this progressive legacy is today often set aside as the faith struggles to come to terms with the economic and political weakness of most of its believers and with the forces of modernity itself.

The foundation stone of Jewish and Christian scriptures, the power of the Book of Genesis lies in its stories - Creation, the Fall, Cain and Abel, Noah, Abraham, Jacob and Joseph. Karen Armstrong traces the themes and meanings of these stories, examining what they can still tell us about the human quest for meaning.