I just finished Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence by Karen Armstrong. This book masterfully dismantles the modern secular notion that religion has caused more bloodshed than any other human institution. This book is beautiful and terrifying. It is a beautiful historical narrative showing the power of humanitys major faith traditions to inspire compassion and pluralism. It also deeply challenged my sense of self as an American, exploring dark, violent realities of the United States past and present. The privileges I enjoy are the result of noble ideals of classical liberalism that have been selectively applied to some and deliberately denied to others in the name political expediency and nationalism. These ideals are still selectively applied, most notably in the dealings of the United States with the Arab world over the past 40 years. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to deepen their understanding of the history of the Arab world, if nothing else (the scope of the book is much broader than that). amazon/gp/aw/d/B00KAFVNYM/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1421901683&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 04:43:05 +0000
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