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A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam (平装)
by Karen Armstrong
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Religion, History, Civilization, Human society |
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| MSL Pointer Review:
A great work on religion, you will find in this intellectually challenging book an inexhaustible treasure of images, facts and ideas. |
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AllReviews |
1 Total 1 pages 10 items |
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Ray Erskins (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-30 00:00>
A History of God is Karen Armstrong's opus (in my humble opinion), and is an admirable achievement, for it is both secular and theological, without being sanctimonious. I have taken the time to read several of her books and each is superlative in its own way, but most focus on historical time periods that are only part of the 4000 year saga that is revealed with such power in A History of God.
Karen Armstrong sets the tone for the coming millennium in this seemingly miraculous work or would sagacious be a better term? Throughout she sings the song of The Darkling Thrush, much like the heroic thrush that flings his soul "Upon the growing gloom" in Thomas Hardy's moving poem (of the same name), which Ms. Armstrong, a former nun, quotes with haunting effect at the end of her book.
European nihilism and the "God-shaped hole in the heart" were a fact of life on the Continent when the book was first published in the early nineties. And there was/is a disturbing emptiness in the idea that there is nothing (in the end) but humanity and its all too human folly. The book's ending seemed to offer some hope however, because Ms. Armstrong had pointed out (in chapter after chapter) that our ideas about God were always changing because they have to work. And when they cease to work, they are quietly discarded. So the unspoken promise was/is that this great antidote to nihilism and misguided Reason, i.e., God, would change with the times and work, as it always has, to sustain the souls of those who wish to believe.
And no doubt we have seen a resurgent belief in God in recent years, which has undergone a remarkable and menacing metamorphosis, much to the chagrin of the "brights" (atheists), skeptics, secular-humanists, and the like. Some of them would be perfectly content to see this increasingly vengeful God disappear forever and never come back - so thoroughly do they detest the concept of a personal deity that punishes sinners and inspires self-righteous fanatics to kill unbelievers. Or, worse still, rapture up to heaven and leave the world in ruins.
Which is why this book is still so important. Ms. Armstrong's exhaustive scholarship and competent analysis of the numerous belief systems that have been held dear within the monotheistic tradition over the centuries will broaden the narrowest mind, provided it is a thoughtful mind. For even though human beings may indeed be the "religious animal" we are also intelligent and curious animals that have a rational nature as well. And I think the case can be made that we have accomplished the most when we have been tolerant of both sides of the human equation (which is a two-way street) and tried to strike a balance between Reason and Revelation. |
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Vahit Sametoglu (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-30 00:00>
Karen Armstrong is an expert on history of religions. In this book, she really exhibits her expertise.
The book starts with the notion of "god" from the very beginning. Then she introduces the concept of "god" in each Abrahamic religion. There are many common grounds among these religions as well as stark contrasts.
In Judaism, God addresses "the chosen people" and the whole story turns around these folks. There is no need to spread the word of God.
However, Christianity strongly encourages its followers to spread the word of God as much and widespread as possible. However, the concept of "Trinity" brings a stark contrast with Islam.
Islam rejects neither Judaism nor Christianity. According to Islam, they were both "true" religions. However, people started to change their contents as time passed. The change became so apparent and severe that God sent the final revelation, which is Islam. Islam says all of the previous religions sent by God were valid for a limited period of time for a certain nation/people. Whenever a new one is sent, the older one becomes obsolete and invalid. It is like passing a new law. When a new law passes the legislation and is approved by the authorities, it becomes the valid law and old ones are not implemented anymore. However, being the final message of God, Islam addresses the entire Humanity until the end of the World. So, there will be no more religions, no more prophets/messengers and holy books. Therefore, according to Islam, there is no difference among people before Allah in terms of ethnicity, race, nationality, gender, language, culture and geography but piety. No nation, culture, language, race is superior or inferior to the others. Whoever is more pious and obedient to Allah and treats others well will be rewarded abundantly on the Day of Judgment and the grand prize will be the Paradise and whoever is disobedient to Allah and harms people will be harshly punished and their final destination will be the Hell.
Islam asks Muslims to treat "the people of the book", i.e. Christians and Jews, well, regardless of the current status of their religion. However, there is no compromise in Islam. Our religion is to us, their religion is to them.
Islam, being the eventual and most comprehensive message of God, requires its followers to spread the religion as much and widespread as possible. However, there is absolutely no compulsion in accepting Islam. People must use their free will to accept or decline it. Muslims are urged to use the most gracious and polite language and manners in spreading the word of Allah without resorting any coercion or violence under any circumstances.
Islam is founded upon a very strict sense of monotheism. The first and foremost condition of being a Muslim is accepting the fact that there is no other deity worthy of worshipping but Allah. He is the one and only creator of the Universe, time and everything inside and outside of them. He is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. All the physical and metaphysical entities which can and cannot be sensed by humans are created by Him. He designates human beings as his "deputy" in the World. Therefore, everything we see and feel is created to serve human beings. He, however, in reciprocation, requires Muslims to obey His commandments, and keep away from what He forbade.
The author, having introduced all three religions, also mentions many famous philosophers and scholars of Islam, e.g. Ibn-i Sina (Avicenna), Farabi, Ibn Arabi, Imam Ghazzali, Rumi. Their contributions to civilization and influence on Muslims and people in general are addressed extensively.
This book, in a way, serves as a concise history book of religions as well. The major milestones in each one are discussed successfully. The Renaissance and Reformation movements and consequently the Enlightenment are depicted very well with vivid examples.
Starting from 18th and 19th centuries the West began to fall into the web of positivism and materialism. Freud, Marx, Engels, Darwin are some of the forefathers of this movement. People started to ask the question whether the notion of "god" is really going to vanish from our lives.
However, the current trend shows that no matter how wealthy human beings get and however they advance in science and technology, they are still very weak, feeble and fragile. People will always be in need of believing in and relying on a super-human master, which/who is, in simple terms, God.
This book is very much recommended and praised. Karen Armstrong is a very reliable and knowledgeable scholar and her writings are well-balanced and well-versed. |
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Chris Luallen (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-30 00:00>
As an atheist with a strong interest in religious history, I find Karen Armstrong to be among the best contemporary writers on this subject. She has an enormous wealth of knowledge to share and, as someone who is both an ex-nun and an academic, she can relate to the religious as well as the skeptical.
A History of God is one of her most acclaimed books and with good reason. She provides tremendous insights while undertaking the considerable task of tracing the concept of God in the world's three major monotheistic religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam. She also compares the ideas of monotheism to the theologies of Eastern religions, such as Buddhism and Hinduism, as well as the pagan beliefs of the ancient Greeks and Romans.
Another interesting part of the book demonstrates how the Jewish God, Yahweh, actually began as a pagan deity and that it really wasn't until the Jewish exile in Babylon that a truly monotheistic notion of Yahweh emerged. Armstrong is often accused of being too much of an apologist for Islam. I agree with this point to some extent. But the history and beliefs of Islam are so badly misunderstood in the Western world that I think Armstrong probably considers it her duty to emphasize the positive aspects of the religion. I especially enjoyed where Armstrong discussed the Enlightenment and the reaction of various European philosophers, such as Pascal and Kant, to religion and the concept of God. Another excellent chapter is "The Death Of God?", where Armstrong discusses the advent of atheism and whether religion still has a useful role to play in the modern world. I would recommend almost any book by Karen Armstrong. But this one has to rank among her very best. |
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An American reader (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-30 00:00>
Armstrong's goal in this book is monumental, nothing less than to provide the history of monotheism from its beginnings in prehistory to the present. While she narrows it to the major religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, she also brings in other religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism. The result is a masterpiece of scholarly theology. One of the most important aspects is that it is comparative religion, and narrowing it to any one faith would have been a huge loss. Not all authors could have handled the comparison without one religion (their own) coming out "on top." But while Armstrong is a Christian, as her other books demonstrate she is enough of a scholar in each of the others that I felt no bias. At times there was a lack of information on Islam, but she was careful to note that there isn't yet enough research on Islam in the time period she is discussing.
I read this book years ago and found it so difficult that while I finished it, it did not stick. Over the last year, a group from my church took on the task of reading it a chapter a month. This is a hard way to read a book as complex as this, as one tends to lose continuity in the reading. And we dropped from about twenty at our first meeting to a core group of six who stuck it out to the end. But the six enjoyed it very much, and agreed that we'd learned some incredible things from it.
One of my insights from the book was the importance of her ongoing insistence that she is writing not about God but about the idea of God. We can't really know God. Judaism is the most clear and practical about this, even in the Hebrew Bible. When times change and the idea of God no longer fits what the people need from God, people change the idea of God. This is seen in the Reformation as well, and in the Enlightenment. This idea is of course the opposite of the fundamentalist idea (in any religion) that God always was and is and will be the same. I cannot see many fundamentalists reading her book in the first place. But if they did, these ideas that she is considering the idea of God, not God "Himself," and that that idea necessarily changes, would be very troubling to such a person.
While others have mentioned Armstrong's stress on a personal God in all three religions, what struck me was the extent to which all three had at least minority movements which found other ways of expressing God, even if the word used for God remained masculine. I have spent more than a decade trying to find a way of experiencing and understanding God that is not just man-on-a-throne-in-the-sky. I found many ways, some of them small, in her book, where some in all three faiths were on the same search.
I had two problems with the book. One was unavoidable. In several places, a single sentence would be so packed with information and implications that she could have written a whole chapter or even a book unpacking it. I wanted her to! But the book was already a long one.
The other problem she and her editors could have done something about. Each chapter was long, and had no breaks at all. With the complex material, it would have helped. She's very organized when she makes a major switch between the major faiths, but I didn't catch on for several chapters. My reading group agreed that it would have helped if she had made breaks within chapters for that or other major breaks in topic. And I don't think it would have made her book less scholarly to do so.
But these are minor problems in a major work by a theologian and scholar whose other books I now want to read. |
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Daniel Reade (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-30 00:00>
Karen Armstrong's A History of God is an expansive and exciting work. In it, she attempts a broad sketch of the evolution of the concept of God in three major monotheistic faiths: Christianity, Islam, and Judiasm. I enjoyed this book a great deal, both for its introduction (to me) of new conceptions of God, and more importantly, in its demonstration that God, as conceived of by man, has never been a static or unchanging entity. Indeed, the main strength of A History of God is its illustration of how dynamic and mutable conceptions of God really are.
For this book, it is important to focus on what it is not, as much as what it is. It is not an effort to justify or to prove the existence, or to demonstrate the correctness of any one religious view. While Armstrong does question the development of certain religious practices, in particular those of Christianity, her questions are important ones, and do not seem malicious or destructive in intent. Instead, her goal is one of the mapmaker. She does not say what the land is or whether it is good or evil; she merely charts it as she goes, and primarily leaves the duty of determining the value of the land surveyed to the reader.
In doing so, she provides the reader with a chance to examine the cultural evolution of so many of the ideas that we currently hold as universal and immutable. While her challenge is not a direct one, any serious reader must question their own beliefs in the face of a clear demonstration that God is in many ways a man-made entity, and that God, as a concept, has developed as man has developed, to fill his needs and desires.
I did have some complaints about this book. As others have said, the book feels heavily weighted towards Islam, at times to the exclusion of the other two faiths it aims to cover. However, it is important to recognize that a topic of this magnitude is going to have to make omissions, and for western readers, a greater focus on Islam is at times sorely needed. Additionally, she also at times seems somewhat hostile towards Christianity. Again though, her complaints are most often valid ones that should be addressed or at least considered.
At times a difficult book to get through, due to its depth, but in all an excellent and enlightening read. I highly recommend it. |
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Dana Rovang (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-30 00:00>
Humans have been recording their thoughts about God since the invention of writing. They have struggled to understand their place in the universe and, in doing so, develop ideas regarding their creator and purpose. Yet, ideas about the divine are much older than that, and only through writing are these thoughts relayed. In the West there are three major traditions of "people of the book", which are traditions that possess what are believed to be divinely inspired works and have committed their thoughts regarding the divine to extensive compartmentalized writings. Karen Armstrong looks at 4,000 years of religious thought in her A History of God, a much maligned but Herculean effort designed to not only bring general understanding of historical trends and ideas in religion, but to put to paper her own ideas regarding the divine.
Armstrong seeks to document the historical events and major thinkers in the three main Western religious traditions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. She is not looking to wrangle with theology as much as examine how ideas of God have been transformed in a historical perspective. The idea of God means different things to different people at different times and is dependent upon historical instance, place and condition. Armstrong organizes her book by first looking at the pagan foundations of these traditions, and then linearly each in turn. She subsequently moves on to the philosophy that arose and the mysticism that organically evolved. Lastly, she addresses the God as conceived in Post-Enlightenment thought and whether, put into historical perspective, God has a place in the modern world.
The major themes in the book stress the ineffability of God, God as Nothing, and most importantly, the subjective experience of God. Perhaps the greatest criticism levied against the book - and often its greatest praise - is her unrelenting attack on Christianity. Her dry evaluation seeks to put Christianity in its proper historical context, while also giving sympathetic space to one of the lesser-understood traditions in the West, Islam. Perhaps this is in reaction to Christianity being so dominant and influential, or it could be due to her seven years as a Christian nun where she left her order dissatisfied. Regardless, what one takes away is that she is not altogether fair in her evaluation of personages and thought in Christianity.
She takes the reader on a dizzying journey with an immense scope. Armstrong attempts to condense 4,000 years of religious thought into a mere 400-page book. She makes a remarkable effort at touching on the major influences, outlining the thought of the key thinkers and theological underpinnings with relative succinctness. Ultimately, for the interested reader, what mar her text are blatant errors and omissions. Armstrong has done her homework, but the inaccuracies lead one to question the overall scholarship of the book - and most insidiously - her intentions. One could chalk it up to sloppy research, but she gets so much right that when she does commit an error, coupled with her marginalization of some religious thought at the expense of others, it raises flags.
Overall, A History of God is exactly what its title leads you to expect. It is not "the" history of God; there is no definite article. It is Karen Armstrong's history of God. And if we should believe and perpetrate the subjectivity that she is a proponent of, then ultimately we learn more about her then we do in her 4,000-year relay race of religious thought. |
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Dave Kinnear (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-30 00:00>
I was not disappointed in this volume by Karen Armstrong, one of my favorite authors. It was interesting going back to an earlier book after reading her latest works. While this book is long and a bit tedious for a non-history buff such as I, it was definitely worth the effort.
This is truly a challenging read. Armstrong covers a huge amount of history (about 4,000 years) with densely packed words over approximately 400 pages. The perspective is balanced with insights from many of the world religions and how they may have influenced each other or developed independently. While many of the world religions are mentioned, the focus is on "people of the book;" Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Armstrong points out that "Today we have become so familiar with the intolerance that has unfortunately been a characteristic of monotheism that we may not appreciate that this hostility toward other gods was a new religious attitude."
Armstrong discusses the similarity of developing thought throughout the Muslim world as well as the Christian world and how they tracked through history. She declares that "Christian fundamentalists seem to have little regard for the loving compassion of Christ," and points out that "Muslim fundamentalists have toppled governments and either assassinated or threatened the enemies of Islam with the death penalty. Similarly, Jewish fundamentalists have settled in the Occupied Territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip with the avowed intention of driving out the Arab inhabitants, using force if necessary." She sees this type of religiosity as a retreat from God.
All in all, after a careful and thoughtful reading of this excellent history of the all too human effort to define god, a person will find themselves understanding the sad state of affairs we see today in human spirituality. It's not a pretty picture, but one definitely worth contemplating. |
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Pung Yai (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-30 00:00>
"In the beginning humans created a God who was the First Cause of all things and Ruler of heaven and earth." So begins Karen Armstrong's major survey of the history and evolution of God. Covering the three monotheistic faiths, Armstrong draws parallels to the eastern faiths as well, (including Buddhism). She explores God through the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths, as well as delving into some of the different features that can be found within each.
It is difficult to summarize such a large-scale book effectively and still do the book justice, so I will just give some highlights that I found particularly interesting and thought-provoking.
The first chapter, (titled "In the Beginning..." aptly), sets the social and religious scene of Canaan at the time that Abraham was about to move into that region. This is done while posing the question "Who is Yahweh?", (pg 21). Interestingly, the title El Shaddai is also a traditional name for the Canaanite chief god and leads Armstrong to suggest that Abraham's God was actually El of the Canaanite pantheon. Tracing 4 different sources for the Pentateuch, (J, E, D, and P), the different concerns of each are brought out. Warning that we tend to project our own beliefs and understanding of God onto earlier figures like Moses and Abraham, Armstrong questions that their understanding of God was the same as each other, let alone the same as ours. Yahweh was a God that talked with people, showed up to dinner and gave helpful advice at this time. Even by the time of the later sources, Yahweh had evolved into something more remote and accessible only through an established priesthood. Other gods had "devolved" into mere illusions and nothingness, rather than being realities for other people groups. One last point that I found interesting is Armstrong’s suggestion that Israel's worship of Asherah and Baal through history was a natural thing, seeing as gods were fairly territorial. Living in the area, it only made sense to appease and get the god of the area on your side. Armstrong puts a lot of the scriptural record into a more logical context, seeing the actions of people as understandable and logical conclusions of a set of presuppositions.
Another area of interest was the development of Christ from an exalted human being to God in the early centuries of our era. Armstrong indicates that as later Gospels were written, the ideas about Jesus developed in greater and greater claims of who and what he was. After his death, Christians "could not abandon their faith that Jesus had somehow represented an image of God." (pg 99) God had given him powers and so on, so when people saw him in action, they saw something of God. In the apotheosis of Christ, Armstrong draws some interesting parallels in the religions of Buddhism and Hinduism, and how these religions kept their figures more "accessible", (a result of this was the appearance of Buddhist statues in the 1st century BCE). An extension of this was the Buddhist idea of the bodhisattva, (1st century CE), which bears remarkable similarity to Jesus Christ in some circles. Armstrong also notes that the Incarnation was not finalized until the 4th century.
Armstrong also highlights some contrasts between the Eastern Orthodox churches and the Western churches. While the West saw God as completely "other", with the resulting implications that came with it, the East had a view that allowed divinity as something that was accessible and available. They suggested that perfect humanity was achieved through union with the divine, according to Armstrong. This discussion of Armstrong's was very interesting for myself, highlighting that the western tradition was not the only one, and that in some points, most other Christian groups differed from it.
These three areas particularly interested me, though Armstrong covers a huge range of aspects, including the development of the Trinity as a doctrine, and other aspects of Jewish mysticism, Muslim thought and so on.
One very nice touch, I thought, was Armstrong’s "Suggestions for Further Reading" list, which is broken down into chapters. So, for example, if you find the chapter "God of the Mystics" very interesting, you can find that section in "Suggestions for Further Reading". There you will find some useful books that concentrate specifically on the area that interests you. This saves so much risk of buying a book that has 500 pages and only 1 page on the topic of your enquiry. I felt this was a very useful way of doing it, indeed. This encourages you to read further and develop a deeper level of knowledge for yourself. I really liked it.
By way of concluding remarks, I have found this book to be in league with Karen Armstrong's usually high level of scholarship. She writes in a fluid and easy-going manner, while not sacrificing any attention to detail. The book is something you might not agree with on some points, but it will give you some very chewy food for thought. For an overview of God's "evolution", this is a great book. It will address some interesting issues and keep you riveted until the end. You will not regret buying this book, whether you are religious or not. An excellent read that is unreservedly recommended. |
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Kirkus Reviews (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-30 00:00>
Superb kaleidoscopic history of religion, from an English nun- turned-scholar. Armstrong (Holy War, 1991, etc.) was a nun in the early 1960's but left her convent in 1969 as part of the great wave that defected from religious life at that time. Although her faith grew progressively weaker, her fascination with religion didn't abate, and, even as a nonbeliever, she continues to pursue theological studies. Here, her basic message is that “religion is highly pragmatic. We shall see that it is far more important for a particular idea of God to work than for it to be logically or scientifically sound.'' In an extraordinary survey, Armstrong traces the development of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam from their inception to the present day, and shows how they were created and shaped by their historical surroundings - which, in turn, they helped form and alter. Although this approach is standard among religious scholars, Armstrong uses it to particular advantage in underscoring the historical correspondences among the three faiths - for example, examining the messianic fervor that surrounded the career of the Sabbatai Zevi (the 12th-century rabbi who built up an enormous apocalyptic cult among diaspora Jews prior to his imprisonment and conversion to Islam) in light of the early Christian response to the crucifixion of Jesus or of Jeremiah's prophecies about the destruction of Jerusalem. It's particularly in the mystical traditions, according to Armstrong, that the different faiths corroborate each other - in large part, she says, because the mystical apprehension of the divine is more abstract and therefore less dependent upon the traditional symbols by which most religions distinguish themselves. There are major gaps in Armstrong's history - she pays little attention to the Christian churches of the 20th century - but she manages against the odds to provide an account that's thorough, intelligent, and highly readable. Magisterial and brilliant. |
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Greg (MSL quote), Australia
<2006-12-30 00:00>
Karen Armstrong is certainly one of the finest writers on religious issues. While not herself a believer in 'God', she speaks from experience (she was a nun for several years in the Roman Catholic Church) and also great understanding and sympathy.
Armstrong's book is quite long and condensed, and also written in an academic style. This might put off some readers, but Armstrong's basic ideas are not many and also fairly easy to understand. The first important thesis she has is humans have 'invented' God, but also the reality of God is essential to human beings. The second thesis is that any concept or idea we have about 'God' does not fit the reality, the Absolute. The third is that love and compassion are central themes of all three monotheistic faiths, which ties in with Armstrong's earlier studies of the Crusades.
Armstrong is very balanced and impartial in her book and treats all three monotheisms and their shortcomings (and advantages) fairly. She is also deeply respectful towards Islam, and even regards some aspects of Islam as more positive than Christianity (or rather Islam compensates better for its shortcomings), a rarity today given the hostility towards Islam in the West.
I also found her discussion of mysticism useful, and she made a key point to say religion engages artistic gifts and the imagination, a valuable lesson I have learned on my own spiritual journey.
Armstrong finishes her book by outlining some of the severe problems facing the three faiths of 'God' and even asks if 'God' is relevant in today's world, which seems to have gotten rid of God. Armstrong seems to answer yes and no, in the sense 'yes' in that people still hunger for the spiritual, but hate the old concepts of God (hence turning to Eastern religions like Buddhism with no theistic being) and 'no' in the sense classical notions of God are not relevant to modern life.
I also would answer yes and no, but I would also argue that the Christian tradition (especially the mystical) compensates for many of the perceived shortcomings of 'God' and while rethinking of some things is necessary, people should not go to atheism merely because they can't be bothered with the difficulties of the spiritual path. But perhaps in 'letting go' in our cherished ideas of God, we do reach the real God, who is above and past any such concepts, as the 'Cloud of Unknowning' author urges us to do.
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