Summary of Karen Armstrong's A History of God

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The origin of the idea of God is unclear, but it is believed that human beings created a God who was the First Cause of all things and Ruler of heaven and earth. He was not represented by images, and had no temple or priests in his service. He was too exalted for an inadequate human cult.

#2 The sense of the numinous, which is the underlying basis of religion, is difficult to explain. It is a mysterious force that people feel in different ways. It is sensed in every aspect of life, and people attempt to express their wonder and awe toward it in myths and symbols.

#3 In the ancient world, people believed that it was only by participating in the divine life that they would become truly human. Earthly life was believed to be fragile and overshadowed by mortality, but if people imitated the actions of the gods, they would share to some degree their greater power and effectiveness.

#4 The ancient world of Mesopotamia, which is now Iraq, had a similar spirituality. The Tigris-Euphrates valley was inhabited by the people known as the Sumerians, who had established one of the first great cultures of the Oikumene. The Sumerians developed their cuneiform script, built the extraordinary temple-towers called ziggurats, and developed an impressive law, literature, and mythology.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jul 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822543669

IRB Media

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Insights on Karen Armstrong's A History of God

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The origin of the idea of God is unclear, but it is believed that human beings created a God who was the First Cause of all things and Ruler of heaven and earth. He was not represented by images, and had no temple or priests in his service. He was too exalted for an inadequate human cult.

#2

The sense of the numinous, which is the underlying basis of religion, is difficult to explain. It is a mysterious force that people feel in different ways. It is sensed in every aspect of life, and people attempt to express their wonder and awe toward it in myths and symbols.

#3

In the ancient world, people believed that it was only by participating in the divine life that they would become truly human. Earthly life was believed to be fragile and overshadowed by mortality, but if people imitated the actions of the gods, they would share to some degree their greater power and effectiveness.

#4

The ancient world of Mesopotamia, which is now Iraq, had a similar spirituality. The Tigris-Euphrates valley was inhabited by the people known as the Sumerians, who had established one of the first great cultures of the Oikumene. The Sumerians developed their cuneiform script, built the extraordinary temple-towers called ziggurats, and developed an impressive law, literature, and mythology.

#5

The Babylonians believed that their civilization was a fragile achievement that could always be preyed upon by the forces of disorder and disintegration. To protect it, they performed symbolic actions that immerse the people in the sacred power on which their civilization depended.

#6

The first three gods were Apsu, Tiamat, and Mummu, who were the original formless chaos. They were followed by a succession of other gods, who were the result of emanation. The divine world had sky, rivers, and earth, but creation was only just beginning.

#7

The Babylonian myth of the origin of humanity is a prime example of how the pagan view of the world was holistic. The gods were not separate from the human race, and there was no gulf between human beings and the gods.

#8

The myth of Marduk and Tiamat, which was probably influenced by the people of Canaan, tells the story of Baal-Habad, the god of storm and fertility, who is often mentioned in extremely unflattering terms in the Bible.

#9

The Bible tells the story of Abraham, who was a Hebrew mercenary in Sodom, and his descendants, the Israelites, who were a confederation of various ethnic groups. They were loyal to God, the God of Moses, and entered Canaan in about 1200 BCE.

#10

The Pentateuch, which is the final form of the Bible, was compiled during the fifth century BCE. It was written by a group of authors who were probably Israelites, and it shows a distinct vision of their own.

#11

The author of Genesis, who is believed to be P, wrote the first chapter of the book in the sixth century BCE. J, who wrote around 300 BCE, was the first to focus on the history of the Israelites instead of just the creation of the world. He perceived a distinction between man and the divine.

#12

The Bible seems to be unclear on whether or not the Israelites had ever heard of Yahweh until he appeared to Moses in the Burning Bush. P makes Yahweh explain that he was the same God as the God of Abraham, as though this were a rather controversial notion.

#13

The God of Abraham was probably El, the High God of Canaan. The name of the Canaanite High God is preserved in such Hebrew names as Isra-El or Ishma-El. El was a mild deity who appeared to Abraham as a friend.

#14

When the Israelites looked back to their golden age, they saw Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob living on familiar terms with their god. El gave them friendly advice, like any sheikh or chieftain. He guided their wanderings, told them whom to marry, and spoke to them in dreams.

#15

The place where Jacob had spent the night was later called Beth-El, or the House of El. Jacob decided to make the god he had encountered there his elohim, meaning everything that the gods could mean for men and women.

#16

The first stories in the Bible show the patriarchs encountering their god in the same way as their pagan contemporaries. However, they introduce a new category of religious experience: faith. When they praise the faith of Abraham, they are not commending his orthodoxy but his trust.

#17

The Bible’s account of the Exodus is a brutal, partial, and murderous god. It depicts God as a partisan who has little compassion for anyone but his own favorites. If God had remained such a savage god, the sooner he disappeared, the better.

#18

The Exodus myth was used to illustrate the fearful theology of election, which has played a role in the development of all