Thoughts on Armstrong
ENG 111
Journal Entry #4
Thoughts on Armstrong Essay While reading Karen Armstrong’s essay depicting her opinion of religion, I found myself agreeing with her more than I usually do any other written art. The facts were brilliantly organized and centered around one main focus: the need for one to be “right” above another. As a member of a strong Southern Baptist congregation, I’ve found myself questioning the ideas that have been preached to me my entire life. These questions aren’t to discount or disprove God, but rather to question the “second to none” mentality that the Almighty Entity possesses. Again, this is not to forsake the man above. I live in a world that has spawned numerous religious philosophies around the world. Armstrong was correct in pointing out the need for each individual belief to be a singularity of the utmost exactness, and all else is to be considered “foreign” or “ungodly”. I gained unbiased proof through Armstrong’s research dating back to the 5th Century CE. Armstrong explains how the Golden Rule, or the ability to do unto others as you would have done to you, can play a major rule in lessening the violence and restoring acceptance throughout the world. In a sense it is a bit scary to think that thousands of years ago there was a practice such as “jian ai”; the concern for everybody; and over the years we have since lost all reasoning of compassion and acceptance of things that are not alike ourselves. When I picture the end of the world, I’ve always depicted it being a religious war or at the very least beginning as one. Armstrong was dead on with her closing argument: the cultivation of jian ai along with the implementation of the Golden Rule, would be viable in the realization that every nation is as important as ours and ultimately aid in the restoration of harmony throughout the world.
Journal Entry #4
Thoughts on Armstrong Essay While reading Karen Armstrong’s essay depicting her opinion of religion, I found myself agreeing with her more than I usually do any other written art. The facts were brilliantly organized and centered around one main focus: the need for one to be “right” above another. As a member of a strong Southern Baptist congregation, I’ve found myself questioning the ideas that have been preached to me my entire life. These questions aren’t to discount or disprove God, but rather to question the “second to none” mentality that the Almighty Entity possesses. Again, this is not to forsake the man above. I live in a world that has spawned numerous religious philosophies around the world. Armstrong was correct in pointing out the need for each individual belief to be a singularity of the utmost exactness, and all else is to be considered “foreign” or “ungodly”. I gained unbiased proof through Armstrong’s research dating back to the 5th Century CE. Armstrong explains how the Golden Rule, or the ability to do unto others as you would have done to you, can play a major rule in lessening the violence and restoring acceptance throughout the world. In a sense it is a bit scary to think that thousands of years ago there was a practice such as “jian ai”; the concern for everybody; and over the years we have since lost all reasoning of compassion and acceptance of things that are not alike ourselves. When I picture the end of the world, I’ve always depicted it being a religious war or at the very least beginning as one. Armstrong was dead on with her closing argument: the cultivation of jian ai along with the implementation of the Golden Rule, would be viable in the realization that every nation is as important as ours and ultimately aid in the restoration of harmony throughout the world.