Big Think Interview With Karen Armstrong | Big Think

[@JasonGafar]

Such an incredible woman. I have so much respect and admiration for all she's done with her life.

[@BooYaa69]

I like this lady.

[@moester75]

I do too man. If you haven't read any of her books i highly recommend that you do. I just finished "Jerusalem One City Three Faiths" and it's a very informative work. I'm gonna read everything she's done.

[@jesssiegman8881]

I think this woman has phenomenal insight into what the real issues are in the world with our morality and the cause and effect of so many problems in the world. I applause her efforts and hope that she goes on to council leaders and this coalition grows and grows. I used to consider myself pretty religious in a more literal sense to the Bible. The past few years and deep thought into the sufferings of the world I found myself pulling away from that and finding it didn't quite fit or make sense to me anymore. I found I jumped into blaming religion for all the atrocities in the world. I am glad before I really gave way to that feeling completely that I found Karen's works. I am fairly new to her works but what she says makes perfect sense and it resonates with me as I am sure it does others. I have always felt that God exists, but not in the sense of what we are taught in organized religion rather then a sense of knowing and transcendence as she describes. Karen articulates my innermost feelings so well in a way I sort of knew but was unable to articulate myself to others and I thank her for that. Realizing the real issues of war and terror having to do more with suffering, hopelessness, oppression etc is so much more true and complex then just blaming this religion or that. I think it takes a deep understanding such as she has to really make a difference for good in this life and in our world. Compassion and understanding for others really is what is crucial to figuring out the divisions and differences among us and bringing us together in harmony for a more peaceful world.

[@edwardrussell7168]

jess siegman ..see my comments above..

[@AndreaTuijten]

Profoundly important, inspiring and valuable talk! Thank you for posting :)

[@StayHuman2011]

Amazing woman! This was in 2012 imagine if we had taken this advice. Think how much pain we could have avoided in the world. Thank You Karen.

[@alexcameron3226]

You obviously are a moron, by chance are your parents first cousins?

[@larissabsa]

She is great!

[@moester75]

Yes she is Larissa. Thank GOD for Historians like Karen Armstrong

[@Sanddollar1]

moester75 Yes, thank God for historians that rewrite history in a way that deforms it original image... it seems that Karen gets the gold metal for this.

[@user-ju7ze9to4k]

+Alētheias thinking like yours is the problem; this arrogant 'if you don't interpret like I do you are wrong ' mentality. Every religion, philosophy, political idea is wrong in context of that mentality. And your use of sarcasm is not becoming either.

[@jcmmanuel]

+Alētheias Rewriting history is what Europe did when they exported their Jewish problem to the middle east, then watching from the ringside seat how approximately a million Palestinians were being treated the inhabitants of an "empty land".

[@Sanddollar1]

Rs 225 I'm sorry you feel this way, but history is only subjective to a point. The facts are the facts. This woman, along with Edward Said, have grossly mishandled the facts about Islamic history. It is not about "interpretation", it is about the actions of the historical figures and what they say about what they are doing and why. If I tell you that I am killing because XYZ, you do not "interpret" the reason to be abc or leave out xyz from your history book -- that is what these people are doing and it is wrong. It is deception and a rewriting of history. Please read the source documents for yourself and you will easily draw conclusions very much in contrast to what they are trying to claim.

[@HisamullahBeg]

Unique researcher, appreciate and deeply respect for her endeavors.

[@catastrophyful]

Thank you for posting this.

[@havefunbesafe]

Love her writing. Love her.

[@mirzaffar5429]

I agree with the thinking of karen Armstrong.

[@mirzaffar5429]

Sender Mir Zaffar Iqbal

[@Membersonlyableto]

Wise is he that learns from everywoman

[@Enderwiggan1]

Love Karen

[@revenueguru1]

Do you love intolerant religions? Are you also an advocate for the world most intolerant religion?

[@Enderwiggan1]

I'm agnostic myself but Karen is a beacon of tolerence and compassion. What's the worlds most intolerant religion btw??

[@kausamsalam8543]

@@revenueguru1Are you an advocate for blind injustice due to willful ignorance? See, the Nazis lived in Ignorance-is-Bliss Mindset. You wouldn’t want to be one of them, would you?

[@SuteddyTV]

incredible thinking... how come a person can such think like that.. i'm amazed by this woman think.

[@Steven_Rowe]

She writes some good books

[@mirzaffar5429]

I admire karen Armstrong.she has deep religious knowledge.she is a true muslim whom i admire.sender Mir Zaffar Iqbal.

[@nadia.f_0019]

I do like her thinking it seems universal. GOd or 'The' God cannot be measured through space and time. Humans are a small entity created weak. I do like Islam & Christianity as a spiritual essense of my being.

[@vonroretz3307]

She is right about the crusaders but omits that it was defensive in the light of what the Umayyad hordes did prior to the crusades, in Spain and the holy land.

[@pablotofu]

La amo❤

[@GregoryTheGr8ster]

Hi Karen. How are you?

[@mirzaffar5429]

Karen Armstrong is genius.sender Mir Zaffar Iqbal.

[@ajenga292]

I beg for Indonesian subtitles hehe

[@luisortega4991]

What a moving end

[@kausamsalam8543]

Some love to meet rich rock stars or sports heroes, but Karen Armstrong is whom I’d love to meet for tea someday in beautiful England-where all minds are welcome, even labeled people, Alhumdullilah ♥️♥️🥀🥀May Allah accept her knowledge, research, wisdom and love for all Faiths and people. Ameen 🌹💜 “First I left the convent….” (Her memoir on being a nun is definitely worth reading). MashaAllah

[@edwardrussell7168]

God the Quranic concept is an objective standard for human self development. This is by following the Divine Attributes as a model to follow in this life.. accountability is part of this

[@mycollegeshirt]

okay a question to Nick A, and CplFerro can either of you define God outside of using labels that describe tasks or abilities? and no CplFerro its in the same sense its impossible to describe 'everything' not 'nothing' because its in his limitlessness does God become untenable, and beyond definition

[@bisbeekid]

If Karen Armstrong was a serious scholar of religion, as well as a critical thinker, she would soon ascertain that it is all nonsense. It is obvious she has not studied at all. A good start would be Origin of the Species or The Age of Reason.

[@mycollegeshirt]

The thing thats most disturbing about what you two say is that when god was asked by Jacob who he was, he said the same thing Karen Armstrong just said basically, "you must not ask", because we cannot know and when Moses asks God his name he says YHWH ("I AM HE WHO IS", "I AM WHO AM" or "I AM WHO I AM"), 7:40 is an unfortunate place to site if either of you are religious at all, i recommend reading a book

[@jcmmanuel]

she does not have to be religious er se in order to be capable of good judgment. Books? I suppose you never saw the extensive book list at the end of many of her written works. Ps. i would say her reply in the 7th minute is rather brilliant. I recommend re-listening.

[@CplFerro]

7:40 is why I'm not taking her seriously. If we can't define God in *any* way, then in no sense are we talking about anything, are we? And, so, why am I listening to this interview?

[@TheGuiltsOfUs]

She sounds like a crypto-atheist to me.

[@SuperGreatSphinx]

Áve María, grátia pléna, Dóminus técum. Benedícta tū in muliéribus, et benedíctus frúctus véntris túi, Iésus. Sáncta María, Máter Déi, óra pro nóbis peccatóribus, nunc et in hóra mórtis nóstrae. Ámen.

[@kausamsalam8543]

Sura 19:22, Quranic Guidance, “So she (Mary/Maryam, conceived him, and she retired with him to a remote place.//And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a Palm-Tree: She cried in her anguish: “Ah! Would that I had died before this! Would that I had been a thing forgotten and out of sight!//But a voice cried out to her from beneath the Palm-Tree: “Grieve not! For thy Lord hath provided a rivulet beneath thee, and shake towards thyself the trunk of the Palm-Tree: it will let fall fresh ripe dates upon thee.” Allah provides Sustenance to whom He Wills. Note the nice parallels between Hazrat Hagira, noble in Islam, and her skin color did not make a difference in terms of her piety to God Almighty. Also, notice Jesus’s prayer to Almighty Who gave him another outlet instead of suffering under cruel men’s blows: “Why hast Thou forsaken me?” And Allah did not forsake him, as he was beloved. Even good humans are suffering and mistreated, Allah gives them another outlet-sometimes inward, other times, outward. Sometimes on earth; other times, in Heaven (7 Heavens actually exist in Islamic theory). In Islam, we are no longer products of Original Sin, since Merciful Allah has already given us a clean slate, tabula rasa-from which to compensate for our great-great-great grandparents’ Mistakes (Hazrat Adam and Hawaaa/Eve), who were equally responsible for their sins-and Womankind in Islam is not blamed for the Sins of Men. May you have a blessed day and week. ♥️

[@SuteddyTV]

how can u say something like that, if you do know much better than her, than speak your mind. that makes you a man. go make an argue with her.

[@sebastianfibes2126]

The first part is a written script which I'veheard her say word for word. I think all these empty talking heads are all the same. The same essay repeated over and over.

[@jcmmanuel]

better a good written script than a meaningless, lame objection against written scripts that has nothing to do with the subject.

[@andiirsanreskyapriadhy1311]

Anjay

[@jeffturner2693]

She seems to like the 666 hand gesture

[@dis4980]

This lady is soo cracked out. Pluralism in the quran? seriously wtf is she talking about. Did she even read it?

[@iby914]

Enlighten us oh wise one.. No seriously. So what are you saying? That a well respected and critically acclaimed scholar has got it wrong but you, an anonymous troglodyte on the Internet is right. Yeeeahhh ok pal.

[@dis4980]

+ibkillah Quote some pluralistic passages from the quran then. Prove me wrong. Insults and appeals to authority are useless. I doubt you will be able to because Muhammads islam is the opposite of pluralism.

[@iby914]

+Dar “BigD” Eis “We have appointed a law and a practice for every one of you. Had God willed, He would have made you a single community, but He wanted to test you regarding what has come to you. So compete with each other in doing good. Every one of you will return to God and He will inform you regarding the things about which you differed.” 5:48. “God does not forbid you from being good to those who have not fought you in the religion or driven you from your homes, or from being just towards them. God loves those who are just.” 60:8. "Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabians -- whoever believes in God and the Last Day and does good, they shall have their reward from their Lord. And there will be no fear for them, nor shall they grieve". 2:62. "And nearest among them in love to the believers will you find those who say, 'We are Christians,' because amongst these are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world, and they are not arrogant" 5:82. It's all there should you choose to actually read the Qur'an. Also read up about the first Ummah (community) of Muslims. The Charter of Medina specifically gives rights to each religious group. Again, read.

[@iby914]

"Infuse your heart with mercy, love and kindness for your subjects . . . either they are your brothers in religion or your equals in creation." (Excerpt from a letter by the Muslim Caliph Ali b. Abi Talib (d. 661) to Malik al-Ashtar on the latter's appointment as governor of Egypt).

[@jcmmanuel]

If you weren't imbued with orientalism you would of course be able to understand middle-east cultures. No worries, no one is asking you to understand of course. There's freedom from understanding in our democratic countries.

[@revenueguru1]

How can she be on BIG THINK? Apologizing for the world's most intolerant ideology should not qualify. PLURALISM? Quran 5:51 SHAKIR: O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people. SUFISM? - Sufi's are the tiniest possible minority and she references it as if represents the whole of the Muslim world. What's she's doing amounts to flat out llying Imagine if I took an example of a single Nazi who did something good and made this my primary example of the ideology.

[@lybrebel14]

R.Guru Just shut the fuck up and try to listen to the specialists and experts who spent decades of their own time studying and searching for the truth! No more bullshit and old stereotypes towards other.

[@revenueguru1]

Appeal to authority. Bet you think this is a positive, but I'm sorry to inform you dufuss, it's a fallacy. Islam is the world's most intolerant religion and Karen Airhead does the greatest possible disservice to humanity by giving cover and legitimacy to it. Big Think does the same by making the determination that this wack job fits inside their brand.

[@lybrebel14]

R.Guru Try to shut the fuck up for once! And listen to the experts! For you bullshit sake just listen.

[@mylesjohnson5043]

it's funny how the bible doesn't have to call a certain religion out your god allows marrying a girl before menstration and he dated a nine-year-old.

[@Sanddollar1]

What complete lies! At 7:40, everyone should have turned this woman off. Has she ever heard of the Early Church, Ireneus, Constantine, etc.?!