Karen Armstrong Meets Bas Heijne

Where does the deep-seated need to believe in something come from? Why do people go so far as to carry out holy wars in the name of religion? Karen Armstrong, an expert on Christianity, Judaism and Islam, investigates the sometimes bloody, sometimes peacful history of these religions in her latest book, The Fields of Blood. Essayist Bas Heijne will be in conversation with her.

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Date and time Saturday 17 January 2015 20:55 tot 21:50 uur
Location Theater aan het Spui - Zaal 1

Conflicts over religion are more topical than ever, but religion is as old as the hills. Throughout the ages, people have established temples, churches, and mosques to honour their god(s). Where does the deep-seated need to believe in something come from? Why do people go so far as to wage war in the name of religion? What is religion, anyway? What is the function of faith for humankind? Since her debut, Through the Narrow Gate, in which she described her experiences as a lapsed nun, Karen Armstrong has developed into an expert on Christianity, Judaism and Islam. In her latest book, The Fields of Blood, she investigates the sometimes bloody, sometimes peaceful history of these religions. In English.

Line-up

Bas Heijne

(Nijmegen, NL, 1960) writes essays, short stories and plays, and is a columnist with the daily newspaper NRC Handelsblad. He published the novels Laatste woorden (Last words) and Suez and received the Henriëtte Roland Holst Prize in 2005. In 2011's Moeten wij van elkaar houden, het populisme ontleed (Do We Have to Love One Another? Populism Dissected) Heijne shows how globalisation and individualism pave the way for populism. Angst en schoonheid (Fear and Beauty) was published in 2013, an essay about Dutch writer Louis Couperus, whom Heijne admires. In the same year his documentary about Couperus was broadcast. In 2015 he hosted the five-part documentary De volmaakte mens (The Perfect Human). In 2016 his essay Onbehagen – nieuw licht op de beschaafde mens (Discontent - new light on civilized man) was published. In 2017 Heijne received the P.C. Hooft Award for his essayistic works.
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Karen Armstrong

(Great Britain, 1944) is one of the leading and most widely read writers on religion. Her work has been translated into 40 languages and includes bestsellers sch as A History of God (1995), The Battle for God (2000), Islam (2001), and The Case for God (2009). Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life (2011) came about as a result of Armstrong's win of one of three TED prizes; she used the prize money to initiate the now globally supported Charter for Compassion. In October of 2014 she published Fields of Blood, dealing with the entanglement of religion and violence. In it, she bluntly states that all through the ages, wars have often been fought on behalf of a god. But she also shows that, alongside the crusaders and the jihadists, there has always been a Jesus or a Buddha advocating for peace and reconciliation. She also shows that the underlying motives for the use of force are usually social, economic or political in nature.
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