God: A Human History By Reza Aslan
Gets off to a fascinating start and then crashes catastrophically about three quarters of the way through, ending on a lazy personal note. It feels as though the author had an unmeetable deadline to dash it off against. Disappointing. God: A Human History When I first came across this book and read the description; its fair to say I looked forward to reading this monograph. I was impressed by Aslans usage of current archeological evidence in building his case for animism but this is where the argument begins to struggle. I actually found the preceding chapters boring where Aslan doesnt bring anything new to the party. By the end of the book, I was surprised by two things; first the immense size of the acknowledgements, notes etc is simply too much and actually gives the reader a false sense of the actual size of the text. Second, the conclusion is almost like the concluding comments of a essay. It doesnt have the same writing style as the rest of the text. I am disappointed with this book, I enjoyed Aslans monograph on islam and I still consider it to be an commanding overview of the history of Islam but this book is a far cry from that literary achievement God: A Human History Scholarly and fascinating. His views on Islam are particularly interesting and enlightening, not least his metaphorical reading and interpretation of what seem to be God's human personality and physical traits in the text of the Quran, which seemingly conflict with the all important dehumanization of God that is wrought by the Islamic concept of Tawhid. I thought I was the only person who thought and felt this way. God is all and everything and we are in God and not desperate from God and need took within. Yes, yes! Scholarly and intelligent and highly recommended. God: A Human History The author is basically selling his belief in pantheism but goes round and round and into flights of fancy to elongate the book and this after awhile gets quite tedious.Also pantheism is nothing new and has been discussed, fought over and argued for centuries. The author brings nothing new to the discussion.What he has to say would amount to an article or a short essay. If you read these kinds of books you will not find anything new or intellectually stimulating here. It has none of the impact or vividness of the authers earlier work The Zealot.I was so disappointed with this book I could not bear to have it in my library so gave the book away. Rash maybe but at least I didn't burn it : ) God: A Human History I enjoyed this wonderful read from first page to the last. Comprehensive overview of history of religion. The most exclusive dialogue here is about the perception of God we as humans have developed. God is not what we would like to see or feel, God is within and beyond. Excellent read. God: A Human History
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The bestselling author of Zealot and host of Believer explores humanitys uest to make sense of the divine in this concise and fascinating history of our understanding of God In Zealot Reza Aslan replaced the staid well worn portrayal of Jesus of Nazareth with a startling new image of the man in all his contradictions In his new book Aslan takes on a subject evenimmense God writ large In layered prose and with thoughtful accessible scholarship Aslan narrates the history of religion as a remarkably cohesive attempt to understand the divine by giving it human traits and emotionsAccording to Aslan this innate desire to humanize God is hardwired in our brains making it a central feature of nearly every religious tradition As Aslan writes Whether we are aware of it or not and regardless of whether were believers or not what the vast majority of us think about when we think about God is a divine version of ourselves But this projection is not without conseuences We bestow upon God not just all that is good in human natureour compassion our thirst for justicebut all that is bad in it our greed our bigotry our penchant for violence All these ualities inform our religions cultures and governments More than just a history of our understanding of God this book is an attempt to get to the root of this humanizing impulse in order to develop auniversal spiritualityWhether you believe in one God many gods or no god at all God A Human History will challenge the way you think about the divine and its role in our everyday livesPraise for GodTimely riveting enlightening and necessaryHuffPost TantalizingDriven by Reza Aslans grace and curiosity Godhelps us pan out from our troubled times while asking us to consider aexpansive view of the divine in contemporary lifeThe Seattle Times A fascinating exploration of the interaction of our humanity and GodPittsburgh Post Gazette Aslans slim yet ambitious book is the story of how humans have created God with a capital G and its thoroughly mind blowingLos Angeles Review of Books Aslan is a born storyteller and there is much to enjoy in this intelligent surveySan Francisco ChronicleNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The bestselling author of Zealot and host of Believer explores humanity’s quest to make sense of the divine in this concise and fascinating history of our understanding of God.
In Zealot, Reza Aslan replaced the staid, well-worn portrayal of Jesus of Nazareth with a startling new image of the man in all his contradictions. In his new book, Aslan takes on a subject even more immense: God, writ large.
In layered prose and with thoughtful, accessible scholarship, Aslan narrates the history of religion as a remarkably cohesive attempt to understand the divine by giving it human traits and emotions. According to Aslan, this innate desire to humanize God is hardwired in our brains, making it a central feature of nearly every religious tradition. As Aslan writes, “Whether we are aware of it or not, and regardless of whether we’re believers or not, what the vast majority of us think about when we think about God is a divine version of ourselves.”
But this projection is not without consequences. We bestow upon God not just all that is good in human nature—our compassion, our thirst for justice—but all that is bad in it: our greed, our bigotry, our penchant for violence. All these qualities inform our religions, cultures, and governments.
More than just a history of our understanding of God, this book is an attempt to get to the root of this humanizing impulse in order to develop a more universal spirituality. Whether you believe in one God, many gods, or no god at all, God: A Human History will challenge the way you think about the divine and its role in our everyday lives.
Praise for God
“Timely, riveting, enlightening and necessary.”—HuffPost
“Tantalizing . . . Driven by [Reza] Aslan’s grace and curiosity, God . . . helps us pan out from our troubled times, while asking us to consider a more expansive view of the divine in contemporary life.”—The Seattle Times
“A fascinating exploration of the interaction of our humanity and God.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“[Aslan’s] slim, yet ambitious book [is] the story of how humans have created God with a capital G, and it’s thoroughly mind-blowing.”—Los Angeles Review of Books
“Aslan is a born storyteller, and there is much to enjoy in this intelligent survey.”—San Francisco ChronicleNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The bestselling author of Zealot and host of Believer explores humanity’s quest to make sense of the divine in this concise and fascinating history of our understanding of God.
In Zealot, Reza Aslan replaced the staid, well-worn portrayal of Jesus of Nazareth with a startling new image of the man in all his contradictions. In his new book, Aslan takes on a subject even more immense: God, writ large.
In layered prose and with thoughtful, accessible scholarship, Aslan narrates the history of religion as a remarkably cohesive attempt to understand the divine by giving it human traits and emotions. According to Aslan, this innate desire to humanize God is hardwired in our brains, making it a central feature of nearly every religious tradition. As Aslan writes, “Whether we are aware of it or not, and regardless of whether we’re believers or not, what the vast majority of us think about when we think about God is a divine version of ourselves.”
But this projection is not without consequences. We bestow upon God not just all that is good in human nature—our compassion, our thirst for justice—but all that is bad in it: our greed, our bigotry, our penchant for violence. All these qualities inform our religions, cultures, and governments.
More than just a history of our understanding of God, this book is an attempt to get to the root of this humanizing impulse in order to develop a more universal spirituality. Whether you believe in one God, many gods, or no god at all, God: A Human History will challenge the way you think about the divine and its role in our everyday lives.
Praise for God
“Timely, riveting, enlightening and necessary.”—HuffPost
“Tantalizing . . . Driven by [Reza] Aslan’s grace and curiosity, God . . . helps us pan out from our troubled times, while asking us to consider a more expansive view of the divine in contemporary life.”—The Seattle Times
“A fascinating exploration of the interaction of our humanity and God.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“[Aslan’s] slim, yet ambitious book [is] the story of how humans have created God with a capital G, and it’s thoroughly mind-blowing.”—Los Angeles Review of Books
“Aslan is a born storyteller, and there is much to enjoy in this intelligent survey.”—San Francisco Chronicle God: A Human History