A History of God - Žiurkikės

Knyga minkštais viršeliais, 543 psl.

English kalba

Publikuota 1994 m. rugpjūčio 23 d.

ISBN:: 978-0-345-38456-0

Why does God exist? How have the three dominant monotheistic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—shaped and altered the conception of God? How have these religions influenced each other? In this stunningly intelligent book, Karen Armstrong, one of Britain's foremost commentators on religious affairs, traces the history of how men and women have perceived and experienced God, from the time of Abraham to the present.

The epic story begins with the Jews' gradual transformation of pagan idol worship in Babylon into true monotheism—a concept previously unknown in the world. Christianity and Islam both rose on the foundation of this revolutionary idea, but these religions refashioned 'the One God' to suit the social and political needs of their followers. From classical philosophy and medieval mysticism to the Reformation, Karen Armstrong performs the near miracle of distilling the intellectual history of monotheism into one superbly readable volume, destined to take its place as …

Why does God exist? How have the three dominant monotheistic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—shaped and altered the conception of God? How have these religions influenced each other? In this stunningly intelligent book, Karen Armstrong, one of Britain's foremost commentators on religious affairs, traces the history of how men and women have perceived and experienced God, from the time of Abraham to the present.

The epic story begins with the Jews' gradual transformation of pagan idol worship in Babylon into true monotheism—a concept previously unknown in the world. Christianity and Islam both rose on the foundation of this revolutionary idea, but these religions refashioned 'the One God' to suit the social and political needs of their followers. From classical philosophy and medieval mysticism to the Reformation, Karen Armstrong performs the near miracle of distilling the intellectual history of monotheism into one superbly readable volume, destined to take its place as a classic.

1 leidimas

Fionnáin apžvelgė autoriaus Karen Armstrong knygą A History of God

Incredible Depth, Difficult Theory

3 žvaigždutės

Karen Armstrong is highly regarded as an authority on the history of monotheism. Once a nun, then later an atheist, and always a researcher, she has an academic rigour few could emulate. I have no background in theology, but I have a background in research and I can usually tell when someone has done their homework, and I truly believe Armstrong has read every historical book, scroll, pamphlet and wall scribble that she cites in this deep volume.

The book is a history of monotheism. In particular, it is Armstrong's way to point out how people have changed what their god looks like to suit different historical epochs, and how the 'god' of 2,400 years ago is not very like that of today. This might seem obvious, but the situated histories of Armstrong's writing drives this book further. She goes into endless detail about how monotheism emerged in Judaism, …

Karen Armstrong is highly regarded as an authority on the history of monotheism. Once a nun, then later an atheist, and always a researcher, she has an academic rigour few could emulate. I have no background in theology, but I have a background in research and I can usually tell when someone has done their homework, and I truly believe Armstrong has read every historical book, scroll, pamphlet and wall scribble that she cites in this deep volume.

The book is a history of monotheism. In particular, it is Armstrong's way to point out how people have changed what their god looks like to suit different historical epochs, and how the 'god' of 2,400 years ago is not very like that of today. This might seem obvious, but the situated histories of Armstrong's writing drives this book further. She goes into endless detail about how monotheism emerged in Judaism, then later influencing Christianity and Islam, and what the historical context of polytheism meant for this. Later, she explores how the idea of god changed with the political and social events surrounding this idea.

While the research is amazing, the book really was a slog for me for a lot of the time. It is not my specialism, and it is not an easy read. At times I burst with interest when reading about the politics of Babylon or the early life of prophets, but at other times I was just confused by the slew of personalities and idols that were all entangled. I hope to return to it one day, when I am more ready to be taken in by its brilliance.