The idea of a single devine being - God, Yahweh, Allah - has existed for over 4,000 years. But the history of God is also the history of human struggle. While Judaism, Islam and Christianity proclaim the goodness of God, organised religion has too often been the catalyst for violence and ineradicabl[...]

An account of Karen Armstrong's experiences as a Roman Catholic nun. Armstrong describes her childhood, her progress at school and her admission into the order of St Ignatius in 1962 and - via Oxford University and an English literature degree - out of it again seven years later.[...]

"Strange as it may seem, the idea of 'God' developed in a market economy in a spirit of aggressive capitalism," Karen Armstrong asserts in her fascinating work A History of God. Armstrong considers herself a "historian of ideas," and with this broad view she gives a compelling account of the corresp[...]

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". These ancient tales illuminate some of our most enduring and profound problems: cowardice, the struggle [...]

With such bestsellers as "A History of God and Islam," Karen Armstrong has consistently delivered ?penetrating, readable, and prescient? ("The New York Times") works that have lucidly engaged a wide range of religions and religious issues. In "Buddha" she turns to a figure whose thought is still rev[...]

In this important and thought-provoking work, Karen Armstrong--one of the most original thinkers on the role of religion in the modern world--provides an impassioned and practical guide to helping us make the world a more compassionate place.
The twelve steps she suggests begin with "Learn About[...]

"Through the Narrow Gate is Karen Armstrong's intimate memoir of life inside a Catholic convent. With refreshing honesty and clarity, the book takes readers on a revelatory adventure that begins with Armstrong's decision in the course of her spiritual training offers a fascinating view into a shroud[...]

"SPLENDID . . . Eminently sane and patient . . . Essential reading for Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike."

--The Washington Post

Venerated for millennia by three faiths, torn by irreconcilable conflict, conquered, rebuilt, and mourned for again and again, Jerusalem is a sacre[...]

"KAREN ARMSTRONG IS A GENIUS."
--A. N. Wilson

As the foundation stone of the Jewish and Christian scriptures, The Book of Genesis unfolds some of the most arresting stories of world literature--the Creation; Adam and Eve; Cain and Abel; the sacrifice of Isaac. Yet the meaning of Genesis re[...]

In 1962, at age seventeen, Karen Armstrong entered a convent, eager to meet God. After seven brutally unhappy years as a nun, she left her order to pursue English literature at Oxford. But convent life had profoundly altered her, and coping with the outside world and her expiring faith proved to be [...]