Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: After all the raves and hype I expected something grand from this book and was sorely disappointed. Acclaimed as "highly readable", the book is, I contend, just the opposite. Paragraphs addressing concepts are suddenly interrupted by very specific lists of names of ancient people, and the like, so that rather than being an introduction, the book is a review medium for those who already know about what they are reading. Like most overview courses in college, "overview" is better for those who know the details and want now to draw them together. A true introduction would not overwhelm the reader with arcane material which slows down the process of thinking about the subject. I agree with the critic who said he could only cover about 5 pages at a time. Really slow going and jarring in its mixture of readable and arcane.
Rating: 
Summary: History: a view from the outside
Review: This is a very enlightening book for all but a few religious specialists. The author covers the three major monotheistic religions adequately, although giving more space to Islam. She apparently wants to speak to those moderns who accept the tenets of humanism and scientism.
She severely criticizes the classical idea of God as a. an inappropriate way to discover "God", and b. entirely discredited by modern science. She stresses the "via negativa" as appropriate for modern believers (without indicating just what the word "believer" would mean in the exclusive use of this method) and the insights/discoveries by genuine mystics. She prefers, in response to the question "Does God Exist?", to say "God is Nothing." She does not mention at all the strongest argument for a kind of "via positiva" in Christian circles-- Aquinas' analogy of proportionality. Her conclusion seems to be that modern believers should abandon the classical arguments for "God" (both ontological and cosmological), and start groping for a really modern way to express the continuing human need for meaning. This for her is definitely a period of historic transition of symbolic language.
Some key questions were not really addressed: Is "God" really transcendent to the perceptible universe? Do human beings really survive death? Does your 'ethical' behavior make any real difference beyond death? Does "God" really want human beings to become aware of God's existence? Is it "OK" to live a purely secular existence without any thought given to "God"? This book should be a wake up call to current believers. Sloppy, second-hand beliefs will not work in modern life anymore. These inaccurate beliefs, as documented in this book, have caused tremendous suffering and atrocities in history. The Jones', Koresh's, and bin Laden's of the world were all religious people. The way these kinds of people have used the idea of "God" to justify their actions should strengthen the author's main points. This reviewer basically agrees with the author's points, although I wish that, in addition to criticizing inaccurate ideas of "God", the author had provided more accurate ideas to replace them, lest the vacuum created might be filled by even worse ideas [Matt. 12:43-45].
Rating: 
Summary: Quite an accomplishment..
Review: Karen Armstrong set out to write, in understandable terms,a book about the origins and interfaces of the three major monotheistic religions, and she succeeded admirably despite the vastness of the project and the thousands of resources available. Not only does Armstrong give a decent account of the migration of ancient pre-judaic religions and stories into Hebrew monotheism, the mother and cousin religion of Christianity and Islam respectively, but she details the rise of each individually and accurately describes the intramural conflicts that afflicted each along the way to modernity. Critics who complained that this book didn't achieve a "magnum opus" magisterial treatment of each separate religion were mistaken in their expectations, because such a book would run to several thousand pages and defeat its whole purpose: to give the average reader some idea as to the rise of monotheism (and it's variants) in plain readable language. Other critics, with an obvious theological axe to grind, simply wrote the book off as so much atheistic fiction. Don't bet on it; some of the most spiritual humans in history were, and are, some of its greatest doubters, and it's obvious that Karen Armstrong has done her share of that in the most sincere and honest manner imaginable. Those wanting an excellent primer on monotheistic religions, and the infusion of ancient near eastern religions into them, should read this book. They won't regret it..
Rating:
Summary: Should Be Required Reading For Aspiring Holyrollers!
Review: This is an extremely interesting history that dates back to the beginnings of man's invention of GOD, made even more relevant now, following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Warning!: this book must be read with an open mind. Tora Bora!
Rating:
Summary: Eternal Themes
Review: This book takes on an impossible task--to summarize the history of the three monotheistic religions over a 4,000 year time span, and I agree with other reviewers who variously found it tough going at times, somewhat superficial in that the author tried to cover hundreds of theologians and scholars in an average of a couple of pages each, and perhaps very biased in favor of Islam (a theme that runs through many of Armstrong's books). Having said all that, however, my advice is to try to avoid getting bogged down in the details unless this is your textbook for a course, and let certain broad themes emerge. First, all cultures have struggled to give a name, form and substance to what all seem to intuitively believe--that there is a "something else." Second, concepts of God and religion evolve over time in response to changes in society and the world, and the notion that a Sacred Text contains immutable truths that have been part of a religion for 2,000 years is fanciful. Third, the debate between those who seek to understand God on a rational level vs. those who seek a more intuitive, mystical understanding has been going on since the beginning and will go on forever. Finally, God, in the sense that it is discussed in this book, will never be dead--as we have all learned so painfully in recent months.
Rating:
Summary: Most Intellectually Challenging of the Armstrong Books
Review: I have put off reading A History of God (The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam) before reading three of the author's other brilliant books (The Battle for God, Islam, A Short History and Buddha) as this particular volume looked to be the most challenging and so it was. The chapters on the God of the mystics and the God of the philisophers took the most time and some of it still left me perplexed, although still fascinated. The author does a superb job of sticking closely to her theme of discussing the idea of God as it developed (a particularly illuminating section of the book) and changed over time. It was a intellectually challenging book but well worth the time and effort that one will put into it. Another fine job from this author, although I am sure that everyone will have their quibbles (such as short shrift on medieval Western Christianity and modern era Islam) and there are some nice surprises (such as the inclusion of Orthodox Christianity, a subject usually ignored). A recommended book.
Rating:
Summary: a learned and absorbing overview of god through the ages
Review: This is the most eclectic book on religion I've come across in some time. As someone who's studied quite a bit of Jewish history, I'm used to books that focus on one religion. That's what I liked so much about this book -- Armstrong traces the three monotheistic religions from the beginning all the way to the 20th century. The first three chapters cover Judaism, Christianity and Islam while the following chapers look at all three through differernt epochs like the philosphes, the medievalists, the Reformation, etc... I felt that she was very objective and not partial to one religion or another -- after all, that's not the point. I know some have criticized her coverage of one specific area, but I found no grounds for these criticisms -- she's very fair and scholarly. Cleary Armstrong knows her stuff. The book is lively, scholarly and very well-written. In my opinion, it's always useful to look at your own religion from an outside vantage point -- this book lets you do just that.
Rating:
Summary: A reference tome for any Lover of Wisdom
Review: Armstrong describes the history of the three major monotheistic religions. Her main point is that each of them can be characterized by the tension between the mystical and the traditional, "fundamentalist" streams; that is, between those who have personally experienced God's love and those who use "God" to maintain their power vis a vis the Other (when the Other is represented by women or adherents to other religions). The book shows see how the religion, when ossified into dogma becomes an excuse for suppression of internal dissent and for armed conquest by power hungry fanatics blinded by Yahweh and his incarnations. The power element in religious fundamentalism of all 3 faiths can be traced to one single event - the moment when Yahweh a tribal deity originally in charge of warfare, emancipated himself into The God. This resulted in banishment and persecution of the old religions which were based on appreciation of nature and its life-cycles and subjugation of the feminine. At that moment, the Mother archetype (I.e., Astarte) had been banished by the "Jealous God" and we get male chauvinist weapon whiping fanatics bent upon power struggle and victimization of the powerless. Very sad. What I like most about Armstrong's book is how elegantly she ties all three religions together - she shows that the three faiths did not rvolve independently. In fact, the opposite is the case - here has been extensive cross-pollination in which ancient Greeks, Hebrews and Moslems influenced each other in theological and intellectual sense . In perhaps my favorite chapter A. describes how Mohammed took many key elements of the religion he was developing from the Medina Jews. Also fascinating was to read how the Platonic and Neoplatonic philosophers (such as Plotinus) influenced the islamic doctrine; and how ibn Rushd managed to unite aristotelian ideas with islamic ones. Subsequently, Muslim theologians had a tremendous influence on Christian and Jewish theologians such as Aquinas and Maimonides (which we conveniently seem to forget these days) and provided an important intellectual basis for the flowering of Renaissance. It must be said that this book is not for everyone. To enjoy it one probably must have had an exposure to what these days is called "humanism". But if you have a keen interest in that murky intersection between religion, politics, philosophy and, (yes), mysticism, you will find an inexhaustible treasure of images, facts and ideas. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: An Impossible Task
Review: I see this book as a good launching board for those who want a good introduction and will persue the subject further. The title may be a bit ambitious as the "History" of God cannot be had in a few hundred pages. It raises more questions than it answers and perhaps that is it's strength. I am looking foprward to reading stand-alone books on all three religions. It is quite dry and academic (but I like that). It does a very good job in pointing out the underlying political dynamics that lead to mono-theism. Given our current political/historical situation one cannot be harmed by learning more. What you will find is that we share more than we think.
Rating:
Summary: Deep level of analysis of major religions
Review: Ms.Armstrong is a genius and very well read. It is amazing to see the depth of this book. This is not an easy read bust very interesting. She is not trying to proof if one religion is better the other but simply tries to show how common the root of the major religions are. She explains the influence of philoshopers and just simple people have had in these religions. Apparently, only small part is divine creation and the rest human interpretation. Great infomrmation. No preaching..
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