Karen Armstrong
Author of Landmark Bestseller The History of God | Winner of TED Prize
Monday, November 11, 2019, at 7:30 p.m.
Congregation Emanu El, 1500 Sunset Blvd., Houston, TX 77005
“One of the best living writers on religion” according to the Financial Times, Karen Armstrong returns to The Progressive Forum to discuss her new book, The Lost Art of Scripture: Rescuing the Sacred Texts. About her latest work, she writes, “Today we see the Quran being used by some to justify war and terrorism, the Torah to deny Palestinians the right to live in the Land of Israel, the Bible to condemn homosexuality and contraception … This narrow reading of scripture is a relatively new phenomenon … For hundreds of years, scripture was a means … to connect with the divine.” Armstrong is the author of several international bestsellers, including A History of God (1994), Muhammad: A Prophet for our Time (2007), Buddha (2004), and The Gospel According to Woman: Christianity’s Creation of the Sex War in the West (1991). Her books have been translated into 45 languages. She was awarded the TED Prize in 2008 and worked with TED to create the Charter for Compassion to restore the Golden Rule as central to religious practice. She has addressed the U.S. Congress, the World Economic Forum at Davos, and the United Nations. She is an ambassador for the United Nations Alliance of Civilization and lives in London.
Karen Armstrong photo credit: Michael Lionstar
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Program starts at 7:30 p.m. at Congregation Emanu El, 1500 Sunset Blvd, Houston, TX, 77005, across from Rice University.
Complimentary book for all attending ticket buyers. Upon entrance, show your ticket to an attendant to have it marked and claim your book. One book per ticket. No books for ticket holders not attending. Armstrong will sign books and greet fans at the end of the evening.
Free onsite parking. Enter the campus off Sunset Blvd. Uniformed officers will direct you to the parking facility at the rear of the campus.
Three levels of ticket prices. A $150 ticket includes a private speaker reception and reserve seating near the front. $70 general admission is for middle sections B,C,and D. $45 general admission tickets are for side sections A and E.
Disability patrons are eligible for any ticket price. Ushers will seat disability patrons in the aisles in the rear nearest restrooms. All rows are close to the speaker podium in the intimate seating environment.
Private patron reception with the speaker begins at 6:15 p.m. with cash bar and complimentary dessert bar for $150 ticket holders and those who have donated $1,000 or more in the past year. Reception located in the Oshman Multi-Purpose Room to the right of the main entrance, if entering from the parking garage. The speaker leaves the reception at 6:45 p.m. after a half hour. So that everyone in the speaker greeting line has a chance to chat with the speaker, there is no book signing, autographing, or photography with the speaker in the speaker greeting line. In the rest of the reception room, photography and videography are welcome.
During the lecture program, we will ask the audience to silence their personal digital devices, asking for no photography or videography.
Box office services are available at the door on event night. Tickets will be available at the door if the event is not sold out. In case of a sellout, there is no waiting list. Prior to event night, there are no tickets sold at the Temple or any other physical location. Tickets are sold only through this website, email newsletter, and by phone at 800-514-3849 (Monday – Saturday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.).
For any problems purchasing your tickets online, please call the box office at 800-514-3849.
Feel free to contact The Progressive Forum by email at info@progressiveforumhouston.org.