Reviews

A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam by Karen Armstrong

nichecase's review against another edition

3.0

a real accomplishment - the first three chapters were incredible. while the rest is extremely informative (though i'm unsure how much i'll remember), for me the book began to get a little dry when a whole chapter was devoted to doctrinal debates over the trinity. (the most interesting part of this chapter by far was the fact that arius put his own interpretation of the trinity into what seemed to have been a very catchy song.) what i will say is this: she manages to make the trinity both readable and understandable, which is a very difficult task. readability and understanding are her two major virtues throughout the book, and they should not be understated when it comes to such a vast and complex topic as the history of monotheism.

aligrint's review against another edition

5.0

This book is taking me forever to read.

But anyway, thoughts.

The author's neutrality towards God is incredibly impressive and quite a relief after a few of the works I've read lately. Although I do wish that there were more time spent on non-Abrahamic religions, there just aren't many other major monotheistic ones...

The account of the creation of the Trinity, which I feel like I've read at least four times in different places, really annoyed me... the unknowable paradox of the Trinity, which I had always thought (back in the dizzle) was something basic to Christianity, seems to be just the haphazard result of lots of stupid bickering. And then now that real Christian philosophy dies, we get an oversimplified, anthropomorphisized, really... backwards attempt to package all facets of God into Jesus. The fact is, belief in Jesus as divine and all-encompassing just isn't 'original' or, really, fundamental to Jesus's teachings.

So says I, at least. I'll add more as I think more.

vaughtgn's review against another edition

informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

A History of God is a dense, dense book but I am so glad I read it. I learned so much about different ways that people have approached God and religion.

alchemist_zero's review against another edition

5.0

While definitely on the pop history side of things compared to say someone like Mark S Smith, it was still a fascinating and informative read on the history of theology in the three major abrahamic traditions. A bit dry but not enough to knock it down a star for me.

john_quixote's review against another edition

This book ended up being too academic for the light read I wanted. Amazingly informative, but a little too dense for my tastes. 

shyfroglet's review against another edition

challenging hopeful informative fast-paced

5.0

Before reading this book, I struggled to answer the question, “What book do you think everyone should read?”. Now, A History of God is that book for me.

Yes, it’s dense. Yes, it’s by no means an easy read. I still enjoyed it throughly. It feels like such and important read for religious people and atheists alike because it deals with the somewhat nebulous concept of “God” in a practical, relatable, and useful way. Karen Armstrong isn’t arguing for any particular version of God per se (though her own religious views do sometimes slip through). Instead she takes the reader on a journey from the earliest days of paganism through the end of the 20th century. And it’s certainly a wild ride. I’m and atheist with an interest in theology and religious history, and this book scratched both those itches. I’m looking forward to tackling Armstrong’s The Fight for God in the future. 

starbuck1210's review against another edition

2.0

Whew.

That was a difficult read that I honestly had to force myself through. I couldn't stay focused and kept losing interest in what Armstrong had to say. Many other reviewers said similar things, that it took them months to get through or they just couldn't. That being said let me point out one very big error printed on the back of my copy "An admirable and impressive work of synthesis that will give insight and satisfaction to thousands of lay readers."

THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR LAY READERS.

Participating in a religion does not make a scholar. This book would have gone way over my head if I didn't have some knowledge of religious studies. Even with that knowledge, this book was still incredibly dense, and honestly I didn't read every single page, I skipped around because it was that boring at times.

thephilosopher's review against another edition

informative reflective slow-paced

4.5

Excellent history of the concept of God. Delves into the various conceptions of God throughout the ages. It felt a bit repetitive towards the end of the book, but still an enjoyable read. 

b12563's review against another edition

5.0

This book is a well researched and enlightening work on the (dis)connections of the three main Abrahamic religions, which are Judaism, Christianity, and Islamism. The author uses two chapters to establish each religion foundation and how it interact with other religions and with historical, social, and economic realities. Afterwards, some chapters are devoted to other formats of religiosity within these three religions and how it evolved with in time and how they respond to new theological questions and philosophical advancements, such as Enlightenment, atheism as a modern conception, wars, among other things.
The book closes with an attempt to diagnose the future of God and its religions. How will religions adapt, if they will, to modernity and new spiritual demands of people is something we should be attentive to.
Finally, History of God is a good book to open a systematic research to deepen one's knowledge about the most popular religions of the Globe.

nina_rod's review against another edition

I was hoping the book would give me a good foundation in comparative religions and would be interesting. It was neither. The author is very knowledgeable, but is writing for those who have more than a basic knowledge of religions, which I do not have.