Scan barcode
Reviews
A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam by Karen Armstrong
benlundns's review against another edition
This book is terrible.
I am a religious person, a casual scholar of religious history, (mostly ancient Israel orientated), and I have taken several courses on early religion with leaders of other faiths to give myself what I consider a well-rounded and open approach to religion and different ways of understanding religion. WIth that being said, I have never read a book so full of misunderstanding, mistranslations, and flat out twisting of references to get them to say what she wants.
I got about halfway through the first chapter, the author seems to ignore the wealth of information and research that is out there, from theological sources as well as peer-reviewed journals. A perfect example is when she talks about the building of stone altars and the renaming of an area as a carry-over from Caananite fertility cults, while more current research has shown evidence of these types of standing stones altars and renaming to have been practiced by Jews/Hebrews/Israelites from as early as 2000 BCE and as recent as 600 BCE. It seems to have died off with the increased orthodoxy of the Pharasies inside Jerusalem around this time.
Anyways, I quickly reached a point where I could no longer read the book, due to one inaccuracy after another. I find it hard to believe that someone who spent some time as a nun (as she claims in the introduction), could come away with so little knowledge of the history of religion or how God is viewed.
If you want to learn more about religious history or understand more about how to view God, than Bravo. But be aware, this is not the book to do it.
I am a religious person, a casual scholar of religious history, (mostly ancient Israel orientated), and I have taken several courses on early religion with leaders of other faiths to give myself what I consider a well-rounded and open approach to religion and different ways of understanding religion. WIth that being said, I have never read a book so full of misunderstanding, mistranslations, and flat out twisting of references to get them to say what she wants.
I got about halfway through the first chapter, the author seems to ignore the wealth of information and research that is out there, from theological sources as well as peer-reviewed journals. A perfect example is when she talks about the building of stone altars and the renaming of an area as a carry-over from Caananite fertility cults, while more current research has shown evidence of these types of standing stones altars and renaming to have been practiced by Jews/Hebrews/Israelites from as early as 2000 BCE and as recent as 600 BCE. It seems to have died off with the increased orthodoxy of the Pharasies inside Jerusalem around this time.
Anyways, I quickly reached a point where I could no longer read the book, due to one inaccuracy after another. I find it hard to believe that someone who spent some time as a nun (as she claims in the introduction), could come away with so little knowledge of the history of religion or how God is viewed.
If you want to learn more about religious history or understand more about how to view God, than Bravo. But be aware, this is not the book to do it.
mattneely's review against another edition
4.0
Great introduction and a rich history of thinking. A touch beyond me on much of the assumed knowledge. On to her Islam.
gbdill's review against another edition
3.0
It's apparent that Armstrong's theology is somewhat liberal (not saying this as a negative, for I too am liberal in many ways). But her view of the Judeo-Christian God is therefore biased. On a positive note, she gives fair treatment to all perspectives of the monotheistic and Abrahamic religions, both the good and bad. It is unclear however where she gets some of her facts. For example, she claims Mohammed peacefully united the various tribes of the Arab world. This, in spite of the historical fact (according the Koran) that Mohammed is known to have warred with the various tribes throughout Mecca and its surrounding cities, making many enemies even among his own people. Armstrong herself claims to embrace Darwinian evolution so her description of God is purely from a mystical and existential perspective. Trying to describe a Theistic worldview from a Naturalist worldview is like asking Richard Dawkins his view on Creationism. Somewhat highly academic and overall it isn't a bad book. But, as with any book, I would have liked it if it had been more balanced in perspective. Furthermore, at least 100 pages could have been easily shaved off the length of the book. I don't recommend this book if you are looking for a balanced view. But, if you are simply wanting to read one person's perspective of God, irregardless of her view, then I indeed recommend this book.
hkihm's review against another edition
5.0
Very interesting - dense. I learned a lot about Jewish and Islamic history I hadn't known before.
erikars's review against another edition
4.0
Armstrong excels in the art of story telling. In this book, she weaves the threads of Jewish, Christian, and Islamic history into a coherent story.
I learned from this book that all three of these faiths influenced each other throughout their development, and all three have constantly changing ideas of God. Each tradition struggles with the idea of a single, ultimate God. Certain questions come up again and again, changing the way that God and the tenants of the faith are understood.
Is God universal or linked to a particular group? Is God only good or does he also encompass evil? Is God a subjective concept or an external reality? Each religious tradition has periodically struggled with these questions. As the world changed, new issues became important and the answers to those questions changed. Not surprisingly, this makes for a lot of information, but Armstrong handles it nicely.
This book is not completely without bias. She does not manipulate history to conform to her beliefs (well, as far as I know), but she does make it clear which positions she has greater sympathy for. Partially because of her deep knowledge of many different religious traditions, she tends to be sympathetic towards ideas which point to a universal, transcendent deity and less sympathetic towards ideas which encourage division and exclusivity.
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the history of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
I learned from this book that all three of these faiths influenced each other throughout their development, and all three have constantly changing ideas of God. Each tradition struggles with the idea of a single, ultimate God. Certain questions come up again and again, changing the way that God and the tenants of the faith are understood.
Is God universal or linked to a particular group? Is God only good or does he also encompass evil? Is God a subjective concept or an external reality? Each religious tradition has periodically struggled with these questions. As the world changed, new issues became important and the answers to those questions changed. Not surprisingly, this makes for a lot of information, but Armstrong handles it nicely.
This book is not completely without bias. She does not manipulate history to conform to her beliefs (well, as far as I know), but she does make it clear which positions she has greater sympathy for. Partially because of her deep knowledge of many different religious traditions, she tends to be sympathetic towards ideas which point to a universal, transcendent deity and less sympathetic towards ideas which encourage division and exclusivity.
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the history of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
lflintsoms's review against another edition
5.0
A broad and compassionate telling of ever-changing human definition of the divine. A good reminder that religion is created by humans according to their needs.
mikecross's review against another edition
4.0
A powerful book that takes a lot of concentration and dedication to fully appreciate. The author does a superior and exhaustive job of tracing the three monotheistic religions over the last 4,000 years and how they have viewed God. Excellent job comparing and contrasting each and within themselves over time. Can get cumbersome with the specialized words and titles that must be retained. Highly recommended to anyone the least interested in religion.
kristidurbs's review against another edition
2.0
I finally read this book after having been gifted it over a decade ago.
A History of God is not "God's" history; it is a history of how different people in the Judaic, Islamic, Christian, and eventually secular "traditions" have interpreted God. The book takes you on a historical journey covering the beginnings of these three faiths, through the philosophies of mysticism, enlightenment, and modern atheism. She highlights the luminaries during different time periods that impacted the cultural perception of God in these religions. The book is somewhat scholarly, and thus not a quick read. I can't say it was riveting in the slightest. Exhausting and exacerbating is more like it.
Essentially, Armstrong seeks to show how similar patterns of thought overlap between these religions in history, how these patterns repeat in history, and how God is always anthropomorphized in our thought and beliefs. By the end, she finds that our conception of God does matter in life -- "human beings cannot endure emptiness and desolation; they will fill the vacuum by creating a new focus of meaning." Thus, ideas of God are meant to give our lives meaning, even if those ideas of God are essentially meaningless in of themselves, divorced from anything absolute or true, and *recognized as such* by those who hold those ideas! Therein I find the absurdity.
What is this book really about? God? Not a God I know.
A History of God is not "God's" history; it is a history of how different people in the Judaic, Islamic, Christian, and eventually secular "traditions" have interpreted God. The book takes you on a historical journey covering the beginnings of these three faiths, through the philosophies of mysticism, enlightenment, and modern atheism. She highlights the luminaries during different time periods that impacted the cultural perception of God in these religions. The book is somewhat scholarly, and thus not a quick read. I can't say it was riveting in the slightest. Exhausting and exacerbating is more like it.
Essentially, Armstrong seeks to show how similar patterns of thought overlap between these religions in history, how these patterns repeat in history, and how God is always anthropomorphized in our thought and beliefs. By the end, she finds that our conception of God does matter in life -- "human beings cannot endure emptiness and desolation; they will fill the vacuum by creating a new focus of meaning." Thus, ideas of God are meant to give our lives meaning, even if those ideas of God are essentially meaningless in of themselves, divorced from anything absolute or true, and *recognized as such* by those who hold those ideas! Therein I find the absurdity.
What is this book really about? God? Not a God I know.