The Golden Rule: older than you may think
Religious scholar Karen Armstrong was awarded the 2008 TED Prize in February. In accepting her prize — $100,000 and the granting of “One Wish To Change The World” — Armstrong wished to start a movement to build a Charter For Compassion. The purpose, as described on the TED website, will be “to help restore the Golden Rule as the central global religious doctrine.”
In her acceptance speech at the conference in Monterey, California, Armstrong said to her VIP-studded audience:
“I wish that you would help with the creation, launch and propagation of a Charter for Compassion, crafted by a group of leading inspirational thinkers from the three Abrahamic traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam and based on the fundamental principles of universal justice and respect.”
TED stands for technology, entertainment, design, according to the website, and the organization was started in 1984. Previous TED Prize winners include Bill Clinton and Bono.
In this video of her speech, Armstrong traces the lineage of the Golden Rule back to its first known appearance:
