Karen Armstrong Quotes

If people want to simulate a godly lifestyle - great. If they don't - good luck with that.

If you look into the religions, they have this deep idea of human dignity and the source of dignity being conscience.

We must first pray, that God would make us wise; before we can wish, he would make us happy.

Religion is not only a part of education, an element of humanity, but the center of everything else, always the first and the ultimate, the absolutely original.

Spirituality is meant to take us beyond our tribal identity into a domain of awareness that is more universal.

And I've come to the place where I believe that there's no way to solve these problems, these issues - there's nothing that we can do that will solve the problems that we have and keep the peace, unless we solve it through God, unless we solve it in being our highest self. And that's a pretty tall order.

All the religions of the world, while they may differ in other respects, unitedly proclaim that nothing lives in this world but Truth.

You shall always find what you created in your mind, for instance, a benevolent God or an evil Devil. Between them are countless facets. Therefore, concentrate on the depth of your consciousness and on what you consider to be positive and good.

All churches and all religions contain aspects of the truth, but only God is truth.

Christianity is, I believe, about expanded life, heightened consciousness and achieving a new humanity. It is not about closed minds, supernatural interventions, a fallen creation, guilt, original sin or divine rescue.

My lectures, based on Islamic teachings, were on various subjects. Some of the titles were, 'The Intoxication of Life,' 'The Purpose of Life,' 'The Real Cause of Man's Distress,' 'The Journey to the Goal in Life,' and, one of my favorites, 'The Heart of Man.' They contained important insights that spoke to something deep inside me.

Sufi poetry is, in a sense, self-help poetry about how to live a decent life, how to deal with your mortality.

Religious belief has made me comfortable with ambiguity.

Great thoughts and a pure heart, that is what we should ask from God.

At the same time we are aware that our various religions and ethical traditions often offer very different bases for what is helpful and what is unhelpful for men and women, what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is evil.

The marvel of the Bhagavad-Gita is its truly beautiful revelation of life's wisdom which enables philosophy to blossom into religion.

Religion can be both good and bad - it is spirituality that counts.

We should not run away from religious teachings. We should run to them.

Happy is he who has gained the wealth of divine thoughts, wretched is he whose beliefs about the gods are dark.

I regard Jesus, like the Buddha, as a figure with the power to shape our lives.

I think that the practice of religion allows one to discover emotional and psychological truth of a kind not available in the secular world.

'A Course in Miracles' has been one of my great teachers. I still study 'The Course' daily. It's like a gift that keeps on giving.

My main goal is still for the books to minister in some way, to teach a spiritual truth, to enlighten people.

THE PATH IS exceedingly vast. From ancient times to the present day, even the greatest sages were unable to perceive and comprehend the entire truth; the explanation and teachings of masters and saints express only part of the whole. It is not possible for anyone to speak of such things in their entirety. Just head for the light and heat, learn from the gods, and through the virtue of devoted practice of the Art of Peace, become one with the divine.

The essence of any religion is good heart. Sometimes I call love and compassion a universal religion. This is my religion.