A critique of karen armstrong’s book the battle for god assignment

To understand the problems I had with Armstrong’s argument it is important to analyze the historical context, not of the three religions which Armstrong attempts to document through more than five centuries, but instead the time which encompasses Armstrong’s start on her own struggle with the spiritual aspects of living in the materialistic world. Hopefully an evaluation of her experience will help account for what I surmised to be her inaccurate or misinformed definition of the term “ Fundamentalism”.

There are many accounts of Armstrong’s years spent in the convent, including her own writings. But it is far more important to look not at the years she spent secluded in the convent as it is to look at the time and description of the particular period of time when she left the closed protected life, offered or forced depending upon your perspective, of the convent. In the year 1969, the year Armstrong started her “ civilian life” I was just finishing my freshman year at St. Mary’s Academy, an all girl Catholic High School in Southern Maryland.

Up until this point I have been comparing my experiences within the Catholic religion with that of Armstrong’s experiences but it is now time to contrast the differences in our lives’ paths created by our age difference. Because I was approximately ten years younger than Armstrong I was allowed the next eight years of formal education to deal with my confusion and anger with what was becoming a very secular society. As a student I was offered an environment which was not as controlling as my earlier experiences within the Catholic Church but certainly an atmosphere that had retained a great deal of its structure and foundation.

Armstrong had to figuratively “ step of the cliff”. My struggle with the Mythos or the spiritual side of my persona had the time to develop with experience and guidance from outside sources necessary to allow a more tranquil blending with the Ethos or the reality of the world that I was at that time facing. Armstrong was not allowed that transitional experience but entered the secular world already in spiritual conflict with Christianity. Her dismay and confusion as she transcended her strict religious background and entered a materialistic realm is even now many years latter often reveled in her positions and writings.

It also seems that Armstrong’s approach to and understanding of Zionism and the current Israeli government is in many ways distorted. In analyzing the history of what the western cultures call the “ Holy Land” her starting point of 1492 ignores all previous historical events of an area of the world that produced some of the earliest examples of written history. It is again in this context that I believe her definition of fundamentalism comes under question. The Jews whom Armstrong identifies as having formed the fundamentalist movement were instead more ccurately defined as Orthodox. The Orthodox Jews adhere not to a strict interpretation of the written word but rely instead on the belief that there is also an oral law which holds an equally respected tradition and authority. The oral law does not come into conflict with secularism, but instead finds support for many aspects of the modern societies in which the Orthodox Jews reside. It is this oral law that has allowed the Orthodox Jews to not only adjust to the secular society but in some cases embrace many of the advantages which it provides.

In 1997 I took a job teaching art at the Hebrew Academy of Tidewater which is a Jewish Day School serving not just the Orthodox Jews but also the entire Jewish community of Hampton Roads, Virginia. During the six years that I worked there I progress from what I would describe as a cursory or superficial knowledge of the Jewish religion to a more thorough understanding built on a sincere respect for their beliefs. When I first started interacting with the Orthodox Jewish community I found their method of adherence to many of the “ rules” confusing.

I also feel that Armstrong errs on the opposite end of the spectrum by attempting to identifying as fundamentalist, those whom must be recognized as aggressive and at times brutal extremist based on their engagement in premeditated acts of violence incited not by an interest in promoting a true belief in G-d or honest interpretation of written words. They are Terrorist who are engaging in a concentrated effort to control other’s behavior through intimidation and violence for their personal opinionated advantage.

Although these persons attempt to be recognized as agents of an established religious movement they must instead be identified as radical fanatics interested in what can only be defined as a biased political agenda. Although I have very little knowledge or exposure to the established Muslim religion I believe that in light of Armstrong’s misrepresentations of the movements within the Jewish and Christian religions which she has identified as fundamentalist I must also doubt her insights into Islam.