Book: Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life by Karen Armstrong
Karen Armstrong is a well known and well respected religious scholar who has written many books. She's a former Roman Catholic nun and has written often around the topic of religion and the unknowable nature of God. Christians are often told that Jesus was compassionate and taught His disciples to be compassionate. Yet, we know that in many instances friends of Jesus are not compassionate, and many others, courageously, struggle to be compassionate. This book, “12 Steps to a Compassionate Life “arises out of her 2009 Charter for Compassion in which she called on people around the world to follow the Golden Rule. Not only does the author write well about compassion but she also provides various exercises which enable people to live a more compassionate life. In the Gospel, we read that Jesus said not only to love as he loved but also to love your enemies. To live a compassionate life is truly challenging for anyone, and the content of this book, along with the various exercises, can't be very helpful enabling a person to become very mature and capable of living a compassionate life. I think we all agree that our world is in need of people who live a compassionate life.