When I was an undergraduate at BYU, I was a wayward soul. I can't believe how difficult of a time I had through my college years, but I am grateful for the pain and confusion that I experienced, it changed me for the better.
While I was going through this time, Lisa and I decided to take a class together, it was called Women's Spiritual Autobiographies. I honestly don't know what inspired us to take this class (probably Lisa, since she was the English major, and it might have been in the year that I was also an English major). I wish everyone could take that class, it was one of the most shaping that I had.
We read a lot of wonderful books by even more wonderful women, but one of my favorites was The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness by Karen Armstrong. It is her second book, the first is Through the Narrow Gate, in which she discusses her seven year in the convent, but the second is about her spiritual awakening, post-convent life (Armstrong also wrote and is well-known for A History of God, and has written many other books since).
And so, I'm going to tell you a little bit about why I greatly admire Karen Armstrong.
"I think it's time that we moved beyond the idea of toleration, and moved towards appreciation of the other (religions)." (-- Karen Armstrong, My wish, The Charter for Compassion, TED talk, 2008) (1.)
Karen was extremely young when she joined her convent, and lived as a nun for seven years before leaving. She suffered there, physically and psychologically as she wrestled with many demons, including those inflicted by her sisters at the convent. Karen also went several years without being diagnosed with epilepsy, her thesis on Tennyson was rejected, and did not receive her PhD (2.), she suffered in so many aspects of life, and could not find her place in the world. She went from looking after a disabled boy (3.), to teaching, and eventually landed in broadcasting.
Her spiritual transformation is very unique, she doesn't subscribe to a certain brand of religion, but she has devoted her life to the study of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, comparing the religions and finding meaningful ties between the three. She is a religious historian, a great theologian, and I admire her because she has taken these three major religions and opened the eyes of so many to our commonalities, and explained that the things we think divide us are not as tangible as we think.
I admire her for her ability not only to endure suffering and affliction, but to come up out of that suffering to find hope, to find a new life from the ashes of the old, and to contribute greatly to our worldwide community. It reminds me of the scripture in Romans 5: 3-4 "And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope." Last, but not least, I greatly admire her ability to write and articulate thoughts and ideas that unite people.
"Religion is not about accepting twenty impossible propositions before breakfast, but about doing things that change you. It is a moral aesthetic, an ethical alchemy. If you behave in a certain way, you will be transformed. The myths and laws of religion are not true because they they conform to some metaphysical, scientific or historical reality but because they are life enhancing. They tell you how human nature functions, but you will not discover their truth unless you apply these myths and doctrines to your own life and put them into practice." (4.)
— Karen Armstrong (The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness)
"Theology is-- or should be-- a species of poetry,which read quickly or encountered in a hubbub of noise makes no sense. You have to open yourself to a poem with a quiet, receptive mind, in the same way you might listen to a difficult piece of music... If you seize upon a poem and try to extort its meaning before you are ready, it remains opaque. If you bring your own personal agenda to bear upon it, the poem will close upon itself like a clam, because you have denied its unique and separate identity, its inviolate holiness."
— Karen Armstrong (The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness)
"Theologians in all the great faiths have devised all kinds of myths to show that this type of kenosis, of self-emptying, is found in the life of God itself. They do not do this because it sounds edifying, but because this is the way that human nature seems to work. We are most creative and sense other possibilities that transcend our ordinary experience when we leave ourselves behind."
— Karen Armstrong (The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness)
---------------------------------------------------------------
Sources:
1. Karen Armstrong, "My wish: The Charter for Compassion," (presented at TED2008, February 2008). https://www.ted.com/talks/karen_armstrong_makes_her_ted_prize_wish_the_charter_for_compassion
2. Vanessa Thorpe, "Karen Armstrong: The compassionate face of religion," The Guardian, October 2, 2010, Religion: The Observer profile, http://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2010/oct/03/profile-karen-armstrong-religion.
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Armstrong. 21 June 2016.
4. Karen Armstrong, The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness (where: publisher, year), pages.
5. "Karen Armstrong: Religious scholar" accessed June 21, 2016, https://www.ted.com/speakers/karen_armstrong.
While I was going through this time, Lisa and I decided to take a class together, it was called Women's Spiritual Autobiographies. I honestly don't know what inspired us to take this class (probably Lisa, since she was the English major, and it might have been in the year that I was also an English major). I wish everyone could take that class, it was one of the most shaping that I had.
We read a lot of wonderful books by even more wonderful women, but one of my favorites was The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness by Karen Armstrong. It is her second book, the first is Through the Narrow Gate, in which she discusses her seven year in the convent, but the second is about her spiritual awakening, post-convent life (Armstrong also wrote and is well-known for A History of God, and has written many other books since).
And so, I'm going to tell you a little bit about why I greatly admire Karen Armstrong.
 |
| Source: goodreads.com (https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2637.Karen_Armstrong) |
"I think it's time that we moved beyond the idea of toleration, and moved towards appreciation of the other (religions)." (-- Karen Armstrong, My wish, The Charter for Compassion, TED talk, 2008) (1.)
Karen was extremely young when she joined her convent, and lived as a nun for seven years before leaving. She suffered there, physically and psychologically as she wrestled with many demons, including those inflicted by her sisters at the convent. Karen also went several years without being diagnosed with epilepsy, her thesis on Tennyson was rejected, and did not receive her PhD (2.), she suffered in so many aspects of life, and could not find her place in the world. She went from looking after a disabled boy (3.), to teaching, and eventually landed in broadcasting.
Her spiritual transformation is very unique, she doesn't subscribe to a certain brand of religion, but she has devoted her life to the study of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, comparing the religions and finding meaningful ties between the three. She is a religious historian, a great theologian, and I admire her because she has taken these three major religions and opened the eyes of so many to our commonalities, and explained that the things we think divide us are not as tangible as we think.
I admire her for her ability not only to endure suffering and affliction, but to come up out of that suffering to find hope, to find a new life from the ashes of the old, and to contribute greatly to our worldwide community. It reminds me of the scripture in Romans 5: 3-4 "And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope." Last, but not least, I greatly admire her ability to write and articulate thoughts and ideas that unite people.
"Religion is not about accepting twenty impossible propositions before breakfast, but about doing things that change you. It is a moral aesthetic, an ethical alchemy. If you behave in a certain way, you will be transformed. The myths and laws of religion are not true because they they conform to some metaphysical, scientific or historical reality but because they are life enhancing. They tell you how human nature functions, but you will not discover their truth unless you apply these myths and doctrines to your own life and put them into practice." (4.)
— Karen Armstrong (The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness)
"Theology is-- or should be-- a species of poetry,which read quickly or encountered in a hubbub of noise makes no sense. You have to open yourself to a poem with a quiet, receptive mind, in the same way you might listen to a difficult piece of music... If you seize upon a poem and try to extort its meaning before you are ready, it remains opaque. If you bring your own personal agenda to bear upon it, the poem will close upon itself like a clam, because you have denied its unique and separate identity, its inviolate holiness."
— Karen Armstrong (The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness)
"Theologians in all the great faiths have devised all kinds of myths to show that this type of kenosis, of self-emptying, is found in the life of God itself. They do not do this because it sounds edifying, but because this is the way that human nature seems to work. We are most creative and sense other possibilities that transcend our ordinary experience when we leave ourselves behind."
— Karen Armstrong (The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness)
---------------------------------------------------------------
Sources:
1. Karen Armstrong, "My wish: The Charter for Compassion," (presented at TED2008, February 2008). https://www.ted.com/talks/karen_armstrong_makes_her_ted_prize_wish_the_charter_for_compassion
2. Vanessa Thorpe, "Karen Armstrong: The compassionate face of religion," The Guardian, October 2, 2010, Religion: The Observer profile, http://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2010/oct/03/profile-karen-armstrong-religion.
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Armstrong. 21 June 2016.
4. Karen Armstrong, The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness (where: publisher, year), pages.
5. "Karen Armstrong: Religious scholar" accessed June 21, 2016, https://www.ted.com/speakers/karen_armstrong.
Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI love her. That class was life-changing.
ReplyDelete