Rating: 
Summary: AN EXTENSIVE BUT UNBLANCED WORK.
Review: This book should be more properly called, "A History of the Middle-Eastern God". The author is a serious spiriual seeker who writes as one who may be still reeling against some ealier conditionings in ortodox Christianity. There is much good material herein except for the use of some outdated models she still clings to. EG. on page 28 the author refers to the "Aryans who came from the west" and brought Spiritual knowledge etc, this notion has been disproven long ago. It reminds one of a similar notion that Rome had for over 1,000+ years about being the center of the world and the universe. The same shock that Copernicus and Galileo brought to Rome, is now being repeated by the wave of spiritual example and wisdom from India which has dominated the 20th century, and reached it's pinnacle when the mediterranean area peoples were still living in caves and worshipping idols. If the author would study and add the full contribution of India to this book, it would then be truly "A History of God".
Rating: 
Summary: AN EYE OPENING HISTORY OF GOD
Review: KAREN AMSTRONG HAS GIVEN ME ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS I'VE ALWAYS PONDERED INTERNALLY. HOW CAN WE DISMISS THE CULTURAL,GEOGRAPHICAL,AND POLITICAL CIRCUMSTANCES THAT INFLUENCED THESE RELIGIONS? DO MANY CHRISTIANS REALLY KNOW THE ORIGINS OF THE CONCEPTS THEY USE TO DEMONIZE NONBELIEVERS? THIS BOOK IS A REVELATION. BUT, I AGREE, THE SECTON ON ISLAM IS WAY TOO LONG
Rating: 
Summary: A biassed and flawed history of monotheism
Review: Ms Armstrong does a fair job of recounting the biblical period, although she keeps on wanting to pronounce post-modernist judgements on Moses and other exponents of early Jewish thought. This is tedious, but sufferable until she gets to the birth of Christianity. Whatever one thinks of this religion or its consequences, a book like this cannot possibly dismiss Paul of Tarsus in 4 pages (Muhammed gets over 30). Ms Armstrong ignores many opportunities to discuss Paul- whom she considers the "inventor" of Christianity- in the light of the genesis of modern sects such as Mormons. Oh, by the way- she doesn't make this still daring thesis clear in her book- I read something else by her where the term was used. Not only that, but she manages a startling feat of not mentioning the Dead Sea scrolls, which resuted in a major paradigm shift in considering the origins of Christian dogma. For that matter, she completely omits the invention of dualism and much of morality we take for granted by ancient Persians, whose mention is paultry. In contrast, she spends an inordinate amount of time delving into mystics, a dead end from every modern point of view, then ends the book with an orgy of name-dropping of modern philosophers. Although she makes a big deal of calling the human Homo religicus, she does not care to extend the tour of modern philosophy to the effect and success of non-religious dogmas and moral systems which were proferrred as an alternative to religion this century. She almost does it with Nietsche, but then pulls away as if the implications for her central thesis rightly frighten her. ALthough I care for no religion, I find Ms Armstrong's penchant for deriding Christianity and Judaism whilst trumpeting Islam singularly uninspiring. By failing to extend to Islam the razor of her sarcasm, she invites distrust. History records that neither religion succeeded from restraining its followers' base instincts. In particular, I cannot accept that Moslems were a paradigm of tolerance until European colonialists shut down their moderate scholars and left the field to fundamentalists. A novice reader who finishes this book is advised to consider contrasting points of view. Iliya Englin
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding historical and philosophical perspective.
Review: I had been looking for information that traced the history of not only the creation and growth of the three Western religions, but also information that would help the reader understand the changing point of view expressed within each of the religions, especially toward God. I was pleased to find in one book everything that I had been seeking. I intend to reread it, using it as a study guide to better understand how our relationship with God and our concept of God's will has led us to where we find ourselves today. The references throughout give the serious student of religion sources of additional information.
Rating: 
Summary: Overview of the great variety of monotheistic God concepts
Review: This is a wonderful book especially for people disatisfied with conventional modern thinking about God as either the Big Stern Daddy in the White Robe or An Obsolete Escapist Fairy Tale. The hardcover edition I originally purchased showed favorable reviews from relatively iconoclastic authors like A.N. Wilson (Armstrong, btw, never, so far as I know, refers to the quest for God as a "Wild Goose Chase" as Wilson did) and from more traditional figures like Sister Wendy Beckett (the smiling English nun who always appears in full habit and writes about Art History). The book takes a historical approach to the development of God concepts in Judaism, Christianity and Islam and is especially good at explaining Islam, exploring mysticism and less personal concepts of God cross-culturally, reviewing how different things have been considered "traditional" at different times, and examining how and why God-concepts change according to a cultures needs and experiences. It also reviews the different Hebraic concepts of God in the Jewish scriptures in fascinating and provocative detail. Needless to say, the Bible offers several different ways of looking at God. (Armstrong offers very little, however, that I recall on different ways of looking at Christ- for that go to Yaroslav Pelikan's JESUS THROUGH THE CENTURIES or for more radical contemporay views New Testament commentators like John Dominic Crosson, Robert Funk or Marcus Borg. For a better and kinder treatment of the Deuteronomistic writings try Anthony R. Ceresko's INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT: A LIBERATION PERSPECTIVE). Armstrong has also edited an anthology of Medieval English mystical writers called VISIONS OF GOD. I found that there was so much to take in when reading A HISTORY OF GOD that I could only read the book about 5 pages at a time. The reason I am only awarding 4 stars is because, like many books of this ambitious scope, it can fall down occasionally on the details. However, it remains a good starting point for your own reseach and for identifying your own interests. This book can changes lives both by vastly expanding knowledge of the issues involved in this field and by offering alternatives to what we have come to think of as "traditional".
Rating:
Summary: Great Book To Read
Review: Very good book for the Bible student. It gives you a little bit of knowledge of the Christian, Judaism, and the Islam religions. Very well written. I'll promise you that you will enjoy reading it. It will deepen your spiritual knowledge. Read it and enjoy it!!! Highly recommend!!!
Rating:
Summary: Very exciting book
Review: Living in an islamic country like Pakistan it was very interesting to read the book. I am surprized to find out that in Middle East and other parts of the islamic world they are fighting for the same symbols with common heritage, and same mythlogical references. Reading this book with an open mind will bring all three great monothesitic religion even closer.
Rating:
Summary: A "Must-Read"
Review: Karen Armstrong's A History of God is a fascinating historical survey into the roots of monotheism as seen from the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic perspectives. I learned so much I don't know where to start. Did you know, for example, that the Romans thought the Jews to be atheist because they only believed in one god? Did you know that the Muslims wanted to align themselves with the Jews, but were repeatedly rejected? I found the larger issues of God, however, to be the most insightful aspects of her book. These larger issues refer to how God has changed over the centuries, how different cultures have used God to their own purposes, and how God becomes a reflection of a particular culture at a particular time. To me her most gripping prose introduces the Eastern thought of God as beyond all (transcendant), yet right in the hearts of all of us (immanent). This book is a must-read. She will say things that you have been thinking, but have never articulated.
Rating:
Summary: A stunning history of humankind's descriptions of the Divine
Review: Ms. Armstrong brings her enormous intellect and spiritual insight to the exploration of how the three major monotheistic religions have understood God throughout the centuries. She tracks how similar descriptions of the Divine have arisen within each of the three religions, and discusses how the different understandings of God have affected believers' sense of themselves and their compassion for others. Ms. Armstrong continues to combine superb scholarship with spiritual sensitivity in this stunning book.
Rating:
Summary: The story of the greatest wild goose chase in history.
Review: My one line summary (the greatest wild goose chase in history)is actually a quote from the front cover of the UK paperback edition, and continues "Karen Armstrong is a genius". I completely agree with both statements(by A.N.Wilson). This book is a 'must read' for anyone who wants to understand the phenomenon of monotheistic religion in the West. Her explication of the development of Islam would have earned her the Fatwah but for the fact that she is not a Muslim .Like everything else in the book it is superbly well researched and lucidly expressed. I am not sure why she has not been excommunicated from the Catholic Church in one of whose convents she spent 7 years (See "Through the narrow gate" her brilliant book about that experience). Perhaps that is because she just tells it like it was without taking sides. As a religious writer she comes close to George Orwell's ideal of good writing being like looking through a clear window. Fundamentalists of! all stripes will hate this book, as they have much to fear from having the origin of their beliefs spelt out and put in broad historical perspective. Read it soon,unless your mind is totally closed, your world view will never be the same again. 5 stars isn't enough!
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