#gains

But human beings fall easily into despair, and from the very beginning we invented stories that enabled us to place our lives in a larger setting, that revealed an underlying pattern, and gave us a sense that, against all the depressing and chaotic evidence to the contrary, life had meaning and value. ↗

— Karen Armstrong

#beginning #beings #chaotic #contrary #depressing

Ever since the Crusades, when Christians from western Europe were fighting holy wars against Muslims in the near east, western people have often perceived Islam as a violent and intolerant faith - even though when this prejudice took root Islam had a better record of tolerance than Christianity. ↗

— Karen Armstrong

#better #christianity #christians #crusades #east

Zionism was originally a rebellion against religious Judaism and the PLO Charter was essentially secularist. But because the conflict was allowed to fester without a resolution, religion got sucked into the escalating cycle of violence and became part of the problem. ↗

— Karen Armstrong

#allowed #became #because #charter #conflict

When we got married, nobody gave it more than two weeks. There were bets all over the country, with astronomical odds against us. ↗

— Desi Arnaz

#astronomical #bets #country #gave #got

But since the world, which thou art to strive against, is not without thee, but within thee, it follows, that it is also to be conquered not without, but within thee. ↗

— Johann Arndt

#also #art #conquered #follows #since

But since day one, we've always been kinda up against it. So at the end, it's not surprising that we were kind of led along for so many months and didn't know what the fate of the show was gonna be. It was... in a weird way, just kind of that was the way it's always been. ↗

— Will Arnett

#along #always #been #day #end

Interestingly, I never thought I'd do an adaptation. I've also been quite against them. I think trying to translate one medium to another is wrong. I never really felt that books fitted into film. Generally people are disappointed, aren't they? ↗

— Andrea Arnold

#against #also #another #been #books

We get information in the mail, the regular postal mail, encrypted or not, vet it like a regular news organization, format it - which is sometimes something that's quite hard to do, when you're talking about giant databases of information - release it to the public and then defend ourselves against the inevitable legal and political attacks. ↗

— Julian Assange

#against #attacks #databases #defend #format

If a superior give any order to one who is under him which is against that man's conscience, although he do not obey it yet he shall not be dismissed. ↗

— Francis of Assisi

#although #any #conscience #dismissed #give

The object is very clear in the fight against racism; you have reasons why you're opposed to it. But when you're writing a novel, you don't want the reader to come out of it voting yes or no to some question. Life is more complicated than that. ↗

— Margaret Atwood

#clear #come #complicated #fight #life