Karen Armstrong
Karen Armstrong was born on November 14th, 1944 and is currently 80 years old. Karen Armstrong was born in Wildmoor, Worcestershire, England. Armstrong attended St Anne's College, Oxford where she received an English degree.
Karen Armstrong is a British commentator and author that is best known for her books on comparative religion.
At the age of 17 years old, she joined the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus, which is a teaching congregation, where she stayed for 7 years. She says that she suffered both psychological and physical abuse while in the convent. Karen was required to mortify her flesh with whips as well as wear this spiked chain around her arm. And if she ever spoke out of turn, she was supposed to sew at this treadle machine without being given a needle for two whole weeks.
Once she’d advanced all the way up to professed nun, she attended St Anne’s College, Oxford in order to study English. While she was still a student at Oxford, she left her order. After graduating with a Congratulatory First, she pursued a DPhil on Alfred Tennyson, the poet.
She penned her dissertation about a topic that was approved by the university committee. But it was nevertheless failed by her external examiner because it was an unsuitable topic. She didn’t protest the verdict, nor did she embark on a different topic. Instead she abandoned hope of any sort of academic career.
In 1976, she got a job teaching English at James Allen’s Girls’ School in Dulwich as she worked on her memoir about her convent experiences. That book was published in 1982 to some high praise.
She embarked on a new career that same year as an independent writer and broadcasting presenter. She was commissioned by the British Channel Four to pen and present this TV documentary about the life of St. Paul, which involved her traveling to the Holy Land in order to retrace the saint’s steps.
A History of God: The 4,000 Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam examines why God exists. How three dominant monotheistic religions (Islam, Judaism, and Christianity) shaped and altered the conception of God. How has each one influenced one another? In a stunningly intelligent read, Karen traces the history of how women and men alike have both experienced and perceived God, from Abraham’s time all the way to the present day.
This epic tale starts with the Jews’ gradual transformation of pagan idol worship back in Babylon into a true monotheism, which was a concept previously not know in the world. Islam and Christianity each rose on the foundation of such a revolutionary idea, however these religions refashioned the idea of ‘the One God’ in order to suit the political and social needs of their followers.
From classical philosophy and medieval mysticism to the Reformation, Karen pulls off the near miracle of distilling the intellectual history of monotheism into a superbly readable tome, destined to take its place as a classic.
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Karen Armstrong: F.A.Q
When was Karen Armstrong Born? How old is Karen Armstrong?
Karen Armstrong was born on November 14th, 1944. Karen Armstrong is currently 80 years old.
Where was Karen Armstrong Born?
Karen Armstrong was born in Wildmoor, Worcestershire, England and is British.
What was the first book Karen Armstrong wrote?
The first book written by Karen Armstrong was Through the Narrow Gate, published in 1981.
What was the most recent book Karen Armstrong wrote?
Her most recently released work was The Story Of God on October 23rd, 2022.
Will there be any more books by Karen Armstrong?
Karen Armstrong does not have any upcoming books with a set publication date within the next few months at this time.
How many books has Karen Armstrong written?
Karen Armstrong has written 30 books across 13 series, excluding contributions to anthologies.
- 22 Non-Fiction Books
- 3 Biographies & Memoirs
- 1 book in the Books That Changed the World Series
- 1 book in the Canongate's The Myths Series
- 1 book in the Eminent Lives Series
- 1 book in the Icons Series
- 1 book in the Modern Library Chronicles Series
- 1 book in the Penguin Lives Series