¶ … God:
Review of Karen Armstrong's "History of God"
The History of God" by Karen Armstrong reads more like a quest for God amongst the annals of Man's history. It relates the transition of the nature of God as perceived by His human subjects, catering to the ideological differences amongst followers of Islam, Christianity and Judaism. By highlighting the influences that led Armstrong to embark on this quest for illumination as well as providing a summary of the book, this paper endeavours to explore the central theme that the definition of God is subject to conventionality. It is continuously being modified, abandoned, revived and reiterated in accordance with Man's realistic and pragmatic challenges as opposed to philosophical reverie.
Before providing an analysis of the book's core theme, it is necessary to study the influences that drove Armstrong to write this book. Armstrong's interest in religion was cultivated at an early age, manifesting in her entering the religious order at the age of 17. For 7 years, Armstrong lived the life of a Roman Catholic nun (Powell, 1998, 1). Her monastic life afforded her exposure to the 3 Abrahamic religions. She obtained a BA in literature at Oxford University. However, she experienced great difficulty in conforming to the restrictive realities of her convent life and decided to leave the convent on amicable terms. She wrote a bestseller on her life as a nun in 1981 called Through the Narrow Gate. She followed this up with Beginning the World (Ali, 1993, 38).
Then in 1984, Channel 4 of London asked Armstrong to make a 6-part documentary on the life and works of St. Paul. This project compelled Armstrong to make numerous trips to Jerusalem to film on location. Armstrong's travels to Jerusalem proved insightful. Prior to her trips to Jerusalem, her opinions on religion were predominantly guided by the teachings of the Church, generalisations and presumptions made by Western scholars, and the media. These 3 stimuli portrayed Christianity and Judaism in a flattering light, yet inferred a negative connotation to anything pertaining to Arab or Islamic doctrine. She commented,
It was in Jerusalem that I heard my Israeli hosts refer to Arabs and the Islamic faith in most despicable terms... It was shocking to hear Israelis not only defend, but literally justify the massacres and daily killings of defenceless young Palestinians... It came glaringly to me that the Israel which had been portrayed all these years as the young David surrounded by the Arab Goliath was in fact an insensitive soldier firing a machine gun at a Palestinian child wielding a sling and pebbles... My visits into Muslim neighbourhoods brought home the truth that there was another and different side to the story. It was something that was deliberately omitted in Europe, and perhaps in America as well. The exaggerations and distortions that had smeared the pages of history needed to be corrected, and Islam and the Middle East had to be presented in the right light (Ali, 1993, 38).
This new awareness for Islam spurred Armstrong to write Holy War - The Crusades and Their Impact on Today's World. This was followed by her biography on Muhammad. It was through her investigations in this perspective that she arrived at the central theme of History of God.
During a study of the Crusades and the current conflict in the Middle East, I was led to the life of Muhammad and to the Qurtan... In all great religions, seers and prophets have conceived strikingly similar visions of a transcendent and ultimate reality... The monotheistic faiths, however, call this trancendence 'God.' I believe that Muhammad had such an experience and made a distinctive and valuable contribution to the spiritual experience of humanity (Ali, 1993, 38).
Armstrong's interest in 'setting the record straight' drove her to become one of the most eminent authorities on religion. She currently teaches at London's Leo Baeck College for the Study of Judaism and the Training of Rabbis and Teachers. The Association of Muslim Social Sciences is proud to call her an honorary member (Powell, 1998, 1).
Armstrong's life experiences did much to contribute to her writing History of God. She attempts to provide an explanation behind the evolution of monotheistic religions throughout its four millennia of existence (Zuck, 2002, 1). She explores the ways in which God has been re-examined and reclassified by each epoch (http://www.pinn.net/~sunshine/book-sum/histgod.html,1). The book investigates how the Jews progressed from the worshipping of pagan idols to 'One God' beliefs, as well as how Islam and Christianity were born from this religious ideology. The book also delves into the disparity between numerous religious leaders throughout the centuries...
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