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A History of God
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A History of God (1994) (edit title/settings)

The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam

by Karen Armstrong (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

"An admirable and impressive work of synthesis that will give insight and satisfaction to thousands of lay readers." THE WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD In this stunningly intelligent book, Karen Armstrong, one of Britain's foremost commentators on religious affairs, traces the history of how men... read more

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Quotes edit see section history

  • “Humanism is itself a religion without God—not all religions, of course, are theistic.”
    Karen Armstrong
  • “The Rabbis taught that God did not want men and women to suffer. The body should be honored and cared for, since it was in the image of God: it could even be sinful to avoid such pleasures as wine or sex, since God had provided them for man's enjoyment.”
    Karen Armstrong
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • Like art, religion has been an attempt to find meaning and value in life, despite the suffering that flesh is heir to.
    Highlighted by 30 Kindle customers
  • A few highly respected monotheists would have told me quietly and firmly that God did not really exist—and yet that “he” was the most important reality in the world.
    Highlighted by 28 Kindle customers
  • instead of waiting for God to descend from on high, I should deliberately create a sense of him for myself.
    Highlighted by 24 Kindle customers
  • People would continue to adopt a particular conception of the divine because it worked for them, not because it was scientifically or philosophically sound.
    Highlighted by 22 Kindle customers
  • Humanism is itself a religion without God—not all religions, of course, are theistic.
    Highlighted by 22 Kindle customers
  • Effectiveness rather than philosophical or historical demonstration has always been the hallmark of a successful religion:
    Highlighted by 20 Kindle customers
  • One of the reasons why religion seems irrelevant today is that many of us no longer have the sense that we are surrounded by the unseen.
    Highlighted by 20 Kindle customers
  • These myths were not intended to be taken literally, but were metaphorical attempts to describe a reality that was too complex and elusive to express in any other way. These dramatic and evocative stories of gods and goddesses helped people to articulate their sense of the powerful but unseen forces that surrounded them.
    Highlighted by 20 Kindle customers
  • These early mythical events show that from the first Yahwism demanded a violent repression and denial of other faiths,
    Highlighted by 17 Kindle customers
  • The God who may have inspired the first successful peasants’ uprising in history is a God of revolution. In all three faiths, he has inspired an ideal of social justice, even though it has to be said that Jews, Christians and Muslims have often failed to live up to this ideal and have transformed him into the God of the status quo.
    Highlighted by 16 Kindle customers
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Organizations edit see section history

First Sentence edit see section history

IN THE BEGINNING, human beings created a God who was the First Cause of all things and Ruler of heaven and earth.

Table of Contents edit see section history

Maps
Introduction
1. In the Beginning...
2. One God
3. A Light to the Gentiles
4. Trinity: The Christian God
5. Unity: The God of Islam
6. The God of the Philosophers
7. The God of the Mystics
8. A God for Reformers
9. Enlightenment
10. The Death of God?
11. Does God Have a Future?
Glossary
Notes
Suggestions for Further Reading
Index

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Karen Armstrong (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Ballentine Books
Country: USA
Publication Date: 1994
ISBN: 9780345384560
Page Count: 496

Classification edit see section history

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Adults

Ideas are too complex for children.

Books That Cite This Book edit see section history

   
  • The Year of Living Biblically

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