A History Of God
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The idea of a single devine being - God, Yahweh, Allah - has existed for over 4,000 years. But the history of God is also the history of human struggle. While Judaism, Islam and Christianity proclaim the goodness of God, organised religion has too often been the catalyst for violence and ineradicable prejudice. In this fascinating, extensive and original account of the evolution of belief, Karen Armstrong examines Western society's unerring fidelity to this idea of One God and the many conflicting convictions it engenders. A controversial, extraordinary story of worship and war, A History of God confronts the most fundamental fact - or fiction - of our lives.
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This book is a well researched and enlightening work on the (dis)connections of the three main Abrahamic religions, which are Judaism, Christianity, and Islamism. The author uses two chapters to establish each religion foundation and how it interact with other religions and with historical, social, and economic realities. Afterwards, some chapters are devoted to other formats of religiosity within these three religions and how it evolved with in time and how they respond to new theological questions and philosophical advancements, such as Enlightenment, atheism as a modern conception, wars, among other things.
The book closes with an attempt to diagnose the future of God and its religions. How will religions adapt, if they will, to modernity and new spiritual demands of people is something we should be attentive to.
Finally, History of God is a good book to open a systematic research to deepen one's knowledge about the most popular religions of the Globe.
I can only sum up this books as a “regurgitation of names, dates and philosophies”. It bounces all over the place in no coherent order. I listened to the audiobook. Maybe the printed book has better chapter titles and maybe pictures to give better concepts.
