A History of God (2001)
A History of God(A&E, 2001) This is an excellent adaptation of Karen Armstrong’s 1993 A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, my favorite of Ms. Armstrong’s numerous books. She examines the origins of god, restricting herself to religions that started in the Near East. What she discovers is quite different from what she had been obliged to accept during catechism and, later, as a Catholic nun. Ms. Armstrong is a principal narrator in this exploration of how god (gods) came to be, then evolve, during the development of three major religions.
Those who have been taught ‘monotheism’ will be surprised to find that Judaism only gradually moved towards a single god in about 700 BCE. The question, in Christianity, as to whether Jesus Christ has been deified is also addressed. Ms. Armstrong leaves us to ponder whether the god of Judaism, of Christianity, and of Islam are the same, or at least similar.
