ISBN: 9780060591854    Publisher: HarperCollins Publisher Year of publishing: 2004     Format:  Audiobook No of Pages: 5        Language: English

"Strange as it may seem, the idea of 'God' developed in a market economy in a spirit of aggressive capitalism," Karen Armstrong asserts in her fascinating work A History of God. Armstrong considers herself a "historian of ideas," and with this broad view she gives a compelling account of the correspondences among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and the historical, philosophical, intellectual, and social developments through the ages that both shaped them and were shaped by them. Religion is "highly pragmatic," Armstrong finds. Any particular idea of God must work for the people who develop it. Consequently, as the times have changed, so have our ideas about God. "Understanding the ever-changing ideas of God in the past and their relevance and usefulness in their time," she says, "will help us to develop a new concept for the future." Today an increasing number of people have difficulty with the idea of a God that behaves as a larger version of themselves. Armstrong sees this as inevitable, and welcomes believers to a notion of God that "works for us in the empirical age."
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Karen Armstrong, author, scholar, and journalist, is among the world's foremost commentators on religious history and culture. Her books include the bestselling A History of God and The Battle for God, as well as Buddha and Islam: A Short History. From AudioFile Karen Armstrong's subtitle isn't quite accurate. This history of God doesn't just review how believers in each in the three major Western monotheistic religions conceptualized the Divine. Armstrong also explains how each faith influenced the others and how each related to philosophical, political, and scientific developments. Armstrong's tone is engaged, almost excited, communicating the importance of this topic, but balanced and fair. In this the delivery matches the text: Both are clear and accessible. The one weakness in this production is that it's an abridgment; so much is covered in a relatively short time that more explanation of the subtler points, and a slower pace, would have worked better. G.T.B. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
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