God: A Human History
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- Author：Reza Aslan
- ISBN：0552174998
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Summary
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
In God， Reza Aslan sheds new light on mankind’s relationship with the divine and challenges our perspective on the history of faith and the birth of religion。
From the origins of spiritual thought to the concept of an active， engaged， divine presence that underlies all creation， Aslan examines how the idea of god arose in human evolution， was gradually personalized， endowed with human traits and emotions， and eventually transformed into a single Divine Personality: the God known today by such names as Yahweh， Father， and Allah。
Bold， wide-ranging and provocative， God challenges everything we thought we knew about the origins of religious belief， and with it our relationship with life and death， with the natural and spiritual worlds， and our understanding of the very essence of human existence。
In God， Reza Aslan sheds new light on mankind’s relationship with the divine and challenges our perspective on the history of faith and the birth of religion。
From the origins of spiritual thought to the concept of an active， engaged， divine presence that underlies all creation， Aslan examines how the idea of god arose in human evolution， was gradually personalized， endowed with human traits and emotions， and eventually transformed into a single Divine Personality: the God known today by such names as Yahweh， Father， and Allah。
Bold， wide-ranging and provocative， God challenges everything we thought we knew about the origins of religious belief， and with it our relationship with life and death， with the natural and spiritual worlds， and our understanding of the very essence of human existence。
Reviews
Bill
，
Short， readable book with a decent overview of the major religions --- but a bit clunky， with a huge bibliography and many "Notes" --- may be a good starting point for one's study of the concept of god？？ Short， readable book with a decent overview of the major religions --- but a bit clunky， with a huge bibliography and many "Notes" --- may be a good starting point for one's study of the concept of god？？ 。。。more
Katrina
，
Such an eye-opening and thought-provoking explanation of religion， especially for someone like me who was raised as a devout evangelical Christian。 Religion is such a fascinating topic， and the more I learn about it， the more curious I am， and the more endeared I am， by humanity。If you're looking for an introductory overview of religion/spirituality， this book is a great resource。 （It also lists out like a million sources to check out if you want to continue learning about the topics presented i Such an eye-opening and thought-provoking explanation of religion， especially for someone like me who was raised as a devout evangelical Christian。 Religion is such a fascinating topic， and the more I learn about it， the more curious I am， and the more endeared I am， by humanity。If you're looking for an introductory overview of religion/spirituality， this book is a great resource。 （It also lists out like a million sources to check out if you want to continue learning about the topics presented in the book。） 。。。more
Salza Puspitasari
，
“Indeed， the history of human spirituality in this book closely mirrors my own faith journey…”Reza Aslan menceritakan sejarah hubungan manusia dan Tuhan melalui berbagai sudut pandang kepencayaan， dengan memberikan konteks waktu dan tempat， serta keadaan sosial， budaya， dan ekonomi masyarakat。Sebagai seseorang yang selama ini sepemikiran dengan penulis （namun saya belum punya riset yang cukup untuk melakukan validasi）， saya mendapatkan banyak sekali pengetahuan baru （dan referensi/citations ke s “Indeed， the history of human spirituality in this book closely mirrors my own faith journey…”Reza Aslan menceritakan sejarah hubungan manusia dan Tuhan melalui berbagai sudut pandang kepencayaan， dengan memberikan konteks waktu dan tempat， serta keadaan sosial， budaya， dan ekonomi masyarakat。Sebagai seseorang yang selama ini sepemikiran dengan penulis （namun saya belum punya riset yang cukup untuk melakukan validasi）， saya mendapatkan banyak sekali pengetahuan baru （dan referensi/citations ke sumber bacaan lain） dari buku ini。Saya merekomendasikan buku ini untuk para pembaca yg ingin mempelajari sejarah dan konteks tentang konsep Pantheism。 。。。more
Beth
，
This is exactly the kind of book I like。 It takes the "it's always been" and "it was proclaimed" and turns it into "well， actually。。。。"And then the conclusion blew my mind。 I think I'll have to buy this one。 This is exactly the kind of book I like。 It takes the "it's always been" and "it was proclaimed" and turns it into "well， actually。。。。"And then the conclusion blew my mind。 I think I'll have to buy this one。 。。。more
Ashish Vyas
，
Excellent book， concise yet very informative， explore the very concpt on how and what we believe is god。 Humans have always visualize god as a form of human， wih supreme quality， but always struggle to accept human form for god。 The stuggle for polytheism vs monotheism， between early human like vs celestial divine like is complex and nuanced。 Must read！
Milla Beertje
，
Starts and ends a bit biased in my opionion。 Made it difficult to get through the first 1 or 2 Chapters。 After that very interesting！ Glad I kept going。
LG Heras
，
Es curiosa la primera parte， el por qué fueron tan necesarios al inicio de la humanidad y por qué aún hoy en día siguen en pie。 Además， la historia de las religiones monoteistas y su similitud es bastante interesante。
Chrissy
，
Interesting， but would recommend reading in conjunction with some sort of history of mythology。 I found his retelling of myths to blur confusingly into his own/new scenarios。
Hnieno
，
Essentially this book looks at the evolution of religion: it starts with the conception of the 'soul' - that something in us is distinguishable from the material word around us。 The logical development of this is that the body and soul are separate and that the soul survives death。 If this is true the world is teeming with spirits or souls。 Humans have a sense that there is something beyond， something that transcends。 Couple this with our Hypersensitive Agency Detection Device （HADD）， a biologic Essentially this book looks at the evolution of religion: it starts with the conception of the 'soul' - that something in us is distinguishable from the material word around us。 The logical development of this is that the body and soul are separate and that the soul survives death。 If this is true the world is teeming with spirits or souls。 Humans have a sense that there is something beyond， something that transcends。 Couple this with our Hypersensitive Agency Detection Device （HADD）， a biological process that arose deep in our evolutionary past， and it allows us to detect agency and hence a human cause behind unexplained events， things like hearing something in the distance in the woods， or in the modern world， the creaking of our house。 Thus we look for agency in natural phenomenon。 The Theory of Mind， indicates that we have a cognitive bias to use ourselves as a model for how we imagine others to think。 From this we are "compelled to perceive non-humans who exhibit human traits in the same way that I perceive humans。" So when we see something like a tree or a force of nature with human-like qualities， the logical conclusion is that the phenomenon has some degree of agency。 From this we can see a rudimentary version of animism。 Animism is the attribution of a living soul to plants， inanimate objects， and natural phenomena。 We， when feeling weak or in need of help， may beseech such spirits for help in one form or another。 The rest of the book goes on to discuss how Western religion up to and including Islam has developed from this basic line of logic。 The concept of talking trees for example was a very important part of Celtic and Druid spirituality。 The idea here is that the ideas that work best and are passed on from generation to generation are those that are only slightly anomalous to others。 Over time you see a general evolution of ideas。 With the evolution of agriculture， we went from being hunter gatherers to being settled， and with that there was a development in our religion， including our first temples: Göbekli Tepe。 Here there were humanoid looking structures， presumably worshipped as gods。 I am not sure what exactly to take from this。 Over time， it is not exactly clear why， we began to conceive of God as "higher"， though different ethinic or alternatively defined groups each had their own gods。 The defeat of one group or another might indicate the defeat （and indeed annihilation of that God）， such that even Abraham may have conceived of there being mutliple gods， with Yahweh being the most powerful。 Indeed when the Babylonians defeated the Israelites in a war， many of the Israelites began to read the Babylonian scriptures。 But then some had the idea that perhaps the defeat was part of Yahweh's idea。 Perhaps there were no other gods， and the Israelites were being punished for something else。 Essentially the Jews developed the idea of there being a single God- their God， with whom they had formed a covenant， and indeed this was a world changing position to take。 This God had human characteristics， like anger etc。。。 and he was bound to his people in the way a man is bound to his wife。 From this came the next evolution of our theories of God。 Now Jesus declares "I and the Father are one"， perhaps this concept of a "God-man" was not all too surprising given that the ancient Romans often deified their emperors （especially after death） e。g。 there are coins saying "Caesar， Son of God"。 But this posed all sorts of problems for the early Christians， with Marcion taking this to mean there were 2 gods。 Yahweh described in the Old Testament seemed a tyrant， whilst Jesus seemed to represent love。 Thus a dualism was set up that seems akin to that seen in Zoroastrianism。 Eventually， the Doctrine of the Trinity develops， perhaps with contradictions， but three beings of the "same substance"， none more powerful than the other。 Islam was the final development， an indivisable God， complete unity。 This leads Aslan to a pantheism essentially， a oneness with God - the creation cannot be separate from God if God is truly indivisable and so akin to Sufist traditions of Hindu traditions， born is the idea that everything is imbued with God， everything is God。 。。。more
Jamie
，
A thought provoking anthropological study of how we got to here in terms of our view of a deity。 It really brings to mind how teeny tiny our time on this earth is。
Imaculate Mosha
，
Good account of history and origins of religions。 Interesting conclusion 。
Shahid Mahmood
，
One of the best books ever on the subject
場場 李
，
其中對神的觀念演化，來自作者本身的靈性探索過程，無形之中塑造了一種優劣對比。大致上同意作者對神性的看法，不過只是碰巧，小細節還是有很多啟發
Abid Jamali
，
"He who knows his soul knows his LORD"。Amazing book on humanized history of god/God。 Very well written。。Highly recommended for lovers of Theology and Comparative Religion。 "He who knows his soul knows his LORD"。Amazing book on humanized history of god/God。 Very well written。。Highly recommended for lovers of Theology and Comparative Religion。 。。。more
Bulan Iskandar
，
I read this book in one day and I was hooked since the very beginning。 As Aslan first told the story about （view spoiler）[ Adam and Eve in a non-biblical way， not as first humans， but as typical human being lived with other species such as the Neanderthals， and how they lived as communities。 （hide spoiler）] Coming from a religious family， some concept about （view spoiler）[ sufism （hide spoiler）] in the end did not startle me， but the way Aslan wrote religion as a man-made invention was a bit d I read this book in one day and I was hooked since the very beginning。 As Aslan first told the story about （view spoiler）[ Adam and Eve in a non-biblical way， not as first humans， but as typical human being lived with other species such as the Neanderthals， and how they lived as communities。 （hide spoiler）] Coming from a religious family， some concept about （view spoiler）[ sufism （hide spoiler）] in the end did not startle me， but the way Aslan wrote religion as a man-made invention was a bit disturbing， but in a good way。There are assumptions and opinions that were written， but also facts， based on research。 You really have to keep an open mind in reading this because if not， you'd get triggered。 My mother， who did not read this book but heard of my conversation with my brother， already showed hatred towards the book as she felt offended。 This book really make you question about the things you thought you knew your whole life， especially if you're a person of faith （although Aslan might argue that faith does not equal belief nor religion）。Aslan ended this book with the sentence （view spoiler）[ You are God （hide spoiler）]， and boi I had shiver and could not stop thinking about this book for a week now。 。。。more
Gary
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The author is Reza Aslan， and he is no relation to the lion， as far as I know :-DThis is one of a few books Reza Aslan has written about religion， and I recommend it。 Let’s be clear: this is not an evangelical book。 He is not trying to push one religion over another; what he is doing is tracing the history of worship and asking pertinent questions – and answering most of them。 He addresses such issues as， Why did humans begin to worship？ What did they worship at what stages in history？ How did t The author is Reza Aslan， and he is no relation to the lion， as far as I know :-DThis is one of a few books Reza Aslan has written about religion， and I recommend it。 Let’s be clear: this is not an evangelical book。 He is not trying to push one religion over another; what he is doing is tracing the history of worship and asking pertinent questions – and answering most of them。 He addresses such issues as， Why did humans begin to worship？ What did they worship at what stages in history？ How did the concept of religion begin， and how did it develop？ What are the differences between different types of religions？ … and more。He examines ancient peoples and the beginnings of religious thought， the soul， and the myriad types of worship: animism， zoastrianism， pantheism， monotheism and several more。 He looks in more depth at the development of Judaism， Christianity and Islam， although he does not go into such depth concerning the Eastern religions， e。g。 Taoism， Buddhism， Hinduism， etc。Aslan teases apart the Bible， and explains the contradictions that have always puzzled Christians， and the spectacular rise of Islam as ‘the new kid on the block’。He ends on a high note， with the conclusion that if there is only one indivisible and ubiquitous God， then God is not only everywhere but also everything; there is nothing that is not God， including all matter in the universe。 This means that every star， planet， meteor， tree， rock， drop of water， blade of grass， animal， insect and person IS God; therefore， to find God we should not pray to some mythical being in the sky but look inwards to find the kindness， the tolerance， the understanding and all the other traits that make us what we are。 If we concentrate on developing the nice parts， we will find God within us all。 This also means， of course， that we should not waste time and energy arguing about whether Allah， God， Yahweh or Buddha is the real God， because it is irrelevant。I am not a believer but I found this book fascinating， and it made me want to look deeper at religious themes， and his conclusion resonates deeply with me。 I was brought up a Christian but the only parts of faith that mattered to me were Jesus' teachings for people to be humble， kind and generous to one another。 I now know that pretty much all other religions have these teachings at their heart， so really we are all the same in the end。No-one should be offended by this book， it is a historical， almost scientific examination， and also examines how politics and power have affected belief or， at least， official religious writings。 To me it proves that no religious person should ever harm another just because they don’t believe in the same things。 。。。more
Zyre
，
In this book， Reza Aslan （more about the author later） attempts to describe his spiritual journey （a misuse of the word maybe）， mainly the varying concepts of God he believed in during different stages of his life， and then goes on to fit that into his understanding of the evolution of religion in human societies。 His thesis: Humans have "humanized" the concept of God which is essentially wrong and must be rectified by "dehumanizing" this concept。 His postulates: i。 Religions are man made constr In this book， Reza Aslan （more about the author later） attempts to describe his spiritual journey （a misuse of the word maybe）， mainly the varying concepts of God he believed in during different stages of his life， and then goes on to fit that into his understanding of the evolution of religion in human societies。 His thesis: Humans have "humanized" the concept of God which is essentially wrong and must be rectified by "dehumanizing" this concept。 His postulates: i。 Religions are man made constructs resulting from certain psychological or neurological impulses。 ii。 Religions have gone through the process of evolution， including the concept of God。 His argument: Humans constructed religions out of their innate impulses which forced them to believe in the Divine。 These social constructs eventually went through the process of evolution （not necessarily the Darwinian evolution）， just like the human societies did。 It started with animism， evolved into polytheism and has reached monotheism （each phase containing different types of concepts of God and the Divine）。 Throughout this process humans have molded God into their own image by assigning human like traits to Him。 The degrees of this "humanization" have varied from religion to religion and culture to culture but according to the author not a single religion exists， including Islam， that has not humanized the concept of God。 The only concept of dehumanized God， according to the author， is that of pantheism with which the author associates himself and describes that pantheism is essentially what Muslim sufis have prescribed and also that this concept can be seen competing with the humanized concept of God in different religions。 My comments: Although the author has provided extensive end notes and citations showing the efforts he has gone through to prevent this book from becoming just his personal opinion， the book lacks substance in the sense that the author basically seems to have first created a concept in his mind and then sewn together a narrative based on literature review。 It's an interesting read and thought provoking at many points but the author falls short of giving credence to his premises and subsequently to his basic argument。 The author has written the book from a secular and academic perspective， however， he has left a lot of room for theists to read the critique of man-made humanized concept of God as a critique of the corruption of Divine religion by humans。 He also seems to have spared Islam from aggressive criticism。 In my opinion， the book isn't a total loss but it's a half baked thesis of an author who himself seems confused on the subject of God。 Central argument aside， the book is a pretty good summary of the history of religion。 Needless to say， the historical narrative is based on archeological and anthropological findings which can tell what has till date been unearthed but can only form conjectures about what id yet to be found。 About the author: Reza Aslan is an Iranian-American academic who frequently appears on TV shows commenting on issues related to religion。 His parents fled Iran in 1979 to escape the Islamic Revolution。 He converted to Christianity in his teens and later on reverted back to Islam。 However， despite the fact that he affiliates himself with Islam， his writings have been completely secular and even critical of contemporary Muslim thought。 In this book， God - A Human History， he classifies himself as a pantheist。 He has also explained elsewhere that to him religion is not divine rather it's a man made system of expressing relationship with the divine。 。。。more
Ramisa Reza
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Wow。 This book is filled with bombshells and some uncomfortable sarcasm， but still so much…clarity。 & I loved learning about the spirituality/faith of our ancestors as well as the conundra of modern belief systems。
Corinn Sessions
，
This one was an interesting read， especially considering who the author is。 While this is no religious book， it does recount how man made god， not the other way around。 It was fascinating to see the blending of anthropology， history， and culture into the current representation of god in his many interpretations--from Christianity， Islam， Buddhism， agnosticism， all of it。 The author himself went through several conversions in order to square himself with an interpretation of this need to see hims This one was an interesting read， especially considering who the author is。 While this is no religious book， it does recount how man made god， not the other way around。 It was fascinating to see the blending of anthropology， history， and culture into the current representation of god in his many interpretations--from Christianity， Islam， Buddhism， agnosticism， all of it。 The author himself went through several conversions in order to square himself with an interpretation of this need to see himself in the grander scheme of things， as I'm sure the bulk of humanity does。 It was an interesting yet brief study of god in human terms。 。。。more
Shai Sachs
，
This book was a completely fascinating history of the concept of monotheism， and I highly recommend it。There were a lot of pieces I particularly enjoyed， and really it pushed me to investigate a lot of ancillary topics - in some ways that's the best thing a book like this one can do！Perhaps the most interesting concept explored was politicomorphism - the notion that religions change to accomodate or reflect the forms of government which their society adopts。 Hence， for instance， the animistic "l This book was a completely fascinating history of the concept of monotheism， and I highly recommend it。There were a lot of pieces I particularly enjoyed， and really it pushed me to investigate a lot of ancillary topics - in some ways that's the best thing a book like this one can do！Perhaps the most interesting concept explored was politicomorphism - the notion that religions change to accomodate or reflect the forms of government which their society adopts。 Hence， for instance， the animistic "lord of the beasts" of hunter-gatherer societies gives way to an agricultural pantheon of anthopomorphic gods， which each govern some aspect of the natural world。 Aslan doesn't explore this topic through to moden times - indeed， the last chapter concerns Rumi， who died over seven hundred years ago - but it's easy to imagine how this concept plays out in the concept of the divine right of kings and so on。 I'd be more than eager to read a book exploring this one topic in more detail。Politicomorphism is somewhat related to some relatively recent "chicken-and-egg" findings in archaeology。 Until recently， it was commonplace to assume that humanity developed agriculture first， and that religion followed as a way to organize newly hierarchical societies。 There are some very fascinating findings at the ancient temple of Göbeklitepe which suggest that it may have been the other way around: agriculture emerged as a way to support an organized temple complex。 I don't know all that much about the archaelogical consensus， but my sense is that Aslan tends to paper over some fairly important nuances in the debate in presenting these findings。 Is it possible that religion developed first at Göbeklitepe， for instance， but that agriculture emerged first in other areas of the globe， like the Indus valley？ Impossible to say。As a general rule this book focuses on Abrahamic religions， and is particularly occupied with the mideast as a result。 Left out of the picture are some fairly important religious traditions， and one gets the sense that they are ignored primarily because they don't really make for a nice narrative arc。 That's understandable but somewhat unfortunate， as it paints a somewhat incomplete picture of the way we view monotheism as a whole; it also leaves unaddressed some interesting questions about how major world religions interact with each other， particularly Hinduism and Islam。I was especially interested in the history of Jewish monotheism， and the related history of the Torah。 Here again， the book papers over some rather rigorous and unresolved academic debate。 It presents the three/four-source "documentary" hypothesis of the origin of the Torah without acknowledging other popular theories like the supplementary one。 Nevertheless it's a pretty interesting look at the history of this concept， and a pretty key turning point in the history of monotheism！ I quite enjoyed this very fine-grained examination of the interplay of history and theology， particularly as it pertains to the Babylonian exile。 （Though the conclusion that a big part of the Torah was written as a result of the exile is not even clear - there's at least good reason to believe that major monotheistic themes emerged in the Torah decades before the Babylonian exile。） It certainly made me think a lot more about the traditional interpretation of the Torah， not to mention some related questions about the social justice tradition in Judaism。I was a little unsatisfied by the conclusion of the book， which seems to leave the concept of monotheism firmly resolved by about 1250 AD， in the hands of Sufi mystics。 Their notion that everything which was created by G-d must in turn be divine is certainly very fascinating and thought-provoking。 But it seems a little odd to leave it as the final word on the matter， particularly because it just-so-happens to mirror Aslan's own personal religious journey。 A lot has happened in the history of religious thought over the last seven-hundred-plus years！ Of course， it's Aslan's book and he's entitled to fashion it in a way which promotes his doctrine of choice。 It just seems to me that there's more to be said。I'm extremely glad to have read this book， despite a handful of shortcomings here and there。 It's really sparked my curiosity on a wide variety of topics， and it's been rather eye-opening to have explored them since reading the book。 I'd certainly recommend giving it a read！ 。。。more
Chris Lake
，
Should be required reading。 You gotta know at least a tiny bit of something about the big guy（s）。Short and well-written history of God。 Not your God; all God。 Not everyone's into reading about God and this is the best way to give those people a little something to chew on。 Just enough。 Whether you believe in this God or that God or no God， this kind of book helps set your God in context of a long human history of God。 Ok， sure， it sometimes does that 'history book' thing where it names all these Should be required reading。 You gotta know at least a tiny bit of something about the big guy（s）。Short and well-written history of God。 Not your God; all God。 Not everyone's into reading about God and this is the best way to give those people a little something to chew on。 Just enough。 Whether you believe in this God or that God or no God， this kind of book helps set your God in context of a long human history of God。 Ok， sure， it sometimes does that 'history book' thing where it names all these really ancient people one after another （feels like reading paint dry） but it also contains （for me） all kinds of neat "a-ha's"。 Worth it。 Fav thing: No matter your leanings， this book is context galore。 And， if I may say so， Jesus Christ does God ever need some context。Audio book's pretty good。 4 hours。 Whatever。 Just do it。***SPOILER***The thing I'm being an basic-B about is that Reza says he's unbiased at the beginning - and does a great job of that in the main body - but then names his 'religion of choice' at the end。 Yeah， sure， it's totally in line with the progression of the book but。。。 I guess I felt like I was promised an essay and he kind of fooled me into reading a persuasion paper at the end。 I mean， I'm pretty on board with him but。。。 I really want hyper-religious people to give this a shot and。。。 I dunno。。。 they might discount the whole thing because of this。。。 。。。more
Reid Anderson
，
Reza Aslan covers an astounding amount of ground in a relatively short book。 If you are skeptical of God， curious about religious origins， and/or interested in anthropology and psychology， there is something here for you。 I think this book pairs really nicely with Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind， by Yuval Noah Harari。
Lama Saab
，
This is a very well written book。 Reza Aslan will take you through a historical venture that will enlighten you on the historical sequence of the evolution of religion。 It does not in any way try to justify or debunk the presence of a higher being - it does， on the other hand， guide you through humanity’s inevitable impulse to justify existence through a divine being， and to humanize the divine by assigning human attributes to these gods。 From polytheism to monotheism， religions over the years h This is a very well written book。 Reza Aslan will take you through a historical venture that will enlighten you on the historical sequence of the evolution of religion。 It does not in any way try to justify or debunk the presence of a higher being - it does， on the other hand， guide you through humanity’s inevitable impulse to justify existence through a divine being， and to humanize the divine by assigning human attributes to these gods。 From polytheism to monotheism， religions over the years have evolved and shared major common themes over the presence of either various gods， one god that gradually climbed the ladder of divinity over lower gods or one God that dissolves the presence of any other god（s）。 It is important to educate ourselves over the various religions and the various ways they have impacted our modes and ways of being。 Worth the read。 。。。more
Tenzin Rose
，
A short but fascinating journey through the brief history of animism to the complex mono/poly theistic religions we have in the modern world。This acts as a taster menu for his writing style （I certainly want to explore his other works， especially on Islam） and a primer on these storied religions which has defined human behavior over the past ~2500 years。Humans are so fascinating :）
Nita
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 A really fascinating look at the development of religion， from the earliest humans up to the birth of Islam。 I did feel that the book ended quite abruptly， and I found it hard to connect Aslan's decision that Sufism was the path for him to the chapters that came before （but that could be due to newborn-induced sleep deprivation on my part）。 A really fascinating look at the development of religion， from the earliest humans up to the birth of Islam。 I did feel that the book ended quite abruptly， and I found it hard to connect Aslan's decision that Sufism was the path for him to the chapters that came before （but that could be due to newborn-induced sleep deprivation on my part）。 。。。more
Todd Graves
，
Initially captivating， I found this to slowly unravel as it progressed。 It feels rather neither here nor there in its sum total。 At first I was preparing myself for something revelatory and was excited by the thoughts and ideas。 Eventually， it breaks down and becomes nothing more than a not-too-objective retelling of religious histories across Mesopotamia spanning thousands of years。 So， yeah， there are definitely some shortcuts and biases clearly creep into the pages for sure。 However， it is am Initially captivating， I found this to slowly unravel as it progressed。 It feels rather neither here nor there in its sum total。 At first I was preparing myself for something revelatory and was excited by the thoughts and ideas。 Eventually， it breaks down and becomes nothing more than a not-too-objective retelling of religious histories across Mesopotamia spanning thousands of years。 So， yeah， there are definitely some shortcuts and biases clearly creep into the pages for sure。 However， it is ambitious and has a few lovely moments - just anticipate those moments becoming both fewer and farther between as you progress。 。。。more
Urmi Maitra
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3。5⭐
Husein Djulovic
，
Ubi Dubitum Ibi Libertas Vrlo slojevita i podrobno opisana knjiga o istoriji boga。 Harari-jevskim stilom napisana， pisac nas odvodi u jedno dugo putovanje o tome kako je koncepcija Boga dosla u nasim mislima i koliko je zapravo taj verski poriv toliko drevan i dubok da se smatra da su cak i homo erectusi （pre tracavih pola miliona godina） imali tragove verskog ponasanja。 Sklonost ka religiji， pisac govori， jeste urodjena u nasoj vrsti ili kako on kaze: '。。。mi smo homo religiosus， ne zbog svoje Ubi Dubitum Ibi Libertas Vrlo slojevita i podrobno opisana knjiga o istoriji boga。 Harari-jevskim stilom napisana， pisac nas odvodi u jedno dugo putovanje o tome kako je koncepcija Boga dosla u nasim mislima i koliko je zapravo taj verski poriv toliko drevan i dubok da se smatra da su cak i homo erectusi （pre tracavih pola miliona godina） imali tragove verskog ponasanja。 Sklonost ka religiji， pisac govori， jeste urodjena u nasoj vrsti ili kako on kaze: '。。。mi smo homo religiosus， ne zbog svoje zelje za verovanjima i ustanovama， niti zbog nase posvecenosti odredjenim bozanstvia i teologijama， nego zbog nase egzistencijalne teznje ka onostranom， kao onome sto lezi iza naseg vidljivog sveta。' TRI jako znacajne stvari odnosim iz ove knjige。 PRVA jeste ono sto je kognitivna nauka obrazlozila kao HADD* （hyperactive agency detection device） odnosno jedan bioloski proces （imaj na umu da su preci bili lovci okruzeni u jednom surovom okruzenju） koji nam omogucava i pomaze da otrkijeemo 'ljudsko dejstvo， a samim tim i ljudski uzrok iza svakog neobjasnjenog dogadjaja'。 To jest， HADD je reakcija na mogucu opasnost。 Ovo je osnova naseg verovanja。 Iz ovoga dolazi da je poriv ka verovanju zapravo posledica slozenih reakcija u mozgu。 （1-0 nauka）DRUGA jeste nesto sto se zove teorijao umu， gde pisac objasnjava to kao funkciju mozga koja nas obavezuje da sebe koristimo kao model razmisljanja o svakom drugom pa cak i shvatanju kosmosa。 Otud potice poriv ka ocovecivanju boga koji se koristio sve do pre 2 milenijuma kada se po prvi put na pozornici pojavio neocoveceni bog。TRECA i daleko najznacajnija stvar jeste nesto sto se zove politikomorfizam odnosno kako se politika nebesa menjala u skladu sa promenama politika na zemlji。 Kako su se neki bogovi uspinjali i postajali vaznijih od drugih i kako su zapravo ti bogovi uticali na to da se zemaljska politika naziva bozanskom。 Ova crta se ispoljava ne samo u drevnim religijama， vec i u svim danasnjim a itekako u judajizmu， hriscanstvu i islamu。 Ovo je， licno meni， najznajanciji i najzanimljiviji deo knjige。 Kraj knjige je bio jako neocekivan ali i prijatan。 Mislio sam da ce nauka da preovalda na kraju ali on uzima drugi pristup i govori o panteizmu。 Ali ovaj okret je vrlo vesto napisan gde tera na dalje razmisljanje。 Sve u svemu， velika preporuka za sve one koji sumnjaju。 Baruh， dolazim。 。。。more
William Coolidge
，
Super educational。 Even if you don’t agree with the authors belief in Pantheism。 It is still great for new religious perspective。 I loved reading unfamiliar vocabulary， looking the words up and now knowing them！
Omaina
，
I had thought the book would be longer so when it ended it was a bit abrupt。 Given the details on the pre-historic religions I’m a bit surprised at the brevity of the sections on Christianity and Islam。 Ending felt a bit like I was reading a self-help book。 I thought the book was a factual history but it was colored by the authors personal life。 It’s an interesting read though I’d recommend it。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=God: A Human History
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=God: A Human History&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,God: A Human History&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0