Islam is a religion of success. Unlike Christianity, which has as its main image, in the west at least, a man dying in a devastating, disgraceful, helpless death. – Karen Armstrong
Mythology and science both extend the scope of human beings. Like science and technology, mythology, as we shall see, is not about opting out of this world, but about enabling us to live more intensely within it. – Karen Armstrong
Compassion is a practically acquired knowledge, like dancing. You must do it and practice diligently day by day. – Karen Armstrong
Yes, all fundamentalists feel that in a secular society, God has been relegated to the margin, to the periphery and they are all in different ways seeking to drag him out of that peripheral position, back to center stage. – Karen Armstrong
I was taught to confront things you cant avoid. Death is one of those things. To live in a society where youre trying not to look at it is stupid because looking at death throws us back into life with more vigour and energy. The fact that flowers dont last for ever makes them beautiful. – Damien Hirst