Karen Armstrong at Saint John the Divine in New York City

I just heard Karen Armstrong talk about her compassion initiative. She talked about being open, not ignorant, to other religions. She mentioned how each religion has compassionate and violent aspects, and how texts are chosen. She recommends choosing compassionate texts.

She dabbled into the meaning of "pistis" and the Holy Trinity, two concepts that are Greek. "Pistis" is clear faith, not obedience really, at least how I hear it most often used. For a non-Greek, she did well. I have nuances to add, but won't talk about it hear. I recommend reading her books, listening to her speak, and joining and-or contributing to her Charter for Compassion, affiliated with TED. Email info@charterforcompassion.org.

Here are her books, from Wikipedia.

* Through the Narrow Gate (1982)
* The First Christian: Saint Paul's Impact on Christianity (1983)
* Beginning the World (1983)
* Tongues of Fire: An Anthology of Religious and Poetic Experience (1985)
* The Gospel According to Woman: Christianity's Creation of the Sex War in the West (1986)
* Holy War: The Crusades and their Impact on Today's World (1988)
* Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet (1991)
* The English Mystics of the Fourteenth Century (1991)
* The End of Silence: Women and the Priesthood (1993)
* A History of God (1993)
* Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths (1996)
* In the Beginning: A New Interpretation of Genesis (1996)
* Islam: A Short History (2000)
* The Battle for God: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam (2000)
* Buddha (2001)
* Faith After September 11 (2002)
* The Spiral Staircase (2004)
* A Short History of Myth (2005)
* Muhammad: A Prophet For Our Time (2006)
* The Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions (2006) ISBN 978-037-541317-9
* The Bible: A Biography (2007)
* The Case for God (2009)[23]
* Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life (2010) ISBN 978-0307595591