The Thoughts of a ‘Freelance Monotheist’
Karen Armstrong wrote The History Of God. She became more famous with the books Battle For God and Muhammad: A Biography Of The Prophet, which sold out all over the world. Today, this former nun has become a leading scholar on religions and God. She is known as a scholar who sympathizes deeply with Islam and is eloquent in her examination of religious fundamentalism. What is the essence of Armstrong’s thoughts? How does she view atheism? Although she’s an expert on Judaism, Islam, Catholicism and Buddhism, she often refers to herself as a ‘freelance monotheist’, meaning that she believes in God but does not practice any religion. Is this true? Read TEMPO’s exclusive interview with Karen Armstrong.
January 22, 2002
At a seminar room in Bradley, The History Of God is laid out for all to see. The visitors, people interested in cross-religions in the United States, sit listening attentively. A blond woman of Irish descent in her fifties, talks of the history of God using appealing language. The topic is challenging and demands the utmost attention: ‘The Future of God’. Karen Armstrong, the English Literature graduate from Oxford University in E
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