A History of God by Karen Armstrong

A History of God by Karen Armstrong

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.

KAREN ARMSTRONG is the author of numerous other books on religious affairs, including The Case for God, A History of God, The Battle for God, Holy War, Islam, Buddha and The Great Transformation--and a memoir, The Spiral Staircase. Her work has been translated into 45 languages. In February 2008 she was awarded the TED Prize and began working with TED on The Charter for Compassion, created online by the general public, crafted by leading thinkers in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, as well as in Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism. It was launched globally in the fall of 2009. She is currently an ambassador for the UN Alliance of Civilizations. The author lives in London, UK.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780679426004
ISBN 10	0679426000
Title	A History of God
Author	Karen Armstrong
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Alfred A. Knopf
Year published	1993-09-28
Number of pages	460
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.