A History of God

No, not the History of God, of course, but a history of attitudes to God in the Abrahamaic traditions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.  Karen Armstrong is as well known for her studies of religion and belief as for her brief experience as a nun; she is on a religious journey of her own, but has not thrown her lot in with any of the major established religions (yet, she says), though clearly far from being without religious belief.  This is a well written book, instantly accessible for those of us – like me – without significant knowledge of the history or theology of which she speaks.  But it is a serious, thoughtful book, acclaimed by authors like A N Wilson (biographer of Jesus), Robert Runcie (former Archbishop of Canterbury) and Rabbi Julia Neuburger.  I am finding it full of interest, even though I am without a shred of belief in any of these religions.

In the chapter One God, she lays out the historical context of the rise of mono-theistic Judaism, explaining that the worship of Yahweh was a minority practice, and then as part of a pluralistic worship of many gods, all remarkably human in their desires and attitudes – rather like the Greek gods of the Iliad, say.  Yahweh emerged as dominant through a series of historical accidents, and many of the texts which are now read as monotheistic were originally meant to be interpreted quite differently: from Yahweh demanding that you ignore all other gods, and worship only him, Judaism moved to Yahweh claiming that he was the only God.

I am taking a long time to read this – although beautifully written, it demands my full attention, especially as I am so ill-versed in the underlying material.  But I have read the opening chapters on Judaism, and now the emergence of Christianity and its gradual separation from Judaism, and also the emergence of the Nicene creed, the doctrine of the Trinity and even in the fourth century, the tensions between the Eastern and Western churches.  This is marvellous stuff – clear, humane and lucidly intelligent, not taking sides, appreciating every difficulty and making all clear to the ignorant or non-technical reader.

The aim of the book is important: it is not a history of religion, or a history of the Christian church(es); rather, it is a history of how people thought about God – what they expected of their gods, whether they were experienced through reason or revelation, whether they claimed exclusivity, whether they were remote and unknowable or engaged in the daily life of men.  On this basis, Armstrong gives us more than a glimpse into the expectations and aspirations of both the common man and of the spiritually sophisticated, relating beliefs in and about God to the intellectual backgrounds of Hellenism and the warring empires of the early Middle East, and also to the political events of the time.

She uses comparisons of beliefs and practices in different religions most illuminatingly – seeing Jesus for example as a Hindu avatar, a form or expression of God who can reveal himself to and lead men on earth;  or as a bodhisattva in Buddhism, one who puts off his assumption of the divine or paradisiacal state of Nirvana to help others find the true way.  This kind of linking telling informs her introduction to the chapter about the beginnings of Islam – just as Christianity was originally part of mainstream Judaism, the Muslim prophet received his revelation from the same God, and in the same tradition, as Jewish or Christian prophets – but with a dramatic effect:

Christians, [ ] like Jews, were scandalised when a prophet arose in Arabia who claimed to have received a direct revelation from their God and to have brought a new scripture to his people.  Yet the new version of monotheism [Islam] spread with astonishing rapidity throughout the Middle East and North Africa.  Many of its enthusiasts in these lands (where hellenism was not on home ground) turned with relief from Greek trinitarianism, which expressed the idiom of God in an idiom which was alien to them, and adopted a more Semitic notion of the divine reality.

I look forward immensely to the rest of this book – and will probably post again on so large a subject.

 

Comments

[Dark Puss]

Officially the nebula is NGC 7293 and much more commonly known as The Helix Nebula. It is known as a "planetary" nebula, not because of any planet associated with it, the centre is a white dwarf star, but probably because it looked a little like a planet in the days before Hubble and other modern telescopes. A nice link here for those who might wish to learn more, and see some stunning images too!

http://www.astro.washington.edu/users/balick/WFPC2/

[glo]

Thank you for the information, I didn't know that.

[Lindsay]

Glo - this nebula is unofficially known as "The Eye of God"

[glo]

This sounds very interesting indeed. The way you envision -or just illustrate- God yourself is quite interesting too; a nebula... Or is it because you consider it a nebulous concept? Or because it looks roughly like an eye? And the latter was a common symbol used by painters to suggest the presence of God in traditional religious settings. Or just because God is supposed to stay in the sky?
Whatever the reason, the picture is utterly fascinating.