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Summary: A History of God.......
Review: .....or - How The Lesser War God of the Jews Came To Be CEO of Deities'R'Us. Because that, essentially is the history of the god that has come to be the one and only god worshipped by the three great monotheistic traditions of today.Armstrong traces the development of this god, Yahweh, who started out as one amongst many gods worshipped by the Jews and in time supplanted them all. She details how Yahweh was decided by mere mortals to be one and the same as El Shaddai, the god of Abraham, then later El, the high god of the Canaanites, then was incarnated in Jesus Christ and even later became Al-lah, the supreme god of the Arab pantheon by a certain Muhammed. She points out how it was men who decided that Yahweh was the only god and forbade worship of other deities, burning down their temples and smashing their altars. Once Yahweh had absorbed or conquered the other gods and only he remained Armstrong then takes us onward in history and shows how it emerged that two distinct viewpoints of God arose and oscillated in popularity through history. These she terms The God of the Philosopher's - who is deemed to be a separate supreme being 'out there' and can be reasoned about and The God of the Mystics - who is not 'out there' but everywhere and defies reason and logic. What becomes apparent is that these viewpoints are adopted in response to political events. When things are good, God is on your side and reasonable, when things are bad, God is then nebulous (ie conspicuous by his absence) and you must rely on yourself for salvation. In discussing these points Armstrong addresses such concepts as the Trinity and messianic fervour, pointing out why they disappoint. There is an awful lot of commentary on the positions of various Islamic and Christian theologians in the centre of the book which may deter people from reading this, since it's difficult to have the foggiest notion of the concepts they discuss, wreathed as they are in doublespeak and contradiction. This culminates in a quote from Nicholas of Cusa who said "the Christian must leave everything behind when he sought to approach God and even transcend one's intellect going beyond all sense and reason" which I think translates as "only the truly stupid can find God". Many theologians also define God as "nothing" which is ironic given the theistic argument "How can you get something from nothing ?" to which we can now answer "Precisely". But on Armstrong forges into the enlightenment and the bombshells planted under God by various theologians and philosophers. These include the idea that if God was everything then sin was nothing, being merely another aspect of God and something to be done as part of worship. The views of Diderot are also worth mentioning since he pointed out "once God has ceased to be a passionatley subjective experience, He does not exist" and "Whether God exists or does not exist, He has come to rank amongst the most sublime and useless truths". She touches only briefly upon the biggest bombshell to God, that of Darwin's Theory of Evolution which has done the most to damage faith than all the philosophers she touches upon. But it's interesting to note that since science and philosophy have killed The God of the Philosopher's beyond hope of revival that has left the faithful with only the God of the Mystics in modern times to turn to, and He must compete with other forms of mysticism and New Age beliefs in a competitive market. Will God survive ? The answer would appear to be yes since this book demonstartes quite clearly to any reader that God is entirely a product of human imagination and as long as people can imagine God, He wil continue to exist for them, whether he should continue to do so or not.
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Summary: Not Quite What It Seems
Review: The book does actually begin with a rather secular account of the origins of all three religions - something that can be disturbing reading in its own right if you're a true believer. After that, it recounts the attempts by scholars in each religion to use reason to derive the principles upon which their respective faiths were founded. It tells of the uniform failure of all such attempts, and how some lost their faith, but others discovered that faith endured - even in the face of all rational arguments. The book is primarily concerned with the different ways those people squared the conflict between Reason and Faith and even thrived on it. Various technical problems prevent this from being a truly great book. For one, it repeats itself too much, and it uses too many phrases in Latin and French without bothering to translate them. More seriously, it sometimes speculates on peripheral topics - Buddhism or Hinduism, for example - but without a single footnote to substantiate those statements, leaving the reader wondering how seriously to take them. Contrast this to her treatment of the central topics, which are always well substantiated. Worst of all, Armstrong has a bad habit of alternating between speaking for the ancient scholars she's reporting on and then speaking for herself, leaving you confused as to which opinions are which. Still, this is an important book for anyone in a world where science seems to have done away with the supernatural entirely and where the Holy Scriptures can't be taken literally, but who finds that Faith survives nevertheless and ponders the problem of where to go from here. It's very comforting to know that others have been there before, and helpful to learn how they dealt with it.
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Summary: A not The
Review: Karen Armstrong's book, while an ambitious project and no doubt a popular one, reveals her hand in providing a universalist critique of the major monotheistic religions. Many devout followers of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam would obviously be offended by the suggestion that their faith is merely the product of generations of human speculation. However, scholarly approaches usually assume such an objective stance when they attempt to discuss religion. Armstrong is particularly harsh in her criticism of Western Christianity, which is really not surprising considering that she is a disaffected Catholic nun. While her scholarship is admirable and she is certainly well read, her narrative does contain some rather dubious scholarship. She spends a great deal of her time discussing the textual criticism of the "JEDP" scholars, a theory that recently has fallen under heavy criticism as has been dismissed in many theological circles. Surprisingly, Armstrong spends little time on the historical narrative of Jesus Christ, instead assuming that most information concerning his life are "unknown". It is baffling that, given their importance to Christian faith and practice, the author does not even touch upon the controversy surrounding the event of Jesus's death and resurrection. Choosing to focus on Paul and the Gospel writers, Armstrong critques their own historical biases dismissing their works as a product of early Christian theology. Ironic that while Armstrong implies that 70 years between event and written records suggests historical inaccuracy, she attempts to write a book in which a bulk of the events occured thousands of years before. While a somewhat useful as a historical document, A History of God is more of a testament to modern critical scholarship than an accurate portrayal of religious history. I will admit that my own beliefs play a part in this review, however, I think it arrogant for any scholar to assume that religious events are mere products of a community situation. Certainly this approach to scholarship is outdated and such methods need to be reevaluated. The Elightenment has been over for centuries yet the ignorance and arrogance of its scholarship still lives on.
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Summary: Great food for thought
Review: While taking an unbiased view of the history and interactions of the three monotheistic religions that follow the tradition of Abraham seems destined to offend some (just read some of the previous reviews), "A History of God" is a book that tackles the hard issues with sensitivity and intelligence. Karen Armstrong is at her best in the opening and closing thirds of the book, where she examines the climate Judaism originally sprang from and then where the three great religions are today. In between, the book is almost too full of information, with important movements and sects getting only a paragraph at times, due to Armstrong's rush to cover everything, at least in passing. The middle sections desperately need a study guide, or a Web browser (not available when I first read the book, in its first edition in the early 1990s) to find out more about the different thinkers and movements. But even at its densest, Armstrong does an excellent job of discussing the crisis points all three religions came to and how each handled it. (Have a thick skin when your faith is addressed, as the all-too-human members of each major religion have dropped the ball, and Armstrong shows how it happened, although she never passes judgement.) Not a quick read, or a light one, but educational and inspiring. Whether used to enrich one's understanding of their own faith, or for insight into the world around us, "A History of God" is an excellent overview of the history of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
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Summary: Sweeping...overwhelming...left me mentally exhausted...
Review: I have read the other reviews here on Amazon, and I think some of the criticism is fair. It is important to understand that Karen's book is _A_ History of God, not _The_ History of God (which, of course, is impossible to write :-). This is a good book for anybody that wants to understand some of the historical issues related to God, but 400 pages merely qualifies as a "pamphlet" regarding the history of God, and countless men and women have devoted decades to this study. However, Karen does a good job of helping you stare into the Abyss and attempt to make sense of it. Good job, Karen!
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Summary: A tour-de-force
Review: This book astonishes me every time I return to it. The scope is extremely wide, and the author covers all this ground clearly, carefully and passionately. There is a great deal of material here, and she never lets any of it get away from her. Armstrong takes as her subject the Western search for G-d, and (surprisingly, when you consider the length of the book), she manages to do justice to the topic. Her erudition is impressive, as is her ability to write fluently about difficult topics. The easy prose does not water down the content; indeed, it enhances the book by making it accessible to the general reader. It's a very personal book, which is obviously the result of years of reserach and thinking about this topic. I don't agree with everything she wrote, but everything she wrote is thought-provoking and useful. In fact, the author's clear commitment to her work is part of the what makes this book as strong as it is. However, it will definitely force you to confront your own beliefs and understandings, so don't read it if you aren't willing to do that.
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Summary: Insightful and Objective
Review: A wonderful book that gave me a greater understanding of the evolution of religion. A must read for serious questioners of theology.
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Summary: How Our Changing View of God Has Changed Our World
Review: I suppose there are those who will take offense at the theme of this book. However, open minded believers and non-believers alike will find fresh insights in this book. It is one of a handful of books that I have listened to or read that has been able to take complicated issues and clarify them in a way that gives genuine insight. By the way, for those of you who missed the point: This is not a biography of God, it's a study of mankind's changing view of God. Don't be threatened by the book, read it and see if it doesn't give you insight into the human condition.
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Summary: Comprehensive, Challenging, and of Great Significance
Review: Armstrong's "History of God", much like Jaspers' "Great Philosophers", is a truly first rate introduction to the field of religious history for three primary reasons. Firstly, as somebody relatively unfamiliar with the major monotheistic traditions, I found the breadth and scope of the work to be simply amazing. The variety of periods which Armstrong covers and the extent to which she covers them makes even a new comer to the field such as myself leave the work with a significantly deeper understanding of the disciplines of western theology and religious philosophy and the course they have taken. Secondly, this work is a serious commentary on the Western European/North American mind. As somebody frequently troubled by the western (but particularly American) emphasis on the literal character of the Bible and their respective canons, Armstrong's book sheds light on the nature and history of this peculiar tradition of western European thought. Finally, the extent and rigor which Armstrong applies to her research is indicative of the high academic quality of this work. Thus while the book is of immense value to the uninitiated, even to the very scholarly it retains a high level of value. While a more thorough discussion of the modern developments in Eastern Christian thought would have been appreciated (if for nothing else but for the sake of balance), Armstrong's book is a work of amazing scholarly achievement that is at once both a fabulous introduction to understanding serious thought about the divine in Islam, Christianity, and Judaism and an amazing commentary on the world view of AMericans and Western Europeans. I recommend it very highly.
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Summary: Changed My Life
Review: On a scholarly level (I am an historian), Karen Armstrong does an excellent job. Her research and the manner in which she handles the subject matter is impecable. On a personal level, the book changed my life. By learning about the multitude of beliefs monothiests have held, I was able to recognize (what I hold to be) the Truth, and jetison baggage (that I held from my religious upbringing) which prevented me (due to my personal experience) from believing in God.
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