Books by Karen Armstrong

One of the world's foremost commentators on religious affairs on the history (and destiny) of the world's most misunderstood religion.

The idea of a single devine being - God, Yahweh, Allah - has existed for over 4,000 years. A controversial, extraordinary story of worship and war, A History of God confronts the most fundamental fact - or fiction - of our lives.

Is humanity on the brink of destroying itself? This book intends to disprove the link between religion and bloodshed. It deals with ancient religious ideas and movements that have promoted peace and reconciliation across millennia of civilization.

A fascinating account of the life of St Paul, by the world's foremost religious historian. 'Karen Armstrong is a genius' A. N. Wilson

Now available in paperback: The Great Transformation is nothing less than a global account of the time when religion was born. 'A remarkable history... fascinating and highly readable... profoundly relevant.' Julie Wheelwright, Independent

A life of the prophet Muhammad by bestselling religious writer Karen Armstrong.

Holy texts were seen as fluid and adaptable, rather than a set of binding archaic rules or a 'truth' that has to be 'believed'.Armstrong argues that only by rediscovering an open engagement with their holy texts will the world's religions be able to curtail arrogance, intolerance and violence.

'Because "God" is infinite, nobody can have the last word'What is this thing, religion, supposedly the cause of bloodshed and warring for centuries? Selected from A Case for God, Fields of Blood and The Lost Art of Scripture VINTAGE MINIS: GREAT MINDS.

Due to the level of detail, maps are best viewed on a tablet.'A History of Jerusalem should be read, not only by travellers and potential travellers in Jerusalem, but by all of us.' Stephen Tummin, Daily TelegraphJerusalem has probably cast more of a spell over the human imagination than any other city in the world.Held by believers to contain the site where Abraham offered up Isaac, the place of the crucifixion of Christ and the rock from which the prophet Muhammed ascended to heaven, Jerusalem has been celebrated and revered for centuries by Jews, Christians and Muslims. Such is the symbolic power of this ancient city that its future status poses a major obstacle to a comprehensive regional peace in the Middle East.In this comprehensive and elegantly written work, Karen Armstrong traces the turbulent history of the city from the prehistoric era to the present day.

"Does the face of God change? Years ago I would have said, ''No.'' Countless hymns, passage of Scripture and confessions of faith assert or imply the changelessness of God. To take issue with traditions that are centuries, if not millennia old, seemed to be daunting and misguided....But when the great professions of confidence in God harden into philosophical propositions, one is bound to ask: What difference would it make to say that God has only one face? Even if true in some sense, the fact of the matter is that features each of us would count as necessary and changeless would be a matter of considerable debate." - From the IntroductionIn 1998/99 five scholars presented lectures at Washington National Cathedral about our images of God and what difference they make. This book, and its companion videos, will allow parish study groups and individuals to consider and discuss the viewpoints of Marcus Borg, Karen Armstrong, Jack Miles, James Cone, and Andrew Sung Park.

The mystics of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries were, writes Karen Armstrong, like "the astronauts of our own day.  They broke into a new religion, blazed a new trail to God and to the depths of the self, a trail far from the beaten pilgrimage paths of Chaucer and Langland."  Mysticism is a spiritual mystery shared in some form by all faiths; it has a supernatural quality that extends beyond the given boundaries of religious creed and may be experienced by any lay person.  The thrilling intensity of a mystical experience, as represented in this volume by the writings of four mystics of the Middle Ages, can inspire other spiritual seekers with its insight into the limitless wonder of both human and divine experience. Dissatisfied by the strictures of dogma and a religion that failed to quench the human thirst for knowledge of a mystical order, these four mystics--Richard Rolle of Hampole, Walter Hilton, Dame Julian of Norwich, and the unknown author of The Cloud Of Unknowing --communicate an intense and passionate experience of faith rare in any time.  Because of their unique beliefs and spiritual strength, their knowledge and writings have proved timeless, and in this beautiful volume show contemporary seekers important new insights into the nature of divine love.

This timely selection of readings represents the work of some of the best and most influential writers the Christian feminist movement has produced--both in Britain and America. With its helpful introduction and editorial commentary it will be warmly welcomed by all who wish to be better informed about the wide range of key theological issues...

The Bible is a groundbreaking explanation and interpretation of the single most influential text of all time, by the world's foremost religious historian. 'The best sort of popularizing: there is no sacrifice of integrity and no dumbing down.' Edward Norman, Literary Review

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.

Tracing the history of faith from the Palaeolithic Age to the present, the author shows that meaning of words such as 'belief', 'faith', and 'mystery' has been entirely altered, so that atheists and theists alike now think and speak about God - and, indeed, reason itself - in a way that our ancestors would have found astonishing.

A superb introduction to the life and thought of a revolutionary spiritual thinker. 'Karen Armstrong has been one of the most persistent and powerful voices in the eminently respectable task of popularising religious scholarship in the anglophone world' GUARDIAN

A raw, intensely personal memoir of spiritual exploration from one of the world's great commentators on religion.After seven years in a convent, which she left, dismayed by its restrictions, an experience recounted in 'Through the Narrow Gate', Karen Armstrong struggled to establish herself in a new way of life, and became entrapped in a downward spiral, haunted by despair, anorexia and suicidal feelings.Despite her departure from the convent she remained within the Catholic Church until the God she believed in 'died on me', and she entered a 'wild and Godless period of crazy parties and numerous lovers'. Her attempts to reach happiness and carve out a career failed repeatedly, in spectacular fashion. She began writing her bestseller 'A History of God' in a spirit of scepticism, but through studying other religious traditions she found a very different kind of faith which drew from Christianity, Judaism and Islam and, eventually, spiritual and personal calm.In her own words, her 'story is a graphic illustration - almost an allegory - of a widespread dilemma. It is emblematic of a more general flight from institutional religion and a groping towards a form of faith that has not yet been fully articulated but which is nevertheless in the process of declaring itself'. Her lifelong inability to pray and to conform to traditional structures of worship is shared by the many who are leaving the established churches but who desire intensely a spiritual aspect to their lives.'The Spiral Staircase' grapples with the issue of how we can be religious in the contemporary world, and the place and possibility of belief in the 21st-century.