We MUST ask ourselves if our way is the BEST way!
“What is missing in Armstrong’s analysis is a serious critique of patriarchy, its cultures, its politics, its religions. However, if her work included such a critique, we can be quite certain that it would not be as popular as it is.”
“So, when we in the West talk about religion as the cause of this violence, how much are we letting ourselves off the hook, and using religion as a way to ignore our role in the roots of this violence?” Karen Armstrong, author of Fields of Blood
This statement was made by scholar of religions Karen Armstrong in an interview in Salon magazine in response to characterizations of Islam as a violent religion by Bill Maher and others. Speaking in the context of the rise of anti-Islamist prejudice in Europe, Armstrong said that Maher’s demonization of “the other” was the kind of talk that could lead us back to the concentration camps.
Bill Maher makes blanket statements against religion in general and Islam in particular. Maher clearly does not have a nuanced view of any religion. He is fueling anti-Islamic sentiment when he singles out Islam as a violent…
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January 13, 2015 at 2:43 pm
“if that meant that no one had to be enslaved or oppressed by a small aristocracy. I would also agree to live at a subsistence level in exchange for no violence and no war.” We have yet to agree to live a less extravagant lifestyle in order to limit the violence against the entire planet, threatening our very existence. Weapons of mass destruction can be as basic as over consumption. Once hierarchical mentality sets in at any level, control over will lead to violence. Reverence for all of creation and a accepting the interdependence of al,l must become our religious quest.
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April 17, 2015 at 4:30 pm
“Weapons of mass destruction can be as basic as over consumption. Once hierarchical mentality sets in at any level, CONTROL OVER will lead to violence.” YES! And, as you say, “Reverence for all of creation and acceptance of the interdependence of all, must become our religious quest”…must become a very important part of our religious quest!
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