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Liked It “Karen Armstrong is a giant, a respected expert on the three main religions and pulls no punches in this very revealing and well written eye opener.” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“Like others of Armstrong's books, I found this extremely thorough but not quite what I'm looking for. While her factual basis is excellent, she seems to resist any future-speculations about what this WILL mean or how fundamentalist movements are presently impacting society. Since it is a history, this is not entirely unexpected, but she seems to be just shy of saying something truly interesting in favor of collecting the facts.
imagisme wrote this review Sunday, July 12 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
She also has a slight bias towards religion (not fundamentalism, per se, but religion) that I found occasionally irritating. She uses "secularist" like a dirty word, and while this would be true for a fundamentalist, it seems somewhat alienating to her intellectual, probably secular, audience.”
“This book took me several months to finish reading. Ms. Armstrong was very thorough in her discussion and laid the book out very well. I just had a hard time wrapping my head around all of the unusual names from other cultures and of course there was lots of learning going on for me. I could only read a few pages at a time usually.
Melissa M wrote this review Saturday, July 4 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
However, despite the fact that the reading was slow going, I learned a lot from this book and if you have a desire to know more about Islam, Judaism and Christianity and how they have evolved through the centuries, I highly recommend this book. And even better...it was written before 9-11. So it is not colored by that horrendous event. ”
“I remember hearing her talk about the topic in the most interesting way.. I have to start reading this!!”
surreal555 wrote this review Tuesday, May 27 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“At first it was a bit too lofty, but the last section I couldn't put down. Very interesting arguements, and she's a great writer -- really bringing the three different religions together. ”
Colleen D wrote this review Sunday, March 2 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Karen Armstrong is a giant, a respected expert on the three main religions and pulls no punches in this very revealing and well written eye opener.”
Glenn B wrote this review Sunday, July 15 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Amazon Book Description
J. A. "Jay" Heinlein wrote this review Sunday, January 27 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
In our supposedly secular age governed by reason and technology, fundamentalism has emerged as an overwhelming force in every major world religion. Why? This is the fascinating, disturbing question that bestselling author Karen Armstrong addresses in her brilliant new book The Battle for God. Writing with the broad perspective and deep understanding of human spirituality that won huge audiences for A History of God, Armstrong illuminates the spread of militant piety as a phenomenon peculiar to our moment in history.
Contrary to popular belief, fundamentalism is not a throwback to some ancient form of religion but rather a response to the spiritual crisis of the modern world. As Armstrong argues, the collapse of a piety rooted in myth and cult during the Renaissance forced people of faith to grasp for new ways of being religious--and fundamentalism was born. Armstrong focuses here on three fundamentalist movements: Protestant fundamentalism in America, Jewish fundamentalism in Israel, and Islamic fundamentalism in Egypt and Iran--exploring how each has developed its own unique way of combating the assaults of modernity.
Blending history, sociology, and spirituality, The Battle for God is a compelling and compassionate study of a radical form of religious expression that is critically shaping the course of world history.
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“Page after page a new insight is given to the things I thought were familiar. Crusades, Inquisition, Ghetto all familiar things started to look different under Karen's light.
Siddharth wrote this review Monday, November 19 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Must read for anyone interested in History. ”
“As a confirmed atheist I am proud to say that this book is perhaps one of the most comprehensive and impartial look at the influence of religion and hence God on society. It also explores the roots of fundamentalism from 700BC onwards and logically explains how fundamentalism is not a modern scourge on society but an age old human response to situation.”
Suravi wrote this review Sunday, September 23 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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